Disability Pride Month Pleasure for everyone: that’s Bump'n!

Andrew, disability consultant, and Heather, innovation strategist, are on a mission to put pleasure within reach and honestly, it’s about fucking time. It’s wild to think that before Bump'n there were no sex toys designed for and by disabled people.

Motivated by the fact that hundreds of millions of people around the world can’t masturbate due to hand limitations, Handi’s Andrew Gurza and Heather Morrison channeled their passion, skills, and an incredible team including the only person in the world to hold a PHD in sex toy design, to create a prototype of the world’s first ever accessible sex toy. You can now register for presale for the Handi Joystick – just in time for Disability Pride Month!

To fund their line of toys, Handi have released a book that’s full of raw, powerful and enlightening stories, poetry and artwork from 50 contributors from the disabled community. The Handi Book of Love, Lust and Disability isn’t just designed for disabled people – the Handi team want the book to be a conversation starter for people to understand what it feels like to love, lust and live in a disabled body. It’s a place where disabled people can see themselves represented honestly – and for people outside that community to see open, real and juicy conversations about body image, societal perceptions, pleasure, pain, sex work, partner’s perspectives and much more, as Andrew explains:

This book is a place for disabled people to feel comfortable as sexual beings, and it is a place for non-disabled folks to confront their own ableist views about sexuality and disability. This book is required reading for everyone!

We asked Andrew and Heather to share their favourite excerpts to give you a little teaser:

Andrew

I love the discussion of coming out around disability and queerness and how nuanced that can be. We always think that coming out is only about queerness, but this quote shows how it goes so much deeper than that and can intersect with multiple community members, and also that by choosing how to come out for yourself can be powerful.

“I have had to come out a number of times as both ‘queer’ and ‘disabled’. I have finally landed on the self-chosen label of ‘queer cripple’ because I feel it most accurately represents who I am as both a disabled and queer person. I tried ‘person with a disability’, and I will use ‘disabled’ in less sexual settings, but when it comes to my sex life, ‘Queer Cripple’ acts as a big ‘fuck you’ to all the haters, and as an invitation to all the people who I want to invite into my experiences. Having that power is extremely liberating.”

Andrew, He/Him/His, Cerebral Palsy, Queer, Toronto, Canada

I also can’t get enough of the simplicity of this post. A disabled person owning their sexiness and being playful about it, no less. Iconic.

“Do I find myself sexy? Yes definitely! I think I’m pretty handsome. I’m very, very happy with myself generally speaking. And I have a lot of penis pride!”

Matthew, He/Him/His, Cerebral Palsy, Deaf, Gay, Sydney, Australia

Heather

I love this quote from Elle in the final chapter of the book, Parting Words. It brings home everything we hoped to convey in this book and why we embarked on this mission – it’s honest and beautiful and something all of us can relate to. I dare you to read it without tearing up.

“You are beautiful. You are worthy. You are a sexually desirable, delicious being that deserves to be here. You will be loved for you, and you already are. Someone out there wants to experience your body, just the way it is. Not out of pity or because you’re a fetish to them, but because what you have is what they need and want. They’ve been dreaming of you their whole lives.”

Elle, She/Her/Hers, Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita, Amniotic Band Syndrome, Clube Feet, Straight, Melbourne

Chantelle Otten gives able bodied people a glimpse of what dating someone with a disability is like and the beautiful, potentially unexpected, benefits that come along with it. A lot of able bodied people shy away from dating people with disabilities, often of their own insecurity or misunderstandings – her passage helps to shed a light on their relationship and the beauty and sexiness within it. Not to mention – swoon!

“I could tell he was the kind of person that was going to be able to make anything happen for us, no matter what his capabilities were. To me, he is the most extraordinary person I have ever met, and I admire his drive and passion for me (first and foremost), for life, and for changing the conversation around disability. He is sexy, he is smart, and he is kind… he is the best person in the world.

Dylan is very strong and he moves very easily around the bed; we just flow naturally, as erotic beings. We have sex in a different way to able-bodied sex, but it is much more erotic and interesting. We incorporate kinky stuff, toys and communicate with passion. Being with him opens up a huge amount of opportunity because we have to think outside the mainstream box. We have to tap into our imagination and roles in the bedroom and enjoy every part of each other’s bodies, incorporating many erogenous zones.”

Chantelle Otten, She/Her/Hers, Dylan Alcott’s Partner

One of the things that we love about Handi is their openness about sex and disability. They’re tearing down taboos and putting everything on the table – which is what makes The Handi Book of Love, Lust and Disability a captivating, sexy and important read. By buying the book, you’ll also help put pleasure in reach – all profits go towards the development of Handi’s sex toys. What’s sexier than supporting a cause that will help millions of people get off?

You can buy The Handi Book of Love, Lust and Disability here, and register for The Handi Joystick presale here.

You can read more about Handi at https://thatshandi.co/

You can follow Handi on Instagram here and Facebook here.

You can follow and listen to Disability after Dark here.