The Sighted Man's Barriers

 

Now, here is a topic that most blind women often shy away from; the sighted man's barriers.  This is a topic that can be viewed as somewhat embarrassing but for the books, I am going to jump in with both feet and give you my humble opinion. 

 

When I had much more vision, it was much easier to meet and date sighted men but many of them were still quite hesitant when it came to having a meaningful relationship with a blind woman.  It was always often safe for them to be friends but taking the next step for many of them was always quite a challenge.  In other words, they found it comfortable and easy to enjoy a platonic friendship but when it came to the serious stuff, then this is where you could say that it was very easy to separate the men from the boys. 

 

Now that my vision has been reduced to just light perception, I have deliberately chosen not to venture in to the world of sighted men because I know how difficult it would be for me to convince them that despite my lack of vision, I am still able to function independently.  Over the years, several other blind women have expressed similar opinions to me and there is not very much that we can really do about this. 

 

So what you may ask do most sighted men fear when dating a blind woman?  Based on my own experiences plus those of others, here are just a few fears:  Sighted men seem to have difficulty understanding that despite our lack of vision, we are very able and capable of functioning as mothers, housewives, and as social and sexual partners.  The latter seems to be the most difficult barrier for them to overcome. 

 

In general, they seem to have difficulty comprehending that blind women, despite their lack of sight, are normal in every other way and are able to overcome their lack of sight by compensating in many other ways.  I personally know of some blind women who are happily married to sighted men and others who are involved in meaningful relationships.  I am not saying that sighted men need not worry when dating blind women; no, but what I am saying is this:  Sighted men need to give us an opportunity to show them how we can become meaningful partners to them. 

 

I'm Donna J. Jodhan your friendly accessibility advocate wishing you a terrific day and urging you to go out there and spread my message.