Crip Love Onscreen

Representations of Love, Sex, and Disability

By: Sarah Rainey-Smithback

Write A Review

Hardcover | 30 January 2026

At a Glance

Hardcover
174 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
22.86 x 15.24 x 1.42

Hardcover

$316.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $79.19 with

Ships in 10 to 15 business days

Crip Love Onscreen: Representations of Love, Sex, and Disability examines how disabled people's sexual lives-including pleasure/sex, love, pregnancy, and sexual violence-are represented in popular film and television. Analyzing a variety of films and TV shows from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, Sarah Rainey-Smithback traces patterns in disability representation that ignore or distort many of the realities of crip sexuality. These patterns of sexual representation tend to uphold compulsory able-bodiedness, heteronormativity, and privacy norms-what Rainey-Smithback terms "neoliberal love values," or standards that celebrate normative forms of sexual desire, bodies, and intimacy practices.

As disability representation increases, though, new possibilities are emerging. Crip Love Onscreen also draws attention to the exceptional through a close reading of screen narratives (such as 50 First Dates, Love and Other Drugs, American Horror Story: Freak Show, and more) that push against neoliberal, heteronormative, and ableist values. Drawing on the work of queer/crip scholars and activists, Rainey-Smithback uncovers glimpses of what Tobin Siebers calls a "sexual culture for disabled people"-a space and way of being that expands sexual access and sexual experience.

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.