“The Biggest Elephant in the Room Is Our Relationship”: Experiences of Sex and Intimate Relationships for Young Women with Life-Shortening Conditions

This article explores the experiences of sex and intimate relationships for disabled women with life-shortening conditions living in the UK. Informed by an interpretivist framework and using constructivist Grounded Theory Method, it reports on a coproduced interview study of 17 women ages 22–40. Three key categories were identified highlighting disabled women’s diverse experiences of sex, intimacy, and relationships: priorities, pressure, and heteronormativity; disability, illness, and care; and (re)conceptualizing intimacy. The findings illustrate how ableist, gendered, and heteronormative expectations frame women’s experiences. These nuanced accounts also unsettle dominant narratives of resistance, creating greater scope to understand disabled women’s intimate lives.