Shane Burcaw, who is living with a disability, is addressing a common misconception about his relationship with his wife, Hannah Aylward. The couple tied the knot in 2020 after dating for several years. As Shane is disabled and uses a wheelchair due to a severe muscle-wasting disease, and Hannah is not, they often receive various comments about their partnership.
They have a YouTube page and a podcast where they openly discuss their relationship and confront the assumptions made about them. In a recent video, they tackled 19 misconceptions, focusing on one particularly frustrating belief: that they do not have a sexual relationship.
Shane began by expressing his thoughts: “This one is getting old, it has been old for years.
“If you take the time to look at our and many other inter-abled couples that have their lives online or read any freaking book by a disabled person, or do the easiest Google search you’ll know very quickly that disabled people can indeed have sexual relationships.
“I don’t really know what else to say.
“If you just don’t want to believe it, fine, but then you are willingly sticking your head in the sand.”
In an earlier video, the couple pointed out that while some disabilities may impact sexual function, this is not the norm for the majority of disabled individuals.
Hannah also spoke about the unusual backlash she faces online due to her relationship with Shane. She has been subjected to trolling regarding their sexual life and has even been accused of being ‘a pedophile’.
She said: “Like, because [Shane’s] smaller, like, ‘there’s no way – that should be illegal’.
“And I often see comments that are like, ‘if the roles, the genders were reversed, this would be illegal’, meaning a disabled woman and a non-disabled man, that would be illegal.
“It’s just wild to me that people think that disabled people can’t consent to intimacy and I think that kind of policing happens a lot more with mental disabilities but it also does happen with physical disabilities.”
Shane noted that many people view him and others with disabilities as asexual and unable to find partners. He is determined to challenge this stereotype and dismiss the trolls who claim they are lying about having a fulfilling and happy sexual life.