Thanks to a new online mini-documentary, we can glimpse inside the life and work of Eva Sweeney, a sex and disability educator with more than 15 years experience.

The short film “Paving My Own Way – Episode One” profiles Sweeney, a woman in her late 30s with cerebral palsy, and her accessible sex education services. It was created by Chelsea Javier and Paul Sprangers of American Lagomorph.

After failing to find adequate sexuality resources as a queer teenager, Sweeney decided to make them herself. Today she provides online classes and private consults through her business Cripping Up Sex With Eva. Her website features her various course offerings.

With the help of Barbies, she teaches different sex positions that can work for people with disabilities. She also reviews sex toys with a focus on their accessibility on her blog Cripping Up Reviews.

Being non-verbal, Sweeny communicates with the filmmakers with the help of an aide. Sweeney points to words and letter on a board with a laser-pointer light attached to her hat, and her aide reads them out.

Throughout the film, we get to know Sweeney as a funny, smart, and confident person who isn’t bogged down by societal expectations surrounding women and sexuality.

When asked whether she feels pressure to live up to certain ideals of womanhood, Sweeney shares pearls of wisdom:

I am lucky becasue from the get-go I don’t conform, so I did not have that pressure to be what everyone else expect’s of a woman. So trust yourself. I know it is difficult to ignore society’s ridiculous standards, but think about what would make you happy.

View the documentary embedded above or on Vimeo to learn more about Sweeney. You can also help support her sex and disability educational services by contributing to her Patreon page.

Image source: American Lagomorph