Dr. Alan Santinele Martino (he/him) is a tenure-track Assistant Professor (Teaching) in the Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies program in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary. His main research interests are in critical disability studies, gender and sexualities; feminist and critical disability studies theories; qualitative and community-based research (particularly participatory and inclusive research methodologies). His work has been published in multiple journals, including, for example, Disability Studies Quarterly, Sexuality and Disability, and Culture, Health and Sexuality, as well as edited volumes focused on disability and/or sexualities studies. He has guest-edited three special issues, and he is currently working on two edited books. He is the lead of the Disability & Sexuality Lab at the University of Calgary.

Disability & Sexuality Lab

Our Mission

We promote social change by co-creating research and resources with communities to tackle silences around disability and sexuality.

For more information, please visit: disabilitysexualitylab.com

Looking for Research Participants

We are currently recruiting research participants for two research projects:

• The Intimate Lives of 2SLGBTQ+ Adults Labeled/with Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities in Alberta, Canada

Looking for 2SLGBTQ+ adults labelled/with developmental and intellectual disabilities in Alberta willing to share their experiences with sex education and intimate relationships. Also looking for parents and siblings of 2SLGBTQ+ adults labelled/with developmental and intellectual disabilities in Alberta.

• Are We Allowed to be Feminists Too: Women Labeled/with Intellectual Disabilities and Their Views on Feminism(s)

Looking for women labelled/with intellectual disabilities in Alberta who are interested in sharing their views about feminism(s).

For more information, please contact Dr. Alan Martino using the Contact section.

Research Projects

While it is normative for non-disabled people to desire and be in intimate relationships, the same expectation often does not apply to people with intellectual disabilities. Due to infantilization and de-sexualization, people with intellectual disabilities are commonly assumed to lack romantic and sexual desires. Also, the intersection of disability and sexuality remains a taboo topic. As a response to these silences, my research program has focused predominantly on the sexualities and intimate citizenship of disabled people.

My research agenda engages with the sociologies of gender and sexualities and critical disability studies, as well as their intersections, to theorize and empirically examine the perspectives, challenges, and triumphs of disabled people concerning sexuality. More importantly, my research makes space for disabled people to share their own experiences with love and intimacy, contributing to emerging the literature that is finally listening to disabled people themselves.

I am currently involved in a variety of research projects, such as:

• The Intimate Lives of 2SLGBTQ+ Adults Labeled/with Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities in Alberta, Canada

• Are We Allowed to be Feminists Too: Women Labeled/with Intellectual Disabilities and Their Views on Feminism(s)

• The Experiences of Adults Labeled/with Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities when Navigating Digital Sexual Fields

• Tackling the Taboo: The Perceptions and Attitudes of Undergraduate Students in Health-Related Fields on the Sexuality of Disabled People

• Opportunities for Digital Sexual Health for Adults Labeled/with Intellectual Disabilities