Disabled people are interested in porn, but for Amelia Lander-Cavallo their internet history was relevantly clean, until they were asked to host a new podcast.
The non-binary, deaf, drag performer is, like most of us, interested in sex. That’s not to say they are a sex-addict, they just have an average interest in sex, a subject which is often disregarded when talk comes to the disabled community.
“Generally speaking – and this is one of the main reasons I was excited to do this podcast – it’s very important to me that people understand that disabled people are sexual,” Lander-Cavallo told The Guardian.
“Most people just don’t assume that disabled people have sex, think about sex, care about sex – and would consume porn, be interested and excited by porn. So it was great to talk to people who have made this their entire career.”
The podcast in question, Press Play, Turn On, includes discussions around audio pornography for queer and disabled people from a range of people involved in the industry, such as sex workers and erotic authors.
Growing up in Albuquerque, Lander-Cavallo, 40, struggled to find any mainstream porn which caught their interest.
“If I go into something trying to have a good time, and what I get is something ableist or transphobic, I’m going to be much less likely to engage. Unfortunately, that was my experience for a long time,” they explained.
We guess most of us have paid a visit to a mainstream adult site, but as Lander-Cavallo explains it’s difficult to get off on audio descriptions of X-rated material.
In the first episode they listen to an audio clip of Kim Kardashian’s sex tape, which is just as dull as watching a reality TV show about a spoilt, rich, family.
The six-part series also features gripping interviews with the likes of trans sex blogger Quinn Rhodes, disabled sex-toy founder Andrew Gurza and erotic voice actress Krystine Kellogg.
They all share the same story - it’s difficult to find porn or sex-toys suited to blind and/or disabled people.
In a bonus seventh episode you can listen to a pornographic story commissioned by Lander-Cavallo which includes detailed sounds and descriptions such as a keyboard being tapped and how the sun rays through a window…oh and how the character goes down on his aroused partner.
Queer pornography and adult material made specifically for disabled people are two separate issues, but as Lander-Cavallo explains they can, at times, jump in the same bed together.
“Queerness and disability are not the same, but they are cousins in the sense that they have a lot of similarities that cross and connect.”
Lander-Cavallo goes on to share their disappointment on the lack of erotic material out there for queer and disabled people.
They highlight how important it is to make adult material feel real, it’s usually quite easy to tell if someone is ‘having a good time’ Lander-Cavallo explains.
“But on a more political level, queer people, disabled people, trans people, don’t get enough representation already. So when you have a role that’s made with them in mind, and you still don’t put them in that role, it’s just mind-boggling. And I’m like, cool, when I get to play a role where I’m an airline pilot and nobody bats an eyelid, then we can talk about pretending to be blind. But until that happens … well.”
There is a growing market for audio described porn, since the pandemic the audio pornographic app gained 84% more subscribers in 2020.
“So that allows an industry to innovate in ways that make porn a better, nicer experience for everybody, and for people to listen to,” Lander-Cavello told the publication.
“My hope is that [audio pornography] continues to be made in a way that treats the sex workers ethically and safely, as enjoyable as possible, and that they are celebrated for that work. And that accessibility is something that is continually thought about.”
The realisation that porn has to become more inclusive has made us all excited, in more ways than one.
[ One in three women use pornography at least once per week, according to a study conducted by Marie Claire. ]
