Capturing “Crip Desires” in “Crip Ways”: Developing Inclusive Qualitative Methodologies for Sexualities Research

The intersection of disability and sexuality is an exciting area of scholarship that offers fresh perspectives and critical insights into how disabled people navigate desire, intimacy, and pleasure. This emerging field challenges traditional boundaries within the sociology of sexualities, calling into question who is included in this research and how normative assumptions shape discourse and methodology. Yet despite this growing literature, disabled people remain systematically marginalized in gender and sexuality research. Their voices are often excluded due to institutional gatekeeping and ableist stereotypes that infantilize or hypersexualize them. This article argues for inclusive, participatory qualitative methodologies—rooted in “crip” theoretical frameworks—that recognize disabled people as experts in their own lives. By embracing innovative approaches, such as arts-based and diverse communication methods, researchers can create more accessible spaces that allow disabled people to share their experiences on their own terms. Such approaches facilitate knowledge cocreation and foreground the complexity and richness of disabled people’s sexual and relational worlds. Although progress has been made, substantial gaps remain, particularly for those with intersecting marginalized identities. This article highlights the necessity of centering disabled voices in conversations about sexuality, thereby broadening the sociological imagination and fostering a future in which disabled people’s desires, pleasures, and relationships are not only acknowledged but also celebrated.