Dating behaviors of women with physical disabilities

According to societal stereotypes,(3) women with physical disabilities are asexual and therefore do not dare. Another stereotype, and a fear of many w omen with disabilities, is that no one will want to date them because they have a disability. Consequently, little is known about their dating behavio rs, Qualitative research methods were used to code and analyze 31 in-depth interviews of women with a variety of disabling conditions. Themes emerging from their stories indicated that the timing of onset of disability, and t he response to disability of family, friends, and society in general, were critical in establishing patterns of dating behavior for women with physica l disabilities.