A disabled man has dispelled one of the most common misconceptions about the relationship he has with his wife.
Shane Burcaw and Hannah Aylward decided to get married back in 2020 after years of dating, and as Shane is disabled and Hannah is not, the pair get all sorts of comments about their relationship.
Shane has a severe muscle wasting disease and requires a wheelchair, while Hannah is seemingly perfectly able.
The pair run their own podcast alongside their YouTube page, where they discuss their relationship and decided to address people’s assumptions about them.
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In their latest video they discussed a whopping 19 misconceptions they often get, and went into detail about one of the most frustrating – that they do not have a sexual relationship.
Shane started by saying: “This one is getting old, it has been old for years.
“If you take the time to look at our and many other inter-abled couples that have their lives online or read any freaking book by a disabled person, or do the easiest Google search you’ll know very quickly that disabled people can indeed have sexual relationships.
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“I don’t really know what else to say.
“If you just don’t want to believe it, fine, but then you are willingly sticking your head in the sand.”
In a previous video, the couple noted there is a 'caveat' in that some disabilities can affect sexual function, but 'that is not the rule' nor the 'overwhelming majority'.
Hannah also highlighted the weird backlash she received online for being in a relationship with Shane.
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She noted that she was repeatedly ‘trolled’ about their sex lives and has even been called 'a pedophile'.
She said: “Like, because [Shane's] smaller, like, 'there's no way - that should be illegal'.
“And I often see comments that are like, 'if the roles, the genders were reversed, this would be illegal', meaning a disabled woman and a non-disabled man, that would be illegal.
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"It's just wild to me that people think that disabled people can't consent to intimacy and I think that kind of policing happens a lot more with mental disabilities but it also does happen with physical disabilities."
Shane added that people often view him and other disabled individuals as asexual and simply unable to attract a partner.
He is happy to disprove this thinking and ignore the trolls that insist they must be lying rather than being in a happy and healthy sex life.
Topics: YouTube, Podcast, Sex and Relationships, Social Media
Gerrard Kaonga