Andrew Gurza talks sex and disability—and you should talk about them, too

By Leah Coppella

Andrew Gurza is a disability awareness consultant and self-described cripple content creator from Toronto, Canada.

His podcast, Disability After Dark, explores the points at which disability and sex intersect. A wheelchair user and person with Cerebral Palsy, Gurza has an important perspective and is on a mission to share it widely.

I first discovered Gurza through his podcast. A raw, real, and incredibly risque account of his lived experience as a ‘queer cripple,’ Gurza is both witty and warm, and will keep you questioning your own ableism and the way that you interact with others in the world around you.

He’s unapologetic, gritty and honest in a way that he says is needed in this space.

Resources like the Chronic Sex podcast. My friend, Kirsten Shultz runs that brand... people like Rachel Rose, who runs the Hedonish brand and also talks about terminal illness and sexuality. There are resources but you also have to wade through that kind of ableist ‘Wow! disabled people get to have sex too!' to really find something of note today. A lot of news outlets, even some of the ones that I've written for, they want to capitalize on that. I want to go deeper that. In my work, I really try to push that envelope much further. Like, yes I have sex, but let's talk more about that. What does that feel like? What does that look like? Why does that feel good? Why does that feel bad? How does my disability play into that. On my podcast especially, I really try to go into the nuances of sexuality and disability in a way that I haven't seen before.

Andrew Gurza is available for talks, as a podcast guest, and writing gigs. Andrew can be found on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @TheAndrewGurza.

Leah Coppella is a freelance journalist and student at Carleton University. While dividing her time between Toronto and Ottawa, she writes about indie arts, feminism and climate justice.