Disability and the Adult Industry

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File on 4: Disability and the Adult Industry

20/02/2024

BBC Radio 4 - File on 4, Disability and the Adult Industry

Is porn featuring disabled adults exploitative or empowering?

Ellen Macleod and Nastaran Tavakoli-Far investigate whether disabled adults in porn are victims or advocates. Taking a look at consent, safeguarding, sex and disability.

As a young person, Ellen Macleod wasn’t sure whether her disabilities would mean she could never have sex so she turned to the internet. There she found porn featuring disabled adults, but those films threw up dark questions around consent, exploitation and whether disabled people were being made the involuntary subject of a fetish. 

Now Ellen has teamed up with journalist Nastaran Tavakoli Far to investigate whether what she saw online was extreme role play or very real abuse. 

Ellen and Nas speak to disabled adult content creators, as well as safeguarding and legal experts to explore how society protects vulnerable adults, and what many of us get wrong about sex and disability. 

If you have been affected by sexual abuse or violence, details of help and support is available at bbc.co.uk/actionline

Presenters: Ellen Macleod and Nastaran Tavakoli-Far
Producer: Ailsa Rochester
Sound Design: Rob Green
Executive Producer: Jo Meek

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