Born with a debilitating spinal disability, 53-year- old Frenchman Marcel Nuss, met his first wife, Gaby, in hospital as he battled for his life at the age of 22. Now divorced, he lives with his partner, Marie, and his two children in the leafy suburbs of Strasbourg.
“I often had comments like ‘Oh, he’s a bit ugly’,” Marie reveals in Disability and Sexuality: Exploring the Intimacy Option, a documentary exploring the interplay between disability and sexual liberation.
Yet ableism would not drive a wedge between the two: “If you’re drawn to someone they must be attractive to you, so they cannot be ugly. I was fascinated by his vitality, his desire to move forward, the look in his eyes, his enthusiasms, and his love for life. It’s beautiful, really.”
Marie and Marcel’s relationship is one example of how love can be marred by stigma and ridicule. Kirsty Liddiard at the…
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