Abstract
Individuals with intellectual disability are often left out of and overlooked in discussions on sexual health and sexuality. Given this, we undertook a participatory theatre research project to better respond to the needs of the individuals with intellectual and developmental disability regarding their sexual agency and sexual citizenship. The project, entitled Romance, Relationships, and Rights arose when the executive director of a community living agency approached researchers at the University of British Columbia’s Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship to learn about how they, as an agency, could better support their community. To disrupt sexual ableism and traditional theatre hierarchies, we collaboratively turned to participatory and disability theatre with the aim to advance and promote the sexual citizenship of individuals with intellectual and developmental disability, who refer to themselves as self-advocates - those who speak and act with agency. The challenges of equitable co-creation arose throughout the theatre process; the themes of deconstruction/co-construction and uncertainty and liminality reveal the iterative process of centering self-advocate voices.
Highlights
The themes of deconstruction/co-construction and uncertainty and liminality reveal the iterative process of centering self-advocate voices
Within previous theatre initiatives that espouse the importance of s ideas” (SA) holding power in the creation and research process, the problematic use of the phrase “giving voice” (Garbutt, 2009: 19) unwittingly reinforces the power inequity between disabled and non-disabled folks where SAs’ agency cannot be claimed but only granted.We looked to disability theatre to challenge and expand participatory theatre research approaches
There were unsure moments on the part of theatre artists (TA) and inclusion facilitators (IF) regarding how the participatory theatre process would result in a polished production
Summary
The themes of deconstruction/co-construction and uncertainty and liminality reveal the iterative process of centering self-advocate voices. “Why is the sexuality of those with intellectual disabilities often seen as ‘risky’ or ‘inappropriate’ by teachers, parents, support staff, professionals, judges and the media as well as those with the most daily contact with them?” asks Gill (2015: 2) This question is at the heart of a theatre-based research project, which arose when the CEO of a community living agency approached researchers at the University of British Columbia’s Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship (CIIC) to learn about how they, as an agency, could better respond to the needs of the individuals with intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) they support regarding their sexual agency and sexual citizenship. These notions are so deeply entrenched in mass and popular culture that they have come to dominate the collective Canadian psyche. (Delgado and Humm-Delgado, 2017: 111)
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