Drew Gurza In Bed with Eva



Drew Gurza is an award-winning Disability Awareness Consultant whose written work has been featured on BBC, CBC, Daily Xtra, Gay Times UK, Huffington Post, The Advocate, Everyday Feminism, Mashable, Out.com, and several anthologies. He was the subject of an award-winning National Film Board of Canada Documentary “Picture This”. Drew has guested on a number of podcasts including Dan Savage’s Savage Love and Cameron Esposito’s Queery. He has spoken all over the world on sex, disability, and what it means to be a Queer Cripple.

He is also the host of Disability After Dark: The Podcast Shining a Bright Light on Disability Stories which was nominated for a Canadian Podcast Award, a Queerty Award and was chosen as an Honoree at the 2020 Webby Awards. The show is available on all platforms. Drew is also the creator of the viral hashtag #DisabledPeopleAreHot. 

Pronouns: He/They


 Cripping Up Sex: In this episode, we have the awesome Drew Gurza! Tell us your name, pronouns, and a bit about what you do.

 

Drew Gurza: Hello! My name is Drew Gurza, my pronouns are he/they. I am disabled and a wheelchair user. I am the Co-Founder and Chief Disability Officer at Handi and a Disability Awareness Consultant.

 

Cripping Up Sex: Yay! Another Sex and Disability educator! How did you get started with this work?

 

Drew Gurza: I got started about 9 years ago. I had finished my MA of Legal Studies and was looking for work, but no one would hire me. So, I made a business card and started talking about my lived experiences of queerness and disability.

 

Cripping Up Sex: That's so cool! Talk to me more about Disability after Dark; What brought you to start this podcast?

 

Drew Gurza: Well, I had been blogging and typing for some time, and I realized at that time, there were no podcasts specifically dedicated to sex and disability. So I made one.

 

Cripping Up Sex: That's awesome and a lot like how I got started, too! There were no resources about sex and disability, so I created them! What has the response been to your podcast?

 

Drew Gurza: Well, I have changed the format over 220 episodes to expand into the disability experience as a whole, but with over 300K downloads, I would say the response is good. I get e-mails from people all the time letting me know its impact

 

Cripping Up Sex: That's awesome! You are also a disability consultant, what has been your favorite group or organization that you have consulted for?

 

Drew Gurza: I'll basically talk to anyone who will listen. I did a video for kids about disability a few years ago. I adored that because I get to teach them about ableism from a very young age, and instill that knowledge in them.

 

Cripping Up Sex: Awww that's so cool. Kids are also one of my favorite groups to talk to because their minds are so open. Recently you launched That’s Handi, which is a line of sex toys for people with disabilities. That’s amazing. Can you give us a sneak preview of what we can expect from the Handi toys?

 

Drew Gurza: Yup! We are working on creating the first line of accessible sex toys for disabled people. It was the brainchild of my sister Heather. We have just released a book, The Handi Book of Love, Lust, and Disability that shares sex and disability stories. Eva is a contributor! Yay! Our first toy will be called "The Joystick" and a preview is available at our blog www.thatshandi.co

 

Cripping Up Sex: This is so needed! Accessible sex toys made by and for people with disabilities are hard to find! That was so fun, sharing my voice for your book! I am curious if you already have reached out to some sex toy shops to distribute your toys and if so, what were their responses like?

 

Drew Gurza: Currently we just inked a partnership with LoveHoney that we are so excited about!

 

Cripping Up Sex: Cool! And you mentioned you just released a book through Handi called “The Handi Book of Love, Lust, and Disability”. Tell me more about that. I know what I wrote, but tell me more about the rest of the book.

 

Drew Gurza: Sure! The book asks 50 contributors from all over the world about how disability impacts their sex and we ask them really key questions about their best/worst sex, questions that many disabled people have never been asked before. This book is different than any book on sex and disability I have seen, and I am immensely proud of that fact. It can be purchased at www.thatshandi.co and all proceeds go into the creation of The Joystick.

 

Cripping Up Sex: Amazing! Where would you like to see society’s attitudes towards sex and disability go in the future?

 

Drew Gurza: I'd like them to see us as sexual beings. Let's start there.

 

Cripping Up Sex: Agreed! Where would you like to see Disability after Dark and your other work go in the future?

 

Drew Gurza: Well, I am excited about Handi growing. I'm not concerned about fame. I just wanna make a difference and keep doing what I do.

 

Cripping Up Sex: Such good goals! This was so awesome. Thanks, Drew for coming on In Bed With Eva! Is there anything else you would like our readers to know?

 

Drew Gurza: Thanks for having me. They can follow me on socials @DrewGurza and @thatshandi for Handi. Also, they should download Disability After Dark and hire me for zoom friendly speaking gigs.



andrew@andrewgurza.com

http://www.DrewGurza.com

@DrewGurza

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