Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Blind People Tell Us How They Experience Sexual Attraction

This article originally appeared on VICE UK.

Sexual attraction usually has some kind of visual component. Even if you see yourself as the least superficial human being on the planet, telling people you meet at bars that you're out searching for someone with whom you can establish a deep soulful connection, I'd wager that you approached those people based partly on the way they look.

So what about the 255,000 people in the UK who are registered as blind? There are obviously other influences we all share that cause us to fall for people over time, but what replaces that raw, instinctive attraction that, for many sighted people, is based on looks alone?

I spoke to travel writer Tony Giles, artist and bodybuilder Claire Lawrence, makeup vlogger Lucy Edwards and athlete Selina Litt, all of whom are blind, to find out.

Selina Litt

Lucy Edwards

I met my fiancé, Ollie, before I lost my sight, so I know what he looks like, but the nature of my sexual attraction toward him has changed now that I'm blind. It now works on more of an emotional level. I like flirty language, and smell also plays a huge factor. I love him wearing an aftershave that smells nice and the scent of his T-shirt when it's washed with lavender.

When it comes to celebrities, I find voices attractive, and always say to Ollie that I like actors with Irish accents. I also take my sister's opinion about things of that nature more seriously now, and she lets me know if a celeb is good looking or not. Some people assume that blind girls will just like anyone because we can't see, but this is so wrong. In recent years, when people have hit on me in pubs, I've sometimes questioned if it's because they think the fact I'm blind makes me easy. This simply isn't true.

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