Identifying as young, disabled and bisexual within evangelical Christianity: Abigail's story

Historically, society has desexualised disabled people and has actively restricted their access to sex and relationship information, particularly in terms of LGBT+identities. Research has further suggested that when such information is presented, it is often heteronormative and exclusionary. There has been little research exploring young disabled LGBT+ experiences, and the voices of this population are not being heard. Research exploring the lives and identities of young disabled bisexual individuals with religious belief is even more limited. This chapter focuses upon the experiences of Abigail, a disabled 18-year-old bisexual transgender woman who was brought up in an Evangelical Christian Church in the UK. We suggest that although the Church accepted her disability, her gender transition and bisexuality were seen as being out of line with the Church's teachings, resulting in the priest and congregation working to physically expel or exorcise her sexuality through prayer. The chapter explores how Abigail negotiated her identity against such a backdrop and how she continued to live as what she called her 'authentic self'. Her story shows an individualisation of faith, rooted in traditional Christian practices and traditions. Abigail received little support and faced discrimination and misunderstanding in relation to both her disability and sexuality