Asta Philpot
Asta Anthony Philpot is an American man living in Leeds, who was the protagonist of a 2007 BBC One documentary film titled For one night only. He is affected with arthrogryposis, which impairs, since his birth, his physical ability of movement. He advocates the right to an active sexual life for people with disabilities, even if this means paying for sex.
After hearing of a legal brothel with access for wheelchair during a vacation in Spain in 2006, he visited the place and lost his virginity. He found this experience very interesting and decided, therefore, to organize a trip with other people sharing his extreme difficulties in finding a romantic or sexual relationship as a consequence of physical disabilities, advertising his intentions through dedicated Internet forums.
Although finding initial resistance to the idea, two other young men, affected with different medical conditions accepted to join the vacation with the purpose to visit the Spanish night club and have the opportunity of a sexual encounter. A BBC documentary team headed by Producer/Director Jane Beckwith filmed it: the documentary opened some controversies about the opportunity to legalize prostitution in UK, as a means of giving sexual experiences to physically challenged people, who often lack enough social opportunities to build a love relationship, although having a normal social potentiality and normal feelings and sexual needs.
His views contributed to the acclaimed Belgian 2011 film "Come as You Are", written by Mariano Vanhoof and directed by Geoffrey Enthoven.
