Resources for Students
Sexuality, Disability, and the Power to Disrupt: Transforming Intimacy and Access
February 13-14, 2026
Held via Zoom
Call for Abstracts
We invite scholars, activists, artists, community members, and practitioners to submit proposals for a two-day virtual conference focused on the rich, complex, and often marginalized intersection of disability and sexuality. This event seeks to center disabled voices, challenge assumptions, and open space for conversations about love, desire, pleasure, and intimacy.
The conference aims to "crip" - or transform - dominant sexual narratives and reimagine what desire, love, and connection can look like through lived experiences of disabled people.
We strongly encourage submissions from disabled presenters and those from underrepresented communities, including BIPOC, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ+ folks, and neurodivergent people.
Topics may include (but are not limited to):
- Disabled 2SLGBTQ+ sexualities
- Access intimacy and care relationships
- Online dating, hookup culture, and digital sexual fields
- BDSM and kink as sites of access, power, and transformation
- Sex education and reproductive justice
- Cultural and media representations
- Pleasure activism and erotic justice
- Asexuality, aromanticism, and other marginalized or non-normative sexual and relational identities
- Intersectionality and interlocking oppressions (e.g., race, class, gender)
- Ethical considerations in research on sexuality and disability
Submission Deadline: October 15, 2025
Notification of Acceptance: November 15, 2025
Our sponsors:
University of Calgary, Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Community Health Sciences
The University of Winnipeg, Disability Studies Program
Centre for Sexuality; University of Calgary, O'Brien Institute for Public Health, Health Equity Hub; SGWH* research hub; Disability and Sexuality Lab
Our partners:
Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies Student Association (CRDSSA)
Visit the conference website or download the call for papers
Email: disabilitysexualityconference@gmail.com
X: @DisSex_Lab
The Making a Life, Making a Living Conference is a four-day gathering that blends ceremony, scholarship, community wisdom, and celebration. Taking place November 12–15, 2025 in Edmonton, Alberta, the event brings together voices from universities, communities, collectives, governments, and businesses to explore how we live, work, and thrive together.
The conference opens with a ceremonial land-based visit at kihcihkaw askî – Sacred Land, guided by Lewis Cardinal, grounding participants in Indigenous teachings and connections to place. From there, attendees will flow into receptions, keynotes, panels, and performances across the University of Alberta and The Matrix Hotel, with highlights including:
- Opening ceremony with Elder Richard Jenkins
- Keynotes from thought leaders Rafaël Provost, Paulete Poitras, Ivan Coyote, Shelly Ann Skinner & Shalini Sinha
- Thematic streams on research, community-led initiatives, and public sector/business engagement
- Evening cultural programming, including drag and trivia at Evolution Wonderlounge and a closing gala with dinner, dancing, and live music
Anchored by live performances from artists including Evan Westfal and Emmet Michael, the conference is both intellectually rigorous and joyfully connective—a space where ceremony meets scholarship, where lived experience and research intertwine, and where community thrives.
Join us in Edmonton for four unforgettable days of critical conversations, cultural celebration, and collective imagination!
Check back for opportunities!
The Centre for Comparative Literature at the University of Toronto is holding an open house on Monday, October 20 @ 3:00 pm EDT (2:00pm CDT) for prospective students. They are a graduate Centre that offers programs at the M.A. and Ph.D level. They would love to answer any questions students may have and provide further information about studying at the Centre.
The Open House is a hybrid event with the option of zoom attendance. It is to take place in the seminar room of the Centre located on the 3rd Floor, 93 Charles Street West (Entrance to the Centre is at the back of the Isabel Bader Theatre). To register for the event, please go to https://forms.office.com/r/3rpJkk0K80. It would be great if you can submit your response by Oct 10, 2025. If you plan to join via zoom, once you have registered, you'll receive the zoom link and the passcode for the event.
Download the brochure for more information about the event
The University of Western Ontario (Western University) graduate program in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies offers competitive funding, financial support for conferences, opportunities for professional development, a vibrant intellectual culture with visiting speakers and an annual department conference, and collaborative programs in Transitional Justice and Post-Conflict Reconstruction and in Migration and Ethnic Relations.
For more information about Western University's graduate program in Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies and how to apply, please go to: https://uwo.ca/gsws/graduate/index.html
The University of Winnipeg is committed to being an inclusive and welcoming space for all 2SLGBTQ+ students, staff, faculty, and community members. We are committed to gender inclusivity, countering homophobia and transphobia, decolonizing gender and sexuality, and building community by, with, and for UWinnipeg members with diverse gender identities, gender expressions, and sexualities.
Access information here about opportunities to connect, resources, services, and learning opportunities for 2SLGBTQ+ faculty, staff, and students, and their allies.
This resource guide was developed specifically for trans and gender diverse students at The University of Winnipeg. It provides information and resources for navigating aspects of UWinnipeg’s systems and campuses, as well as links to services and supports outside of UWinnipeg that are relevant for trans and gender diverse students. This guide may also serve as a resource for those supporting trans and gender diverse students.
This guide will continue to be updated to reflect accurate information on our programs, facilities, systems, and services and how they help to meet the needs and priorities of trans and gender diverse students.
The Sexual Violence Response Team is a small group of senior staff who coordinate accommodations and resources for students who have experienced sexual violence. They can be reached at 204-230-6660 (call or text) or at svrt@uwinnipeg.ca
Available during University business hours (Monday to Friday 8:30am-5:00pm).
Learn more about the Sexual Violence Response Team and the supports available to the UW community
The Canadian Women's Foundation is Canada’s public foundation for gender justice and equality. They advance this by growing support for grassroots feminist action, partnering with communities and organizations to improve conditions, and building diverse leadership and knowledge for sustainable change.
Women's Health Clinic (WHC) an inclusive, feminist community health clinic. They offer client-centred support through services and education.
Herizons is a quarterly magazine dedicated to feminist social commentary. Herizons publishes on art, culture, and legal/political/community affairs. With a focus on anti-oppression, topics are related to gender, race, sexuality, ability, and other identity markers that intersect and shape our lived experiences. Each issue includes provocative interviews with artists, authors, and activists. It also includes timely, feminist-informed essays, news, and reviews. Herizons prioritizes writers based in Canada. It is published in Winnipeg (Treaty 1 Territory) and distributed across the country. Submissions are open year round.