Being LGBTQ+ and Disabled: Where Identities Meet

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This blog post was written by one of our Board members, Celestine. She dives into the complex intersections of a queer and Disabled identity, shining a light on overlapping experiences and the need for a unified fight for liberation. At the bottom are an assortment of different resources to learn more about the crossovers between LGBTQ+ and Disabled lives.

“At Disability Rights UK, we are committed to ensuring that all parts of our community are seen, heard, and supported. This blog is part of our ongoing effort to centre lived experience in our work and to advocate for an inclusive society where Disabled people of all identities can thrive.”  — Kamran Mallick, CEO. 

Last month was LGBTQ+ Pride Month, and this month we are celebrating Disability Pride. 

For many people, the experiences of being LGBTQ+ and being Disabled bear some similarities. Coming out might be likened to disability disclosure; discrimination in the workplace or in health care settings can happen due to our disability or sexuality; and our experiences of being “other’d” often means we understand the value of pride, freedom and connection. Meanwhile, research shows there are disproportionate rates of disability among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.  

As a Trustee of Disability Rights UK and as a queer Disabled person myself, I am determined to support and encourage more discussion around this large but often overlooked community. I recently wrote an essay for Disability Debrief on moving through shame to find pride in LGBTQ+ disabled identity. This blog post has been adapted from that essay. 

What the stats are saying 

Recent studies from across the Global North show an association between LGBTQ+ identity and disability. In the UK, the 2021 Census found that the percentage of Disabled people who identified as LGB+ in England (6.4%) was over twice that of non-disabled people (2.6%), with similar results in Wales.  

Meanwhile, in the US, a recent study by Human Rights Campaign found that more than a third (36%) of cisgender LGBQ+ adults and more than half (52%) of transgender adults are Disabled, compared to one in four (24%) of non-LGBTQ+ adults.  

Mental health in the LGBTQ+ community 

The disproportionate rates of disability among LGBTQ+ people are likely due to complex causes. But one contributing factor is high rates of mental health issues within the LGBTQ+ community.  

In Canada, mental health-related disability is the most common cause of disability among LGBTQ+ disabled people. In Britain, a survey of 5,000 LGBT people showed half had experienced depression in the past year, and one in eight (13%) had tried to take their own life. 

Hard to talk about 

Within the LGBTQ+ community, it can still feel uncomfortable to talk about these high rates of mental health issues. I suspect this is because as a community we’ve barely had time to recover from a long and painful history of having our identities pathologised – until only quite recently, being gay or trans was conflated with disease or disorder. It was only in 1992 that the World Health Organisation declassified homosexuality as a mental illness, and only in 2019 that being trans was finally also dropped by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11.   

Nor has it been very long since the HIV/ Aids crisis – a time in which a fear of illness and contagion fuelled rampant homophobia, and HIV-related disability was widely perceived as being the moral consequence of having queer sex.  

It’s not surprising that early gay activism vehemently denied that there was any relationship between queerness and mental illness. Protestors held banners which read “Homo is Healthy!”.   

The body keeps the score 

The effects of homo-/transphobia also show up as physical illness. “The strong predictors of poor health are discrimination and victimization,” says Karen Fredriksen-Goldsen, the principal investigator of Aging with Pride, a landmark U.S. longitudinal study looking at LGBTQ+ older adult health and wellbeing.    

A large 2017 U.S. study revealed that lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) older adults experience more chronic health conditions than their heterosexual counterparts. LGB older adults have higher rates of cardiovascular disease and arthritis, among other conditions. Meanwhile, globally, trans people have a higher prevalence of chronic diseases.  

Isolation and loneliness 

It’s a vicious cycle. LGBTQ+ people are more likely to experience chronic illness, which can be complicated by unequal treatment in healthcare settings. As our health issues increase, we become more likely to experience social isolation which, again, has implications on our physical and mental health.  

In the UK, 70% of young Disabled people report feeling chronically lonely. And studies from five countries show LGBTQ+ people are more likely to experience loneliness than their straight or cisgender peers. 

Neurodiversity, gender diversity 

Meanwhile, research has confirmed an overlap between autism and gender diversity. My friend Emily Simmons is a queer, disabled, neurodivergent curator. She has a theory:   

“Neurodivergent people have a resistance to the norms and a tendency to question things. So you're generally more open to alternatives to what you're told. And so you're also more likely to question your sexuality or gender.”   

Meanwhile, Jamie Hale, a queer/ crip multidisciplinary creative practitioner, told me how the medicalisation of the trans experience is double-edged:   

“The pathologisation of transness risks leading people towards a pathologisation of other parts of their identity, but it also creates community in which that pathologisation can be transformed into a positive self-identity, and a route to understanding oneself individually and emotionally more clearly."   

It’s a beautiful paradox. Queer and Disabled people can’t adhere to normative scripts, but in this we are somehow liberated.  

The paradoxical freedom of being Disabled 

When I started spending time in disability spaces, I often heard people joke that in those spaces, “Everyone’s gay”. Certainly, my Disabled friends and acquaintances seem more likely to explore non-heteronormative sex and relationships. Could there be a paradoxical freedom in being Disabled?   

I asked my friend Anna Landre, a queer Disabled researcher, why she suspects there's so much overlap between the two communities:  

“I wonder if once you’re “out” about having one marginalised identity, the cost of adopting another is less, because you’re already somewhat excluded from mainstream society. And once you’re in a marginalised space, whether it’s a queer space or a Disabled space, you’re more likely to find out about the other and realise you are part of it.”  

Scapegoating and backlash 

There is joy and freedom in being LGBTQ+ and Disabled, but the current political climate is threatening our basic rights. Across the world, queer, trans and Disabled people have become targets in a far-right agenda.  

Since Trump’s re-election, the U.S. government has launched an attack on DEI, which is enabling hate speech and rippling across the world.  Meanwhile, here in the UK, cuts to disability benefits loom over us, while the recent Supreme Court ruling on biological sex erodes trans people’s basic rights.  

There is a greater need than ever to organise, to show up for each other and to protest. But too often, access barriers still prevent LGBTQ+ Disabled people from meaningfully participating in community life. 

The road ahead 

Recently I’ve noticed that LGBTQ+ events and venues are starting to take accessibility more seriously. Queer spaces which serve predominantly women and trans people are often fairly DIY or grassroots, but I have often been impressed at how much they strive for accessibility – I suppose there is an innate understanding of intersectionality among people of marginalised genders. In contrast, more “mainstream” queer spaces aimed at cis gay male spaces seem to lag behind when it comes to disability inclusion. 

But there is also a need for the disability movement to pay more attention to its LGBTQ+ members – particularly given that so many disabled people are queer. I’d like to see more complex, nuanced discussions about intersectionality within the disability movement.  

There is so much wisdom and insight to be found in the voices of queer Disabled people, and those who are women, trans or people of colour have especially been silenced through history. My hope is that by hearing more of our stories, others will be moved and motivated to fight for this brilliant, resilient and often overlooked community. 

Learn more about LGBTQ+ Disabled identity 

If you want to learn more about LGBTQ+ Disabled identity, here are some resources to get started: 

Watch

  • Why are so many disabled people gay?, a YouTube video Jessica Kellgren-Fozard exploring the intersection between queerness and disability 
  • Growing up Gay, a BBC documentary exploring mental health issues within the LGBTQ+ community, presented by Olly Alexander 
  • Special, a Netflix comedy series about a gay man with cerebral palsy 
  • We Might Regret This, a BBC comedy by Kyla Harris about a queer tetraplegic artist who moves to London to be with her new partner 

Listen

Read

Articles

Books

Support

  • ParaPride, an empowerment charity that advocates for LGBTQ+ people and their allies 
  • Deaf Rainbow UK, a hub for information and resources for LGBTQ+ Deaf people 
  • MindOut, a mental health service for LGBTQ+ people