At the age of 26, Xavier Torres Correa was made a quadriplegic as he attempted to shield his young nephews from the murderous rage of their father, his brother in law. His sacrifice was in vain, though. His sister’s husband killed both boys before taking his own life. That was in 1990. Xavier left Ecuador and spent two years in Cuba, where he regained use of his hands.

In January, I asked Stella Young, editor of Ramp Up, to define disability. I was facing drastic surgery, which would result in me wearing a stoma bag for at least three months. I wasn’t sure if wearing a stoma bag would make me a person with a disability.

It is 2004, going on to 2005. I’m thinking about ‘identity’, and thinking about the person who in 2000 wrote: To me, sexuality has been so important for my journey to enlightenment. That’s not to assume that enlightenment is an end thing, it’s a continual process. It’s a continual reassertion of the self, or reawakening […]