You sexy thing

"Her disability had made her feel like a non-person, like a non-sexual being, and she was very articulate at expressing exactly [how] the pictorial could serve not only her, but other people with disabilities. As a way of saying, we’re human beings, too, and sex is a natural part of being alive with a disability or without.”

Hugh Hefner’s statement about Ellen Stohl’s contribution as the first disabled Playbunny for Playboy (Ability Magazine, 1987) is something I can relate to. Unless a part of the disabled community or the art and disability circle, many people have only subconsciously made connections between disability and sexuality. My artwork with Sarah Murray attempts to highlight the importance of seeing people with disabilities as sexual beings.

After my accident, when I was 15 and at the beginning of sexual maturity and understanding, strangers probed me about my sexuality and questioned whether I could have sex.

I felt it necessary to contradict the stereotype of people with disabilities as asexual, a notion that I myself questioned after my injury. I began to identify with my sexuality when I noticed how it was being denied. I wanted to find the origin of society’s new gaze.

According to the World Health Organization, sexuality is a basic need and aspect of being human that cannot be separated from other aspects of life. In my opinion, it is important to see people with disabilities as sexy or in a sexual light because otherwise they are seen as less than human. A denial of sexual rights is a denial of human rights. While not all individuals choose to be sexually active, all individuals are sexual beings. Sexuality is therefore an integral
part of life and is universally relevant, whether you are sexually active or not, and whether you have a disability or are non-disabled.

I am foremost an artist. Along with my research, I know my own experiences as a woman with a disability but I do not intend to speak for all people with disabilities. I approached photographer Sarah Murray and together we conceived the photography project Access-Sex, a series of photographs using myself as the subject in sensual poses, and in the presence of assistive equipment or my wheelchair. Retrospectively, the first series is centered on identity, whereas the intention behind the second series is more conceptual and open to interpretation.

Art and sexuality cannot be separated or extracted from life. It made sense to me to explain that notion in reference to my own experiences. The project to me has been successful on many levels: I’ve met an amazing friend, Sarah, whom I respect personally and professionally; my perception of myself has become more positive and made me more passionate about my art and opinions; and I believe the photographs have made a variety of people aware that people with disabilities are sexual beings. Now my hopes are to expand Access-Sex and continue to challenge pre-conceptions and stereotypes.

• Visual artist Kyla Harris co-owns the Main Artery Gallery in Vancouver, Canada.
www.mainarterygallery.com