Asexuality: The Ultimate Orientation?
Asexuality: The Ultimate Orientation?
by Kilian Melloy
EDGE Staff Reporter
Monday Aug 24, 2009
(Source:Wikimedia Commons)
Related Topics: AVEN | sexual orientation | asexuality
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Some heterosexuals indicate a belief that sexual desire is a matter of choice; gays and lesbians beg to differ, insisting that their attraction to others of the same gender is innate.
Even so-called "zoophiles" have made the news recently, with a bid to cast their attraction to animals as a type of sexual orientation.
But there’s one group that looks at all the rest a little more askance than the other groups look at one another: asexuals just don’t see what the big deal is about who has sex with whom, and they don’t feel compelled to take part.
However, not having any interest in sexual intercourse doesn’t mean that asexuals don’t fall in love, engage in romance, and even identify as gay, lesbian, straight, or bi. Indeed, asexuals can enjoy emotional connections that are just as compelling as those that, for others, get tangled up with sex.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported on asexuals as an emerging, and ever-more visible, orientation to themselves in an Aug. 24 article.
The article related the stories of individuals who had a hard time fitting in until they determined that they simply weren’t sexually interested in... well, anyone.
The article noted that asexuals as a group had not come together until the Internet made it possible for individuals of all sorts to connect and realize that they weren’t all alone in the world. But every movement needs a leader, and in this case, it was a teenager named David Jay (now 27) who launched a forum online for other asexuals to meet and chat.
Nine years ago, Jay formed a new group, the article said, called AVEN--the Asexual Visibility and Education Network. Now, Davis and other asexuals may be reaching a tipping point in visibility: Jay has appeared on news shows such as Tucker Carlson’s at MSNBC. As the word of AVEN spreads, and the very concept of asexuality becomes better known, asexuals are finding kinship with members of Jay’s group.
Said Jay, "If I’m able to define asexuality every time I do an appearance, we get 50 to 200 new people coming to us."
What was once viewed as a form of sexual dysfunction may now be on its way to recognition as a bona fide sexual orientation.
The article quoted sex researcher Dr. Lori Brotto of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, who described herself as having been "extremely skeptical" about asexuality.
But AVEN provided Dr. Brotto with a ready-made pool of research subjects. Brotto’a investigation revealed that AVEN members just aren’t that into sex, exactly as they say; moreover, the absence of libido doesn’t worry them.
Noted Brutto, "They’re not bothered by the low levels of arousal. That’s what makes them different from someone with sexual dysfunction, who wants to seek treatment."
What hurts, rather, is a sense of social isolation: a sense that others won’t understand.
The article quoted 48-year-old Cathy Roberts, who spoke about the difficulties of finding a suitable mate.
"For me, they have to be asexual and lesbian."
That’s a tall order even without what Roberts goes on to call "that whole compatibility thing."
For 19-year-old Bridget Rodman, finding AVEN was, perhaps, life-saving: the article spoke of Rodman as feeling "suicidal" over not being able to connect sexually, and of attempting to "mimic the patterns" that an intimate partner would demonstrate, but which did not come to Rodman naturally.
But now Rodman knows she’s not alone--and that she doesn’t have to try to "fix" herself, because she’s not defective, merely different.
"It’s indescribably amazing," the article quoted Rodman as saying.
"I can build my own ideas of what I want to be instead of waiting for this biological lubricant, literal or figurative, to come along."
A Wikipedia article on the subject notes that asexual people are capable of having sex; they simply are not driven to it by innate urges.
The article also references a study that estimates that asexuals only constitute 1% of the population at large, though with the advent of AVEN and increased visibility, it may only be a matter of time before that estimate is challenged.
The article also notes that asexuality is not the same thing as celibacy, in which a sexually interested individual may refrain from sexual activity for religious or other reasons.
"Asexuality" symbol courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.
by Kilian Melloy
EDGE Staff Reporter
Monday Aug 24, 2009
(Source:Wikimedia Commons)
Related Topics: AVEN | sexual orientation | asexuality
Email Print Add to Facebook Share Buzz up!
Some heterosexuals indicate a belief that sexual desire is a matter of choice; gays and lesbians beg to differ, insisting that their attraction to others of the same gender is innate.
Even so-called "zoophiles" have made the news recently, with a bid to cast their attraction to animals as a type of sexual orientation.
But there’s one group that looks at all the rest a little more askance than the other groups look at one another: asexuals just don’t see what the big deal is about who has sex with whom, and they don’t feel compelled to take part.
However, not having any interest in sexual intercourse doesn’t mean that asexuals don’t fall in love, engage in romance, and even identify as gay, lesbian, straight, or bi. Indeed, asexuals can enjoy emotional connections that are just as compelling as those that, for others, get tangled up with sex.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported on asexuals as an emerging, and ever-more visible, orientation to themselves in an Aug. 24 article.
The article related the stories of individuals who had a hard time fitting in until they determined that they simply weren’t sexually interested in... well, anyone.
The article noted that asexuals as a group had not come together until the Internet made it possible for individuals of all sorts to connect and realize that they weren’t all alone in the world. But every movement needs a leader, and in this case, it was a teenager named David Jay (now 27) who launched a forum online for other asexuals to meet and chat.
Nine years ago, Jay formed a new group, the article said, called AVEN--the Asexual Visibility and Education Network. Now, Davis and other asexuals may be reaching a tipping point in visibility: Jay has appeared on news shows such as Tucker Carlson’s at MSNBC. As the word of AVEN spreads, and the very concept of asexuality becomes better known, asexuals are finding kinship with members of Jay’s group.
Said Jay, "If I’m able to define asexuality every time I do an appearance, we get 50 to 200 new people coming to us."
What was once viewed as a form of sexual dysfunction may now be on its way to recognition as a bona fide sexual orientation.
The article quoted sex researcher Dr. Lori Brotto of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, who described herself as having been "extremely skeptical" about asexuality.
But AVEN provided Dr. Brotto with a ready-made pool of research subjects. Brotto’a investigation revealed that AVEN members just aren’t that into sex, exactly as they say; moreover, the absence of libido doesn’t worry them.
Noted Brutto, "They’re not bothered by the low levels of arousal. That’s what makes them different from someone with sexual dysfunction, who wants to seek treatment."
What hurts, rather, is a sense of social isolation: a sense that others won’t understand.
The article quoted 48-year-old Cathy Roberts, who spoke about the difficulties of finding a suitable mate.
"For me, they have to be asexual and lesbian."
That’s a tall order even without what Roberts goes on to call "that whole compatibility thing."
For 19-year-old Bridget Rodman, finding AVEN was, perhaps, life-saving: the article spoke of Rodman as feeling "suicidal" over not being able to connect sexually, and of attempting to "mimic the patterns" that an intimate partner would demonstrate, but which did not come to Rodman naturally.
But now Rodman knows she’s not alone--and that she doesn’t have to try to "fix" herself, because she’s not defective, merely different.
"It’s indescribably amazing," the article quoted Rodman as saying.
"I can build my own ideas of what I want to be instead of waiting for this biological lubricant, literal or figurative, to come along."
A Wikipedia article on the subject notes that asexual people are capable of having sex; they simply are not driven to it by innate urges.
The article also references a study that estimates that asexuals only constitute 1% of the population at large, though with the advent of AVEN and increased visibility, it may only be a matter of time before that estimate is challenged.
The article also notes that asexuality is not the same thing as celibacy, in which a sexually interested individual may refrain from sexual activity for religious or other reasons.
"Asexuality" symbol courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Kilian Melloy reviews media, conducts interviews, and writes commentary for EDGEBoston, where he also serves as Assistant Arts Editor.
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