The Business of Getting it Right
Feb 16, 2021
4 minutes
by Ryan J. Haddad
photography
Lawrence E. Moten III
![out295_film_076](https://article-imgs.scribdassets.com/8qdjs7qt8g8lhy36/images/fileWKXFJZ04.jpg)
“When we talk about Hollywood’s disability problem, it’s not just about representation…”
How many famous sex scenes have you watched on stage or screen featuring a character with a disability? For the longest time I couldn’t think of any, at least none that were erotic instead of inspirational, or authentically cast with a disabled actor. That is, until Netflix premiered Special, written by and starring Out’s cover star Ryan O’Connell (page 62).
Ryan and I have the same name. We are both brunettes who wear glasses, we are both gay, and we both have cerebral palsy. In, Ryan gives his character a real, honest, truthful, clumsy, steamy sex scene. A gay, disabled Hollywood sex scene. I was in tears watching it because, well, I had never seen that before.
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