Sexuality and gender identity in the lives of young, disabled LGBT+ persons: initiating a dialogue

This chapter introduces the collected volume Young, Disabled and LGBT+: Voices, Identities and Intersections, providing a framework and rationale for the book. Although research on sexuality and disability continues to grow, we argue that young people are often left out of the equation, yet such exploration has much to teach us about sexuality, gender identity and disability. Drawing upon key literature, this chapter discusses three themes. First, LGBT+ identities in disabled people’s lives, identifying the negotiations young people undertake to live their everyday lives. Second, the importance of listening to young people’s experiences, countering the domination of medicalisation and fostering research which is led by young people. Finally, we highlight some of the compounding discrimination and abuses. This is important in the call for future research in this area and the need to take a truly intersectional approach to such research. The chapter concludes by presenting summaries of the contributions, framed in relation to the overarching objectives of the volume.