There is so much to unpack when it comes to talking about chronic illness and sexuality – mostly because we don’t talk about it.
As a person with invisible illnesses, I would say that I don’t have it as hard as people with visible physical or intellectual disabilities as there is a tendency to totally infantilise or even fetishise them. So this isn’t about that – I can fake being well to the point that I’m not treated “differently” purely because of how I’m perceived.
In saying that, being sicker than most my whole life, and now with several chronic illnesses, I think I can confidently say that the medicalisation of my body has taken some of my sexuality. But I want it back!