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[[Berkas:Asexual Pride Flag.svg|jmpl|Bendera Simbol Aseksual]]
Individu '''aseksual''' adalah individu yang sedikit atau tidak sama sekali memiliki ketertarikan terhadap aktivitas [[Persetubuhan|seksual]]. Menurut definisi [[Bogaert]] (2004), '''aseksualitas''' merupakan sangat rendahnya ketertarikan seksual baik pada pria maupun wanita.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bogaert|first=Anthony F.|date=2004-08-01|title=Asexuality: Prevalence and associated factors in a national probability sample|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00224490409552235|journal=The Journal of Sex Research|volume=41|issue=3|pages=279–287|doi=10.1080/00224490409552235|issn=0022-4499|pmid=15497056}}</ref>
 
{{Short description|Lack of sexual attraction to others}}
Berdasarkan model aseksual yang dibentuk oleh [[Storms M.D|Storms]] (1980) membagi [[Heteroseksualitas|heteroseksual]] sebagai individu yang memiliki ketertarikan seksual yang tinggi terhadap lawan jenis kelamin, [[Homoseksualitas|homoseksual]] sebagai individu yang memiliki ketertarikan seksual yang tinggi terhadap jenis kelamin yang sama, [[Biseksualitas|biseksual]] sebagai individu yang memiliki ketertarikan seksual yang tinggi pada kedua jenis kelamin dan aseksual sebagai individu yang tidak atau sangat rendah ketertarikan seksual terhadap kedua jenis kelamin.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Storms|first=Michael D.|title=Theories of sexual orientation.|url=http://content.apa.org/journals/psp/38/5/783|journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|language=en|volume=38|issue=5|pages=783–792|doi=10.1037/0022-3514.38.5.783}}</ref>
{{About|humans who lack sexual attraction or interest in sexual activity|the lack of romantic attraction|Aromanticism|the lack of a gender|Agender|other uses|Asexual (disambiguation){{!}}Asexual}}
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'''Asexuality''' is the lack<!-- NOTE: Reliable sources often state "lack," and the term is broader than "absence of" or "no" sexual attraction. See the "Definition, identity and relationships" section below. Furthermore, "absent" is already included in this very first sentence.--> of [[sexual attraction]] to others, or low or absent interest in or [[Sexual desire|desire]] for [[Human sexual activity|sexual activity]].<ref name="Crooks">{{cite book|author1=Robert L. Crooks |author2=Karla Baur|title=Our Sexuality|isbn=978-1305887428|publisher=[[Cengage Learning]]|year=2016|page=300|access-date=January 4, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=isIaCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT300}}</ref><ref name="Helm">{{cite book|author=Katherine M. Helm|title=Hooking Up: The Psychology of Sex and Dating|isbn=978-1610699518|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|year=2015|page=32|access-date=January 4, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O3K9CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA32|archive-date=November 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122195144/https://books.google.com/books?id=O3K9CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA32|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Kelly">{{cite book|last = Kelly| first = Gary F. |year = 2004|title = Sexuality Today: The Human Perspective |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780072420050 |url-access=registration |edition=7th |publisher = [[McGraw-Hill]] |isbn= 978-0-07-255835-7|page = [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780072420050/page/400/mode/2up 401] (sidebar) |chapter = Chapter 12 |quote = Asexuality is a condition characterized by a low interest in sex.}}</ref> It may be considered a [[sexual orientation]] or the lack thereof.<ref name="Sex and society">{{cite book|editor=Marshall Cavendish|title=Sex and Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aVDZchwkIMEC&pg=PA82|access-date=July 27, 2013|volume=2|year=2010|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0-7614-7906-2|pages=82–83|contribution=Asexuality|archive-date=October 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016040824/https://books.google.com/books?id=aVDZchwkIMEC&pg=PA82|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Bogaert 2015">{{cite journal|vauthors=Bogaert, AF|s2cid= 23720993 |title= Asexuality: What It Is and Why It Matters |journal=[[The Journal of Sex Research]]|volume= 52|date=April 2015 |pmid=25897566|doi=10.1080/00224499.2015.1015713|issue=4|pages=362–379}}</ref> It may also be categorized [[umbrella term|more widely]], to include a broad spectrum of [[Gray asexuality|asexual sub-identities]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Scherrer|first=Kristin|title=Coming to an Asexual Identity: Negotiating Identity, Negotiating Desire|journal=Sexualities|volume=11|issue=5|pages=621–641|doi=10.1177/1363460708094269|pmid=20593009|pmc=2893352|year=2008}}</ref>
== Referensi ==
<references />
{{seks-stub}}
 
Asexuality is distinct from [[sexual abstinence|abstention from sexual activity]] and from [[celibacy]],<ref name="Halter">{{cite book|author=Margaret Jordan Halter|author2=Elizabeth M. Varcarolis|title=Varcarolis' Foundations of Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing|isbn=978-1-4557-5358-1|publisher=[[Elsevier Health Sciences]]|year=2013|page=382|access-date=May 7, 2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mZ15AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA382|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726100659/https://books.google.com/books?id=mZ15AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA382|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="DePaulo">{{cite magazine|first=Bella|last=DePaulo|title=ASEXUALS: Who Are They and Why Are They Important?|magazine=[[Psychology Today]]|date=September 26, 2011|access-date=December 13, 2011|url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/living-single/200912/asexuals-who-are-they-and-why-are-they-important|archive-date=October 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001112720/https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/living-single/200912/asexuals-who-are-they-and-why-are-they-important|url-status=live}}</ref> which are behavioral and generally motivated by factors such as an individual's personal, social, or religious beliefs.<ref>''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (3d ed. 1992), entries for ''celibacy'' and thence ''abstinence''.</ref> Sexual orientation, unlike sexual behavior, is believed to be "enduring".<ref name="apahelp">{{cite web|title=Sexual orientation, homosexuality and bisexuality|publisher=[[American Psychological Association]]|access-date=March 30, 2013|url=http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation.aspx|archive-date=August 8, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808010101/http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual%2Dorientation.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> Some asexual people engage in sexual activity despite lacking sexual attraction or a [[Libido|desire for sex]], due to a variety of reasons, such as a desire to physically pleasure themselves or romantic partners, or a desire to have children.<ref name="Halter"/><ref name="Prause">{{cite journal|last=Prause |first=Nicole |author2=Cynthia A. Graham |s2cid=12034925 |date=August 2004 |url=https://kinseyinstitute.org/pdf/PrauseGraham-Asexuality.pdf |title=Asexuality: Classification and Characterization |journal=[[Archives of Sexual Behavior]] |volume=36 |pages=341–356 |access-date=April 4, 2022|doi=10.1007/s10508-006-9142-3 |pmid=17345167 |issue=3}}</ref>
[[Kategori:Aseksualitas| ]]
 
[[Kategori:Orientasi seksual]]
Acceptance of asexuality as a sexual orientation and field of [[scientific method|scientific research]] is still relatively new,<ref name="Helm"/><ref name="Prause"/> as a growing body of research from both sociological and psychological perspectives has begun to develop.<ref name="Prause"/> While some researchers assert that asexuality is a sexual orientation, other researchers disagree.<ref name="Sex and society"/><ref name="Bogaert 2015"/> Asexual individuals may represent about one percent of the population.<ref name="Helm"/>
 
Various asexual communities have started to form since [[History of the Internet|the impact of the Internet]] and social media in the mid-1990s. The most prolific and well-known of these communities is the [[#Community|Asexual Visibility and Education Network]], which was founded in 2001 by [[David Jay]].<ref name="Sex and society"/><ref name="Swash">{{Cite news|first=Rosie|last=Swash|title=Among the asexuals|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=February 25, 2012|access-date=February 2, 2013|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/26/among-the-asexuals|archive-date=February 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211010222/http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/26/among-the-asexuals|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
== Definition, identity and relationships ==
{{see also|Romantic orientation}}
Asexuality is sometimes called ''ace'' (a phonetic shortening of "asexual"<ref name=AceSuits />), while the community is sometimes called ''the ace community'', by researchers or asexuals.<ref name="Meg">{{cite book|author=Meg Barker|title=Rewriting the Rules: An Integrative Guide to Love, Sex and Relationships|isbn=978-0415517621|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2012|page=69|access-date=February 8, 2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dp8_R8A2PIYC&pg=PA69|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726103159/https://books.google.com/books?id=Dp8_R8A2PIYC&pg=PA69|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Tarrant">{{cite book|author=Shira Tarrant|title=Gender, Sex, and Politics: In the Streets and Between the Sheets in the 21st Century|isbn=978-1317814764|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2015|pages=254–256|access-date=February 8, 2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jqjwCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA256|archive-date=May 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524061206/https://books.google.com/books?id=jqjwCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA256|url-status=live}}</ref> Because there is significant variation among people who identify as asexual, asexuality can encompass broad definitions.<ref name="Cerankowski and Milks">{{cite book|author=Karli June Cerankowski|author2=Megan Milks|title=Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives|isbn=978-1-134-69253-8|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2014|pages=89–93|access-date=July 3, 2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zLgTAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA89|archive-date=July 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140716130847/http://books.google.com/books?id=zLgTAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA89|url-status=live}}</ref> Researchers generally define asexuality as the lack of sexual attraction or the lack of sexual interest,<ref name="Sex and society"/><ref name="Prause"/><ref name= Bogaert2006>{{cite journal | last1 = Bogaert | first1 = Anthony F. | s2cid = 143968129 | year = 2006 | title = Toward a conceptual understanding of asexuality | url = http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18172400 | journal = [[Review of General Psychology]] | volume = 10 | issue = 3 | pages = 241–250 | doi = 10.1037/1089-2680.10.3.241 | access-date = August 31, 2007 | archive-date = January 14, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120114191419/http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18172400 | url-status = dead }}</ref> but their definitions vary; they may use the term "to refer to individuals with low or absent sexual desire or attractions, low or absent sexual behaviors, exclusively romantic non-sexual partnerships, or a combination of both absent sexual desires and behaviors".<ref name="Prause"/><ref name="Fischer">{{cite book|author1=Nancy L. Fischer|author2=Steven Seidman|title=Introducing the New Sexuality Studies|isbn=978-1317449188|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2016|page=183|access-date=January 4, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SEmTDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA183|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726102104/https://books.google.com/books?id=SEmTDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA183|url-status=live}}</ref> Self-identification as asexual may also be a determining factor.<ref name="Fischer"/>
 
The Asexual Visibility and Education Network defines an asexual as "someone who does not experience sexual attraction" and stated, {{nowrap|"[a]nother}} small minority will think of themselves as asexual for a brief period of time while exploring and questioning their own sexuality" and that "[t]here is no litmus test to determine if someone is asexual. Asexuality is like any other identity&nbsp;– at its core, it's just a word that people use to help figure themselves out. If at any point someone finds the word asexual useful to describe themselves, we encourage them to use it for as long as it makes sense to do so."<ref name=Overview>{{cite web|title=Overview|url=http://www.asexuality.org/home/?q=overview.html|access-date=January 6, 2016|year=2008|publisher=The Asexual Visibility and Education Network|archive-date=November 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119005301/http://www.asexuality.org/home/?q=overview.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
Asexual people, though lacking sexual attraction to any gender, might engage in purely [[Romance (love)|romantic]] relationships, while others might not.<ref name="Sex and society"/><ref name="Richards and Barker">{{cite book|author=Christina Richards|author2=Meg Barker|title=Sexuality and Gender for Mental Health Professionals: A Practical Guide|isbn=978-1-4462-9313-3|publisher=[[Sage Publications|SAGE]]|year=2013|pages=124–127|access-date=July 3, 2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uSiXAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT124|archive-date=July 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728200354/http://books.google.com/books?id=uSiXAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT124|url-status=live}}</ref> There are asexual-identified individuals who report that they feel sexual attraction but not the inclination to act on it because they have no true desire or need to engage in sexual or non-sexual activity (cuddling, hand-holding, etc.), while other asexuals engage in cuddling or other non-sexual physical activity.<ref name="Halter"/><ref name="DePaulo"/><ref name="Prause"/><ref name="Cerankowski and Milks"/> Some asexuals participate in sexual activity out of curiosity.<ref name="Prause"/> Some may [[Masturbation|masturbate]] as a solitary form of release, while others do not feel a need to do so.<ref name="Cerankowski and Milks"/><ref name="New Scientist">{{cite web |author=Westphal, Sylvia Pagan |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6533 |title=Feature: Glad to be asexual|work=[[New Scientist]] |access-date=11 November 2007|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071219003148/http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6533| archive-date= December 19, 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="Bridgeman">{{cite news|first=Shelley|last=Bridgeman|title=No sex please, we're asexual|date=5 August 2007|work=[[The New Zealand Herald]]|access-date=September 16, 2011|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10455823&pnum=0|archive-date=November 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103013612/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10455823&pnum=0|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
With regard to sexual activity in particular, the need or desire for masturbation is commonly referred to as ''[[libido|sex drive]]'' by asexuals and they disassociate it from sexual attraction and being sexual; asexuals who masturbate generally consider it to be a normal product of the human body and not a sign of latent sexuality, and may not even find it pleasurable.<ref name="Prause"/><ref>{{Cite journal|title = Sexual fantasy and masturbation among asexual individuals|journal = The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality|pages = 89–95|volume = 23|issue = 2|doi = 10.3138/cjhs.2409|first1 = Morag A.|last1 = Yule|first2 = Lori A.|last2 = Brotto|first3 = Boris B.|last3 = Gorzalka|s2cid = 4091448|year = 2014}}</ref> Some asexual men are unable to get an erection and sexual activity by attempting penetration is impossible for them.<ref name="More to life">{{cite journal|last=Carrigan|first=Mark|s2cid=146445274|title=There's More to Life Than Just Sex? Difference and Commonality Within the Asexual Community|journal=Sexualities|date=August 2011|volume=14|issue=4|pages=462–478|doi=10.1177/1363460711406462}}</ref> Asexuals also differ in their feelings toward performing sex acts: some are indifferent and may have sex for the benefit of a romantic partner; others are more strongly averse to the idea, though they do not typically dislike people for having sex.<ref name="Prause"/><ref name="Cerankowski and Milks"/><ref name="Bridgeman"/>
 
Many people who identify as asexual also identify with other labels. These other identities include how they define their gender and their [[romantic orientation]].<ref name="Padraig">{{Cite journal|last1=MacNeela|first1=Pádraig|last2=Murphy|first2=Aisling|s2cid=23757013|date=December 30, 2014|title=Freedom, Invisibility, and Community: A Qualitative Study of Self-Identification with Asexuality|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|volume=44|issue=3|pages=799–812|doi=10.1007/s10508-014-0458-0|issn=0004-0002|pmid=25548065}}</ref> They will oftentimes integrate these characteristics into a greater label that they identify with. Regarding romantic or emotional aspects of [[sexual orientation]] or [[sexual identity]], for example, asexuals may identify as [[Heterosexuality|heterosexual]], [[lesbian]], [[gay]], [[bisexuality|bisexual]], [[queer]],<ref name=Overview/><ref name="Richards and Barker"/> or by the following terms to indicate that they associate with the romantic, rather than sexual, aspects of sexual orientation:<ref name="Cerankowski and Milks"/><ref name="Richards and Barker"/>
* [[aromantic]]; lack of romantic attraction towards anyone
* biromantic; by analogy to bisexual
* heteroromantic; by analogy to heterosexual
* homoromantic; by analogy to [[homosexual]]
* panromantic; by analogy to [[pansexual]]
 
People may also identify as a [[gray asexuality|gray-A]] (such as a gray-romantic, demiromantic, demisexual or semisexual) because they feel that they are between being aromantic and non-aromantic, or between asexuality and sexual attraction. While the term ''gray-A'' may cover anyone who occasionally feels romantic or sexual attraction, demisexuals or semisexuals experience sexual attraction only as a secondary component, feeling sexual attraction once a reasonably stable or large emotional connection has been created.<ref name="Cerankowski and Milks"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Adler|first=Melissa|chapter=Meeting the Needs of LGBTIQ Library Users and Their Librarians: A Study of User Satisfaction and LGBTIQ Collection Development in Academic Libraries|year=2010|title=Serving LGBTIQ Library and Archives Users|editor-first=Ellen |editor-last=Greenblatt|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|location=[[North Carolina]]|isbn=978-0-7864-4894-4}}</ref>
 
Other unique words and phrases used in the asexual community to elaborate identities and relationships also exist. One term coined by individuals in the asexual community is ''friend-focused'', which refers to highly valued, non-romantic relationships. Other terms include ''squishes'' and ''zucchinis'', which are non-romantic crushes and [[queer-platonic relationship]]s, respectively. Some asexuals use [[ace]] playing card suits as identities of their romantic orientation, such as the [[ace of spades]] for aromanticism and the [[ace of hearts]] for non-aromanticism.<ref name="AceSuits">{{cite book|author1=Decker|first=Julie S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vTSCDwAAQBAJ&q=ace+of+hearts|title=The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=2015|isbn=9781510700642|access-date=20 April 2019|archive-date=April 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412030423/https://books.google.com/books?id=vTSCDwAAQBAJ&q=ace+of+hearts|url-status=live}}{{page number needed|date=April 2019}}</ref>
 
{{anchor|Allosexual}}Terms such as ''non-asexual'' and ''allosexual'' are used to refer to individuals on the opposite side of the sexuality spectrum.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal | last1 = Chasin | first1 = CJ DeLuzio | year = 2015 | title = Making Sense in and of the Asexual Community: Navigating Relationships and Identities in a Context of Resistance | journal = Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology | volume = 25 | issue = 2| pages = 167–180 | doi = 10.1002/casp.2203 | issn = 1099-1298}}</ref>
 
== Research ==
 
=== Prevalence ===
[[File:Kinsey Scale.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Kinsey scale]] of sexual responses, indicating degrees of [[sexual orientation]]. The original scale included a designation of "X", indicating a lack of sexual behavior.<ref name="Lehmiller">{{cite book|author=Justin J. Lehmiller|title=The Psychology of Human Sexuality|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=978-1119164708|page=250|date=2017|access-date=November 29, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ytk5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT250|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320135007/https://books.google.com/books?id=ytk5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT250|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
 
Most scholars agree that asexuality is rare, constituting 1% or less of the population.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Etaugh|first1=Claire A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_SA6DwAAQBAJ|title=Women's Lives: A Psychological Exploration, Fourth Edition|last2=Bridges|first2=Judith S.|date=2017-10-16|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-315-44938-8|language=en|access-date=June 25, 2021|archive-date=March 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309223641/https://books.google.com/books?id=_SA6DwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> Asexuality is not a new aspect of human sexuality, but it is relatively new to public discourse.<ref name="Sesmith">{{Cite news |first=S.&nbsp;E. |last=Smith |title=Asexuality always existed, you just didn't notice it |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=August 21, 2012 |access-date=March 11, 2013 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/21/asexuality-always-existed-asexual |archive-date=April 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408115642/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/21/asexuality-always-existed-asexual |url-status=live }}</ref> In comparison to other sexualities, asexuality has received little attention from the scientific community, with quantitative information pertaining to the prevalence of asexuality low in numbers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=LeBreton|first=Marianne E.|year=2014|editor-last=Bogaert|editor-first=Anthony F.|title=Understanding Asexuality|journal=QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking|volume=1|issue=3|pages=175–177|doi=10.14321/qed.1.3.0175|jstor=10.14321/qed.1.3.0175|issn=2327-1574}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Poston|first1=Dudley L.|last2=Baumle|first2=Amanda K.|year=2010|title=Patterns of asexuality in the United States|journal=Demographic Research|volume=23|pages=509–530|doi=10.4054/DemRes.2010.23.18|jstor=26349603|issn=1435-9871|doi-access=free}}</ref> S.&nbsp;E. Smith of ''[[The Guardian]]'' is not sure asexuality has actually increased, rather leaning towards the belief that it is simply more visible.<ref name="Sesmith" /> [[Alfred Kinsey]] rated individuals from 0 to 6 according to their sexual orientation from heterosexual to homosexual, known as the [[Kinsey scale]]. He also included a category he called "X" for individuals with "no socio-sexual contacts or reactions."<ref name="Kinsey-male">{{Cite book|first=Alfred C.|last=Kinsey|year=1948|title=Sexual Behavior in the Human Male|publisher=W.B. Saunders|isbn=978-0-253-33412-1}}</ref><ref name="Kinsey-female">{{Cite book|first=Alfred C.|last=Kinsey|year=1953|title=Sexual Behavior in the Human Female|publisher=W.B. Saunders|isbn=978-0-253-33411-4}}</ref> Although, in modern times, this is categorized as representing asexuality,<ref name="Stange">{{cite book|author1=Mary Zeiss Stange|author2=Carol K. Oyster|author3=Jane E. Sloan|title=Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bOkPjFQoBj8C&pg=PA158|access-date=July 27, 2013|date=February 23, 2011|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-4129-7685-5|page=158|archive-date=September 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914220425/https://books.google.com/books?id=bOkPjFQoBj8C&pg=PA158|url-status=live}}</ref> scholar [[Justin J. Lehmiller]] stated, "the Kinsey X classification emphasized a lack of sexual behavior, whereas the modern definition of asexuality emphasizes a lack of sexual attraction. As such, the Kinsey Scale may not be sufficient for accurate classification of asexuality."<ref name="Lehmiller"/> Kinsey labeled 1.5% of the adult male population as ''X''.<ref name="Kinsey-male"/><ref name="Kinsey-female"/> In his second book, ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Female'', he reported this breakdown of individuals who are X: unmarried females = 14–19%, married females = 1–3%, previously married females = 5–8%, unmarried males = 3–4%, married males = 0%, and previously married males = 1–2%.<ref name="Kinsey-female" />
 
Further empirical data about an asexual demographic appeared in 1994, when a research team in the United Kingdom carried out a comprehensive survey of 18,876 British residents, spurred by the need for sexual information in the wake of the [[Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS|AIDS pandemic]]. The survey included a question on sexual attraction, to which 1.05% of the respondents replied that they had "never felt sexually attracted to anyone at all".<ref>Wellings, K. (1994). ''Sexual Behaviour in Britain: The National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles.'' [[Penguin Books]].</ref> The study of this phenomenon was continued by Canadian sexuality researcher [[Anthony Bogaert]] in 2004, who explored the asexual demographic in a series of studies. Bogaert's research indicated that 1% of the British population does not experience sexual attraction, but he believed that the 1% figure was not an accurate reflection of the likely much larger percentage of the population that could be identified as asexual, noting that 30% of people contacted for the initial survey chose not to participate in the survey. Since less sexually experienced people are more likely to refuse to participate in studies about sexuality, and asexuals tend to be less sexually experienced than sexuals, it is likely that asexuals were under-represented in the responding participants. The same study found the number of homosexuals and bisexuals combined to be about 1.1% of the population, which is much smaller than other studies indicate.<ref name="Bogaert2006" /><ref name = Bogaert2004>{{cite journal|last=Bogaert|first=Anthony F. |s2cid=41057104 |year=2004 |title=Asexuality: prevalence and associated factors in a national probability sample |journal=[[Journal of Sex Research]] |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=279–87|pmid=15497056 |doi=10.1080/00224490409552235}}</ref>
 
Contrasting Bogaert's 1% figure, a study by Aicken et al., published in 2013, suggests that, based on Natsal-2 data from 2000 to 2001, the prevalence of asexuality in Britain is only 0.4% for the age range 16–44.<ref name="Fischer"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|title = Who reports absence of sexual attraction in Britain? Evidence from national probability surveys|journal = Psychology & Sexuality|date = 2013-05-01|issn = 1941-9899|pages = 121–135|volume = 4|issue = 2|doi = 10.1080/19419899.2013.774161|first1 = Catherine R. H.|last1 = Aicken|first2 = Catherine H.|last2 = Mercer|first3 = Jackie A.|last3 = Cassell|s2cid = 62275856|url = http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1301794/|access-date = October 14, 2018|archive-date = September 23, 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190923043744/http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1301794/|url-status = live}}</ref> This percentage indicates a decrease from the 0.9% figure determined from the Natsal-1 data collected on the same age-range a decade earlier.<ref name=":0" /> A 2015 analysis by Bogaert also found a similar decline between the Natsal-1 and Natsal-2 data.<ref name="bogaert2015" /> Aicken, Mercer, and Cassell found some evidence of ethnic differences among respondents who had not experienced sexual attraction; both men and women of Indian and Pakistani origin had a higher likelihood of reporting a lack of sexual attraction.<ref name=":0" />
 
In a survey conducted by [[YouGov]] in 2015, 1,632 British adults were asked to try to place themselves on the Kinsey scale. 1% of participants answered "No sexuality". The breakdown of participants was 0% men, 2% women; 1% across all age ranges.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://yougov.co.uk/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2015/08/16/half-young-not-heterosexual |title=1 in 2 young people say they are not 100% heterosexual |at=See the full poll results |date=2015-08-16 |format=PDF |access-date=2018-12-31 |archive-date=April 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210409173050/https://yougov.co.uk/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2015/08/16/half-young-not-heterosexual |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
=== Sexual orientation, mental health and cause ===
There is significant debate over whether or not asexuality is a sexual orientation.<ref name="Sex and society"/><ref name="Bogaert 2015"/> It has been compared and equated with [[hypoactive sexual desire disorder]] (HSDD), in that both imply a general lack of sexual attraction to anyone; HSDD has been used to [[medicalize]] asexuality, but asexuality is generally not considered a disorder or a [[sexual dysfunction]] (such as [[anorgasmia]], [[anhedonia]], etc.), because it does not necessarily define someone as having a medical problem or problems relating to others socially.<ref name="DePaulo"/><ref name="Richards and Barker"/><ref name="Reconsidering Asexuality">{{cite journal|last=Chasin|first=CJ DeLuzio|title=Reconsidering Asexuality and Its Radical Potential|journal=Feminist Studies|year=2013|volume=39|issue=2|page=405|doi=10.1353/fem.2013.0054|s2cid=147025548|url=http://cj.chasin.ca/Chasin_Reconsidering.Asexuality_FS.Vol39.2_2013.pdf|access-date=April 29, 2014|archive-date=March 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303164252/http://cj.chasin.ca/Chasin_Reconsidering.Asexuality_FS.Vol39.2_2013.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Unlike people with HSDD, asexual people normally<!--NOTE: "Normally" is used because, as the source a little lower shows, some people who identify as asexual experience these disorders. --> do not experience "marked distress" and "interpersonal difficulty" concerning feelings about their sexuality,<!--NOTE: "Concerning feelings about their sexuality" is used because a person may experience one of these disorders regardless of their sexuality.--> or generally a lack of [[sexual arousal]]; asexuality is considered the lack or absence of sexual attraction as a life-enduring characteristic.<ref name="Bogaert2006"/><ref name="Richards and Barker"/> One study found that, compared to HSDD subjects, asexuals reported lower levels of [[sexual desire]], sexual experience, sex-related distress and [[Depression (mood)|depressive]] symptoms.<ref name="brotto2015">{{cite journal | author1 = Brotto, L. A. |author2=Yule, M. A. |author3=Gorzalka, B..B. |s2cid=30504509 | year = 2015 | title = Asexuality: An Extreme Variant of Sexual Desire Disorder? | journal = The Journal of Sexual Medicine | doi=10.1111/jsm.12806 |pmid=25545124 | volume=12 | issue = 3 | pages=646–660}}</ref> Researchers Richards and Barker report that asexuals do not have disproportionate rates of [[alexithymia]], depression, or [[personality disorder]]s.<!--NOTE: The "social withdrawal" part is left out because of conflicting information on that matter, as was discussed in the "Mental health" section on the Asexuality talk page. --><ref name="Richards and Barker"/> Some people, however, may identify as asexual even if their non-sexual state is explained by one or more of the aforementioned disorders.<ref name="Cerankowski and Milks 2">{{cite book|author=Karli June Cerankowski|author2=Megan Milks|title=Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives|isbn=978-1-134-69253-8|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2014|page=246|access-date=July 3, 2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XbgTAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT246|archive-date=September 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912115307/https://books.google.com/books?id=XbgTAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT246|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
The first study that gave empirical data about asexuals was published in 1983 by Paula Nurius, concerning the relationship between sexual orientation and mental health.<ref name="Ruspini">{{cite book|author=Elisabetta Ruspini|author2=Megan Milks|title=Diversity in family life|isbn=978-1447300939|publisher=[[Policy Press]]|year=2013|pages=35–36|access-date=January 4, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AjMbAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA35|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726100946/https://books.google.com/books?id=AjMbAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA35|url-status=live}}</ref> 689 subjects—most of whom were students at various universities in the United States taking psychology or sociology classes—were given several surveys, including four clinical well-being scales. Results showed that asexuals were more likely to have low self-esteem and more likely to be depressed than members of other sexual orientations; 25.88% of heterosexuals, 26.54% bisexuals (called "ambisexuals"), 29.88% of homosexuals, and 33.57% of asexuals were reported to have problems with self-esteem. A similar trend existed for depression. Nurius did not believe that firm conclusions can be drawn from this for a variety of reasons.<ref name="Ruspini"/><ref name="Nurius">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1080/00224498309551174 | last1 = Nurius | first1 = Paula | year = 1983| title = Mental Health Implications of Sexual Orientation | journal = The Journal of Sex Research | volume = 19 | issue = 2| pages = 119–136 }}</ref>
 
In a 2013 study, Yule et al. looked into mental health variances between Caucasian heterosexuals, homosexuals, bisexuals, and asexuals. The results of 203 male and 603 female participants were included in the findings. Yule et al. found that asexual male participants were more likely to report having a mood disorder than other males, particularly in comparison to the heterosexual participants. The same was found for female asexual participants over their heterosexual counterparts; however, non-asexual, non-heterosexual females had the highest rates. Asexual participants of both sexes were more likely to have anxiety disorders than heterosexual and non-heterosexual participants, as were they more likely than heterosexual participants to report having had recent suicidal feelings. Yule et al. hypothesized that some of these differences may be due to discrimination and other societal factors.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal | last1 = Yule | first1 = Morag A. | last2 = Brotto | first2 = Lori A. | last3 = Gorzalka | first3 = Boris B. | s2cid = 147120909 | year = 2013 | title = Mental Health and Interpersonal Functioning in Self-Identified Asexual Men and Women | journal = Psychology & Sexuality | volume = 4 | issue = 2| pages = 136–151 | doi = 10.1080/19419899.2013.774162 }}</ref>
 
With regard to sexual orientation categories, asexuality may be argued as not being a meaningful category to add to the continuum, and instead argued as the lack of a sexual orientation or sexuality.<ref name="Bogaert 2015"/> Other arguments propose that asexuality is the denial of one's natural sexuality, and that it is a disorder caused by shame of sexuality, anxiety or [[sexual abuse]], sometimes basing this belief on asexuals who masturbate or occasionally engage in sexual activity simply to please a romantic partner.<ref name="Bogaert 2015"/><ref name="Bridgeman"/><ref name="More to life"/> Within the context of sexual orientation identity politics, asexuality may pragmatically fulfill the political function of a sexual orientation identity category.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
 
The suggestion that asexuality is a sexual dysfunction is controversial among the asexual community. Those who identify as asexual usually prefer it to be recognized as a sexual orientation.<ref name="Sex and society"/> Scholars who argue that asexuality is a sexual orientation may point to the existence of different sexual preferences.<ref name="Bogaert 2015"/><ref name="Halter"/><ref name="More to life"/> They and many asexual people believe that the lack of sexual attraction is valid enough to be categorized as a sexual orientation.<ref name="Decker">{{cite book|last1=Decker|first1=Julie Sondra|title=The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality|date=2015|publisher=Skyhorse Publishing|location=New York City, New York|isbn=978-1-5107-0064-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PQYQCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT162|access-date=January 10, 2018|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726100704/https://books.google.com/books?id=PQYQCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT162|url-status=live}}</ref> The researchers argue that asexuals do not choose to have no sexual desire, and generally start to find out their differences in sexual behaviors around adolescence. Because of these facts coming to light, it is reasoned that asexuality is more than a behavioral choice and is not something that can be cured like a disorder.<ref name="More to life"/><ref name="Koukounas">{{cite journal | last1= Over | first1= Ray | last2= Koukounas | first2= Eric | year= 1995 | title= Habituation of Sexual Arousal: Product and Process | journal= Annual Review of Sex Research | volume= 6 | issue= 1 | pages= 187–223 | doi= 10.1016/S0301-0511(01)00096-5 | url= http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10532528.1995.10559905 | access-date= January 20, 2013 | archive-date= September 23, 2019 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190923043739/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10532528.1995.10559905 | url-status= live }}<br />Cited from: {{cite book |last= Kelly |first= Gary F. |title=Sexuality Today: The Human Perspective |edition= 7th |year=2004 |publisher=[[McGraw-Hill]] |isbn=978-0-07-255835-7 |page=401}}</ref> There is also analysis on whether identifying as asexual is becoming more popular.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Meyer|first=Doug|s2cid=151482192|title=The Disregarding of Heteronormativity: Emphasizing a Happy Queer Adulthood and Localizing Anti-Queer Violence to Adolescent Schools|journal=Sexuality Research & Social Policy|volume=14|issue=3|pages=331–344|doi=10.1007/s13178-016-0272-7|year=2017}}</ref>
 
Research on the etiology of sexual orientation when applied to asexuality has the definitional problem of sexual orientation not consistently being defined by researchers as including asexuality.<ref>{{Cite book | pmid = 19955753 | doi=10.1159/000262525 | volume=17 | title=Sexual hormones and the brain: an essential alliance for sexual identity and sexual orientation | year=2010 | journal=Endocr Dev | pages=22–35 | last1 = Garcia-Falgueras | first1 = A | last2 = Swaab | first2 = DF| series=Endocrine Development | isbn=978-3-8055-9302-1 }}</ref> While heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality are usually, but not always, determined during the early years of preadolescent life, it is not known when asexuality is determined. "It is unclear whether these characteristics [''viz.'', "lacking interest in or desire for sex"] are thought to be lifelong, or if they may be acquired."<ref name="Prause"/>
 
One criterion usually taken to be defining of a sexual orientation is that it is stable over time. In a 2016 analysis in the ''[[Archives of Sexual Behavior]]'', Brotto et al. found "only weak support" for this criterion being met among asexual individuals.<ref name="Brotto-2016">{{cite journal|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|year=2016|title=Asexuality: Sexual Orientation, Paraphilia, Sexual Dysfunction, or None of the Above?|last1=Brotto|first1=L. A.|last2=Yule|first2=M.|volume=46|issue=3|pages=619–627|doi=10.1007/s10508-016-0802-7|pmid=27542079|s2cid=207092428}}</ref> An analysis of data from the [[National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health]] by Stephen Cranney found that, of 14{{efn|This denominator is mistakenly given as 25 in the abstract of Cranney's initial study. The number of individuals who reported no sexual attraction in wave III was 14, according to Table 2, the first paragraph of the section "Multivariate Analysis", and the following quote from Cranney's subsequent commentary: "Specifically, of the 14 people who indicated 'no sexual attraction' in Wave III, only three went on to do so in Wave IV (Table 2)."<ref name="Cranney-2"/>}} individuals who reported no sexual attraction in the study's third wave (when subjects ranged in age from 18 to 26), only 3 continued to identify in this way at the fourth wave, six years later.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Temporal Stability of Lack of Sexual Attraction across Young Adulthood|last=Cranney|first=Stephen|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|year=2016|volume=45|issue=3|pages=743–749|doi=10.1007/s10508-015-0583-4|pmid=26228992|pmc=5443108}}</ref> However, Cranney notes that asexual identification in the third wave was still significant as a predictor of asexual identification in the subsequent wave. In a subsequent commentary, Cranney stated that the interpretation of this data was complicated by the absence of any "set quantitative standard for how long a sexual desire must last before it is considered stable or intrinsic enough to be considered an orientation".<ref name="Cranney-2">{{cite journal|last=Cranney|first=Stephen|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|year=2016|title=Does Asexuality Meet the Stability Criterion for a Sexual Orientation?|volume=46|issue=3|pages=637–638|doi=10.1007/s10508-016-0887-z|pmid=27815642|s2cid=40119928}}</ref>
 
=== Sexual activity and sexuality ===
While some asexuals masturbate as a solitary form of release or have sex for the benefit of a romantic partner, others do not ([[#Definition, identity and relationships|see above]]).<ref name="Prause"/><ref name="Cerankowski and Milks"/><ref name="New Scientist"/> Fischer et al. reported that "scholars who study the physiology around asexuality suggest that people who are asexual are capable of genital arousal but may experience difficulty with so-called subjective arousal." This means that "while the body becomes aroused, subjectively – at the level of the mind and emotions – one does not experience arousal".<ref name="Fischer"/>
 
The [[Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction|Kinsey Institute]] sponsored another small survey on the topic in 2007, which found that self-identified asexuals "reported significantly less desire for sex with a partner, lower sexual arousability, and lower sexual excitation but did not differ consistently from non-asexuals in their sexual inhibition scores or their desire to masturbate".<ref name="Prause" />
 
A 1977 paper titled ''Asexual and Autoerotic Women: Two Invisible Groups'', by Myra T. Johnson, is explicitly devoted to asexuality in humans.<ref name="Cerankowski and Milks 3">{{cite book|author=Karli June Cerankowski|author2=Megan Milks|title=Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives|isbn=978-1-134-69253-8|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2014|page=244|access-date=January 4, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XbgTAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT244|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726124753/https://books.google.com/books?id=XbgTAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT244|url-status=live}}</ref> Johnson defines asexuals as those men and women "who, regardless of physical or emotional condition, actual sexual history, and marital status or ideological orientation, seem to ''prefer'' not to engage in sexual activity." She contrasts [[Autoeroticism|autoerotic]] women with asexual women: "The asexual woman&nbsp;... has no sexual desires at all [but] the autoerotic woman&nbsp;... recognizes such desires but prefers to satisfy them alone." Johnson's evidence is mostly letters to the editor found in women's magazines written by asexual/autoerotic women. She portrays them as invisible, "oppressed by a consensus that they are non-existent," and left behind by both the sexual revolution and the feminist movement. Johnson argued that society either ignores or denies their existence or insists they must be ascetic for religious reasons, neurotic, or asexual for political reasons.<ref name="Cerankowski and Milks 3"/><ref>"Asexual and Autoerotic Women: Two Invisible Groups" found in ed. Gochros, H.&nbsp;L.; J.&nbsp;S. Gochros (1977). ''The Sexually Oppressed''. Associated Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8096-1915-3}}</ref>
 
In a study published in 1979 in volume five of ''Advances in the Study of Affect'', as well as in another article using the same data and published in 1980 in the ''[[Journal of Personality and Social Psychology]]'', Michael D. Storms of the [[University of Kansas]] outlined his own reimagining of the Kinsey scale. Whereas Kinsey measured sexual orientation based on a combination of actual sexual behavior and fantasizing and eroticism, Storms used only fantasizing and eroticism. Storms, however, placed hetero-eroticism and homo-eroticism on separate axes rather than at two ends of a single scale; this allows for a distinction between bisexuality (exhibiting both hetero- and homo-eroticism in degrees comparable to hetero- or homosexuals, respectively) and asexuality (exhibiting a level of homo-eroticism comparable to a heterosexual and a level of hetero-eroticism comparable to a homosexual, namely, little to none). This type of scale accounted for asexuality for the first time.<ref name="Cerankowski and Milks 4">{{cite book|author=Karli June Cerankowski|author2=Megan Milks|title=Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives|isbn=978-1-134-69253-8|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2014|page=113|access-date=January 4, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XbgTAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT113|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726100210/https://books.google.com/books?id=XbgTAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT113|url-status=live}}</ref> Storms conjectured that many researchers following Kinsey's model could be mis-categorizing asexual subjects as bisexual, because both were simply defined by a lack of preference for gender in sexual partners.<ref name = Storms1980>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1037/0022-3514.38.5.783 | last1 = Storms | first1 = Michael D. | year = 1980 | title = Theories of Sexual Orientation | journal = [[Journal of Personality and Social Psychology]] | volume = 38 | issue = 5 | pages = 783–792 | url = http://www.williamapercy.com/wiki/images/Theories_of_sexual_orientation.pdf | access-date = February 2, 2013 | archive-date = September 23, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190923043737/http://www.williamapercy.com/wiki/images/Theories_of_sexual_orientation.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name = Storms1979>Storms, M.&nbsp;D. (1979). Sexual orientation and self-perception. ed. Pliner, Patricia et al. ''Advances in the Study of Communication and Affect. Volume 5: Perception of Emotion in Self and Others'' Plenum Press</ref>
 
In a 1983 study by Paula Nurius, which included 689 subjects (most of whom were students at various universities in the United States taking psychology or sociology classes), the two-dimensional fantasizing and eroticism scale was used to measure sexual orientation. Based on the results, respondents were given a score ranging from 0 to 100 for hetero-eroticism and from 0 to 100 for homo-eroticism. Respondents who scored lower than 10 on both were labeled "asexual". This consisted of 5% of the males and 10% of the females. Results showed that asexuals reported much lower frequency and desired frequency of a variety of sexual activities including having multiple partners, anal sexual activities, having sexual encounters in a variety of locations, and autoerotic activities.<ref name="Ruspini"/><ref name="Nurius"/>
 
=== Feminist research ===
The field of asexuality studies is still emerging as a subset of the broader field of [[gender and sexuality studies]]. Notable researchers who have produced significant works in asexuality studies include [[KJ Cerankowski]], Ela Przybylo, and CJ DeLuzio Chasin.
 
A 2010 paper written by KJ Cerankowski and Megan Milks, titled ''New Orientations: Asexuality and Its Implications for Theory and Practice'', suggests that asexuality may be somewhat of a question in itself for the studies of gender and sexuality.<ref name="Hultquist">{{cite book|author1=Aleksondra Hultquist|author2=Elizabeth J. Mathews|title=New Perspectives on Delarivier Manley and Eighteenth Century Literature: Power, Sex, and Text|isbn=978-1317196921|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2016|page=123|access-date=January 4, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lDGTDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT123|archive-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923043758/https://books.google.com/books?id=lDGTDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT123|url-status=live}}</ref> Cerankowski and Milks have suggested that asexuality raises many more questions than it resolves, such as how a person could abstain from having sex, which is generally accepted by society to be the most basic of instincts.<ref name="Cerankowski and Milks 5">{{cite book|author=Karli June Cerankowski|author2=Megan Milks|title=Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives|isbn=978-1-134-69253-8|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2014|pages=1–410|access-date=January 4, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XbgTAwAAQBAJ|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726101807/https://books.google.com/books?id=XbgTAwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> Their ''New Orientations'' paper states that society has deemed "[LGBT and] female sexuality as empowered or repressed. The asexual movement challenges that assumption by challenging many of the basic tenets of [[pro-sex feminism]] [in which it is] already defined as repressive or anti-sex sexualities." In addition to accepting self-identification as asexual, the Asexual Visibility and Education Network has formulated asexuality as a biologically determined orientation. This formula, if dissected scientifically and proven, would support researcher [[Simon LeVay]]'s blind study of the [[hypothalamus]] in gay men, women, and straight men, which indicates that there is a biological difference between straight men and gay men.<ref>{{cite book|last=Myers|first=David G.|title=Psychology|year=2010|publisher=Worth Publishers|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4292-1597-8|page=474|edition=9th}}</ref>
 
In 2014, Cerankowski and Milks edited and published ''Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives'', a collection of essays intended to explore the politics of asexuality from a feminist and queer perspective.<ref name="Cerankowski and Milks 5"/> It is broken into the introduction and then six parts: Theorizing Asexuality: New Orientations; The Politics of Asexuality; Visualizing Asexuality in Media Culture; Asexuality and Masculinity; Health, Disability, and Medicalization; and Reading Asexually: Asexual Literary Theory. Each part contains two to three papers on a given aspect of asexuality research. One such paper is written by Ela Przybylo, another name that is becoming common in asexual scholarly literature. Her article, with regard to the Cerankowski and Milks anthology, focuses on accounts by self-identified male asexuals, with a particular focus on the pressures men experience towards having sex in dominant Western discourse and media. Three men living in Southern Ontario, Canada, were interviewed in 2011, and Przybylo admits that the small sample-size means that her findings cannot be generalized to a greater population in terms of representation, and that they are "exploratory and provisional", especially in a field that is still lacking in theorizations.<ref name=":1">Przybylo, Ela. "Masculine Doubt and Sexual Wonder: Asexually-Identified Men Talk About Their (A)sexualities" from Karli June Cerankowski and Megan Milks, eds., ''Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives'' (Routledge, 2014), 225-246.</ref> All three interviewees addressed being affected by the stereotype that men have to enjoy and want sex in order to be "real men".<ref name=":1" />
 
Another of Przybylo's works, ''Asexuality and the Feminist Politics of "Not Doing It"'', published in 2011, takes a feminist lens to scientific writings on asexuality. Pryzyblo argues that asexuality is made possible only through the Western context of "sexual, coital, and heterosexual imperatives".<ref name=":2">{{cite thesis |last=Przybylo |first=Ela |year=2011 |title=Asexuality and the Feminist Politics of 'Not Doing It' |degree=MA |location=Edmonton, Alberta |publisher=University of Alberta |doi=10.7939/R3RB04 |doi-access=free}}</ref> She addresses earlier works by Dana Densmore, Valerie Solanas, and Breanne Fahs, who argued for "asexuality and celibacy" as radical feminist political strategies against patriarchy.<ref name=":2" /> While Przybylo does make some distinctions between asexuality and celibacy, she considers blurring the lines between the two to be productive for a feminist understanding of the topic.<ref name=":2" /> In her 2013 article, "Producing Facts: Empirical Asexuality and the Scientific Study of Sex", Przybylo distinguishes between two different stages of asexual research: that of the late 1970s to the early 1990s, which often included a very limited understanding of asexuality, and the more recent revisiting of the subject which she says began with Bogaert's 2004 study and has popularized the subject and made it more "culturally visible". In this article, Przybylo once again asserts the understanding of asexuality as a cultural phenomenon, and continues to be critical of its scientific study.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Przybylo | first1 = Ela | s2cid = 144394132 | year = 2013 | title = Producing Facts: Empirical Asexuality and the Scientific Study of Sex | journal = Feminism & Psychology | volume = 23 | issue = 2| pages = 224–242 | doi = 10.1177/0959353512443668 }}</ref> Pryzblo published a book, ''Asexual Erotics,'' in 2019. In this book, she argued that asexuality poses a "paradox" in that is a sexual orientation that is defined by the absence of sexual activity entirely. She distinguishes between a sociological understanding of asexuality and a cultural understanding, which she said could include "the open mesh of possibilities, gaps, overlaps, dissonances and resonances".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Przybylo|first=Ela|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1096288008|title=Asexual erotics : intimate readings of compulsory sexuality|publisher=[[Ohio State University]]|year=2019|isbn=978-0-8142-1404-6|location=Columbus|pages=1–32|oclc=1096288008|access-date=December 9, 2020|archive-date=March 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309223644/https://www.worldcat.org/title/asexual-erotics-intimate-readings-of-compulsory-sexuality/oclc/1096288008|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
CJ DeLuzio Chasin states in ''Reconsidering Asexuality and Its Radical Potential'' that academic research on asexuality "has positioned asexuality in line with [[Essentialism|essentialist]] discourses of sexual orientation" which is troublesome as it creates a [[Binary opposition|binary]] between asexuals and persons who have been subjected to psychiatric intervention for disorders such as Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder.<ref name="Reconsidering Asexuality" /> Chasin says that this binary implies that all asexuals experience a lifelong (hence, enduring) lack of sexual attraction, that all non-asexuals who experience a lack of sexual desire experience distress over it, and that it pathologizes asexuals who do experience such distress.<ref name="Reconsidering Asexuality" /> As Chasin says such diagnoses as HSDD act to medicalize and govern women's sexuality, the article aims to "unpack" problematic definitions of asexuality that are harmful to both asexuals and women alike. Chasin states that asexuality has the power to challenge commonplace discourse of the naturalness of sexuality, but that the unquestioned acceptance of its current definition does not allow for this. Chasin also argues there and elsewhere in ''Making Sense in and of the Asexual Community: Navigating Relationships and Identities in a Context of Resistance'' that it is important to interrogate why someone might be distressed about low sexual desire. Chasin further argues that clinicians have an ethical obligation to avoid treating low sexual desire per se as pathological, and to discuss asexuality as a viable possibility (where relevant) with clients presenting clinically with low sexual desire.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
 
=== Intersections with race and disability ===
Scholar Ianna Hawkins Owen writes, "Studies of race have revealed the deployment of asexuality in the dominant discourse as an ideal sexual behavior to justify both the empowerment of whites and the subordination of blacks to uphold a racialized social and political system."<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|last=Hawkins Owen|first=Ianna|title=Asexualities : feminist and queer perspectives|others=Cerankowski, Karli June., Milks, Megan.|year=2014|isbn=978-0-415-71442-6|location=New York|oclc=863044056}}</ref> This is partly due to the simultaneous [[sexualization]] and de-sexualization of black women in the [[Mammy archetype in the United States|Mammy archetype]], as well as by how society de-sexualizes certain racial minorities, as part of a bid to claim superiority by Whites.<ref name=":6" /> This is co-existent with the sexualization of black female bodies in the [[Jezebel]] archetype, both utilized to justify slavery and enable further control.<ref name=":6" /> Owen also criticizes the "...investment in constructing asexuality upon a white racial rubric (who else can claim access to being just like everyone else?)".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Owen|first=Ianna Hawkins|s2cid=149999756|date=November 2018|title=Still, nothing: Mammy and black asexual possibility|journal=Feminist Review|language=en|volume=120|issue=1|pages=70–84|doi=10.1057/s41305-018-0140-9|issn=0141-7789|doi-access=free}}</ref> Eunjung Kim comments on the intersections between disability or [[crip theory]] and asexuality, saying disabled people are more frequently de-sexualized.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kim|first=Eunjung|title=Asexualities : feminist and queer perspectives|others=Cerankowski, Karli June., Milks, Megan.|year=2014|isbn=978-0-415-71442-6|location=New York|oclc=863044056}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kim |first=Eunjung |date=2011 |title=Asexuality in disability narratives |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1363460711406463 |journal=Sexualities |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=479–493 |doi=10.1177/1363460711406463 |s2cid=55747579 |via=Sage Journals |access-date=March 7, 2022 |archive-date=March 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307220258/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1363460711406463 |url-status=live }}</ref> Kim compares the idea of [[Hypoactive sexual desire disorder|frigid]] women to asexuality and analyzes its history from a queer, crip, and feminist angle. Scholar Karen Cuthbert comments on "providing the first empirically grounded discussion of this intersection of asexuality and disability (and to a lesser extent gender and 'race')."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cuthbert |first=Karen |date=2017 |title=You Have to be Normal to be Abnormal: An Empirically Grounded Exploration of the Intersection of Asexuality and Disability |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0038038515587639 |journal=Sociology |language=en |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=241–257 |doi=10.1177/0038038515587639 |s2cid=141976966 |issn=0038-0385 |via=Sage Publications |access-date=March 7, 2022 |archive-date=March 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307225006/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0038038515587639 |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
=== Bogaert's psychological work and theories ===
Bogaert argues that understanding asexuality is of key importance to understanding sexuality in general.<ref name="bogaert2015">{{cite journal | last1 = Bogaert |first1=A. F. |s2cid=23720993 | year = 2015 | title = Asexuality: What It Is and Why It Matters | journal = Journal of Sex Research | volume = 52 | issue = 4 | pages = 362–379 | doi = 10.1080/00224499.2015.1015713|pmid=25897566 }}</ref> For his work, Bogaert defines asexuality as "a lack of lustful inclinations/feelings directed toward others," a definition that he argues is relatively new in light of recent theory and empirical work on sexual orientation. This definition of ''asexuality'' also makes clear this distinction between behavior and desire, for both asexuality and celibacy, although Bogaert also notes that there is some evidence of reduced sexual activity for those who fit this definition. He further distinguishes between desire for others and desire for sexual stimulation, the latter of which is not always absent for those who identify as asexual, although he acknowledges that other theorists define asexuality differently and that further research needs to be done on the "complex relationship between attraction and desire".<ref name="bogaert2015" /> Another distinction is made between romantic and sexual attraction, and he draws on work from [[developmental psychology]], which suggests that romantic systems derive from [[attachment theory]] while sexual systems "primarily reside in different brain structures".<ref name="bogaert2015" />
 
Concurrent with Bogaert's suggestion that understanding asexuality will lead to a better understanding of sexuality overall, he discusses the topic of asexual masturbation to theorize on asexuals and "'target-oriented' [[paraphilia]], in which there is an inversion, reversal, or disconnection between the self and the typical target/object of sexual interest/attraction" (such as attraction to oneself, labelled "automonosexualism").<ref name="bogaert2015" />
 
In an earlier 2006 article, Bogaert acknowledges that a distinction between behavior and attraction has been accepted into recent conceptualizations of sexual orientation, which aids in positioning asexuality as such.<ref name=":4">{{cite journal | last1 = Bogaert | first1 = Anthony F | s2cid = 143968129 | year = 2006 | title = Toward a Conceptual Understanding of Asexuality | journal = Review of General Psychology | volume = 10 | issue = 3| pages = 241–250 | doi = 10.1037/1089-2680.10.3.241}}</ref> He adds that, by this framework, "(subjective) sexual attraction is the psychological core of sexual orientation", and also addresses that there may be "some skepticism in [both] the academic and clinical communities" about classifying asexuality as a sexual orientation, and that it raises two objections to such a classification: First, he suggests that there could be an issue with self-reporting (i.e., "a 'perceived' or 'reported' lack of attraction", particularly for definitions of sexual orientation that consider physical arousal over subjective attraction), and, second, he raises the issue of overlap between absent and ''very'' ''low'' sexual desire, as those with an extremely low desire may still have an "underlying sexual orientation" despite potentially identifying as asexual.<ref name=":4" />
 
== Community ==
=== General ===
 
{{LGBT symbols}}
 
[[File:Asexual ring.jpg|thumb|Some members of the asexual community opt to wear a black ring on the middle finger of their right hand as a form of identification.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Chasin | first1 = CJ DeLuzio | year = 2013 | title = Reconsidering Asexuality and Its Radical Potential | journal = Feminist Studies | volume = 39 | issue = 2| pages = 405–426 | doi = 10.1353/fem.2013.0054 | s2cid = 147025548 }}</ref>]]
 
An academic work dealing with the history of the asexual community is presently lacking.<ref name="Anthology">{{cite book |last1= Carrigan |first1= Mark |last2= Gupta |first2= Kristina |last3= Morrison |first3= Todd G. |year= 2015 |title= Asexuality and Sexual Normativity: An Anthology |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=sEGDCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT77 |publisher= Routledge |isbn= 978-0-415-73132-4 |access-date= August 20, 2019 |archive-date= July 26, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200726115843/https://books.google.com/books?id=sEGDCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT77 |url-status= live }}</ref> Although a few private sites for people with little or no sexual desire existed on the Internet in the 1990s,<ref name="Sigusch">[[Volkmar Sigusch]]. "Sexualitäten: Eine kritische Theorie in 99 Fragmenten". 2013. {{Interlanguage link multi|Campus Verlag|de|3=Campus Verlag|vertical-align=sup}}.</ref> scholars state that a community of self-identified asexuals coalesced in the early 21st century, aided by the popularity of [[Virtual community|online communities]].<ref name="Goldberg">{{cite book|author=Abbie E. Goldberg|title=The SAGE Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Studies|isbn=978-1483371290|publisher=[[SAGE Publications]]|year=2016|page=92|access-date=October 5, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=736zDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA92|quote=[...] The sociological literature has stressed the novelty of asexuality as a distinctive form of social identification that emerged in the early 21st century.|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726100530/https://books.google.com/books?id=736zDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA92|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Volkmar Sigusch]] stated that "Groups such as 'Leather Spinsters' defended asexual life against the pressure of culture" and that "Geraldin van Vilsteren created the 'Nonlibidoism Society' in the [[Netherlands]], while [[Yahoo]] offered a group for asexuals, 'Haven for the Human Amoeba.'"<ref name="Sigusch" /> The '''Asexual Visibility and Education Network''' ('''AVEN''') is an organization founded by American asexuality [[Activism|activist]] [[David Jay]] in 2001 that focuses on asexuality issues.<ref name="Sex and society"/> Its stated goals are "creating public acceptance and discussion of asexuality and facilitating the growth of an asexual community".<ref name="Sex and society"/><ref name="Swash"/>
 
For some, being a part of a community is an important resource because they often report having felt ostracized.<ref name="Padraig"/> Although online communities exist, affiliation with online communities vary. Some question the concept of online community, while others depend on the online asexual community heavily for support. [[Elizabeth Abbott]] posits that there has always been an asexual element in the population, but that asexual people kept a low profile. While the failure to consummate marriage was seen as an insult to the sacrament of marriage in medieval Europe, and has sometimes been used as grounds for divorce or to rule a marriage void, asexuality, unlike homosexuality, has never been illegal, and it has usually gone unnoticed. However, in the 21st century, the anonymity of online communication and general popularity of [[social network]]ing online has facilitated the formation of a community built around a common asexual identity.<ref name="Duenwald">{{Cite news|first=Mary|last=Duenwald|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/09/fashion/thursdaystyles/09asexual.html|title=For Them, Just Saying No Is Easy|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 9, 2005|access-date=17 September 2007|archive-date=October 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020060013/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/09/fashion/thursdaystyles/09asexual.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
Communities such as AVEN can be beneficial to those in search of answers to solve a crisis of identity with regard to their possible asexuality. Individuals go through a series of emotional processes that end with their identifying with the asexual community. They first realize that their sexual attractions differ from those of most of society. This difference leads to questioning whether the way they feel is acceptable, and possible reasons for why they feel this way. [[Pathology|Pathological]] beliefs tend to follow, in which, in some cases, they may seek medical help because they feel they have a disease. Self-understanding is usually reached when they find a definition that matches their feelings. Asexuality communities provide support and information that allows newly identified asexuals to move from self-clarification to identifying on a communal level, which can be empowering, because they now have something to associate with, which gives normality to this overall socially-isolating situation.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1177/1363460711406462 | last1 = Carrigan | first1 = Mark | s2cid = 146445274 | year = 2011 | title = There's more to life than sex? Differences and commonality within the asexual community| journal = Sexualities | volume = 14 | issue = 4 | pages = 462–478}}</ref>
 
Asexual organizations and other Internet resources play a key role in informing people about asexuality. The lack of research makes it difficult for doctors to understand the causation. Like with any sexual orientation, most people who are asexual are self-identified. This can be a problem when asexuality is mistaken for an intimacy or relationship problem or for other symptoms that do not define asexuality. There is also a significant population that either does not understand or does not believe in asexuality, which adds to the importance of these organizations to inform the general population; however, due to the lack of scientific fact on the subject, what these groups promote as information is often questioned.
 
On June 29, 2014, AVEN organized the second International Asexuality Conference, as an affiliate WorldPride event in Toronto. The first was held at the 2012 World Pride in London.<ref name="Tarrant2015">{{cite book|author=Shira Tarrant|title=Gender, Sex, and Politics: In the Streets and Between the Sheets in the 21st Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6nwCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT278|date=June 19, 2015|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-81475-7|pages=278–|access-date=September 4, 2017|archive-date=February 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213211944/https://books.google.com/books?id=t6nwCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT278|url-status=live}}</ref> The second such event, which was attended by around 250 people, was the largest gathering of asexuals to date.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/06/23/world_pride_toronto_asexuals_march_in_biggest_numbers_yet.html|title=World Pride Toronto: Asexuals march in biggest numbers yet|work=Toronto Star|date=June 23, 2014|access-date=6 October 2014|archive-date=November 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118012441/https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/06/23/world_pride_toronto_asexuals_march_in_biggest_numbers_yet.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The conference included presentations, discussions, and workshops on topics such as research on asexuality, asexual relationships, and intersecting identities.
 
=== Symbols ===
[[File:Asexual Pride Flag.svg|thumb|The asexual [[pride flag]]]]
{{anchor|Flag}} <!-- This is a redirect target; see [[Asexual flag]]. -->
{{Main|LGBT symbols}}In 2009, AVEN members participated in the first asexual entry into an American pride parade when they walked in the [[San Francisco Pride Parade]].<ref name="Rufus">{{cite magazine|first=Rufus|last=Anneli|title=Stuck. Asexuals at the Pride Parade.|magazine=[[Psychology Today]]|date=June 22, 2009|access-date=July 15, 2013|url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/stuck/200906/asexuals-the-pride-parade|archive-date=March 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309223639/https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/stuck/200906/asexuals-the-pride-parade|url-status=live}}</ref> In August 2010, after a period of debate over having an '''asexual flag''' and how to set up a system to create one, and contacting as many asexual communities as possible, a flag was announced as the '''asexual pride flag''' by one of the teams involved. The final flag had been a popular candidate and had previously seen use in online forums outside of AVEN. The final vote was held on a survey system outside of AVEN where the main flag creation efforts were organized. The flag colors have been used in artwork and referenced in articles about asexuality.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://recultured.com/uncategorized/09/asexuality-redefining-love-and-sexuality/ |title=Asexuality – Redefining Love and Sexuality |publisher=recultured |date=9 January 2012 |access-date=7 August 2012 |archive-date=June 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617124513/http://recultured.com/uncategorized/09/asexuality-redefining-love-and-sexuality/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The flag consists of four horizontal stripes: black, grey, white, and purple from top to bottom. The black stripe represents asexuality, the grey stripe representing the grey-area between sexual and asexual, the white stripe sexuality, and the purple stripe community.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bilić |first1=Bojan |last2=Kajinić |first2=Sanja |title=Intersectionality and LGBT Activist Politics: Multiple Others in Croatia and Serbia | publisher=Springer | date=2016 |pages=95–96}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Decker |first1=Julie |title=The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality | publisher=Skyhorse}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Asexual |url=http://www.lgbt.ucla.edu/Campus-Resources/Asexual |publisher=UCLA Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Resource center |access-date=June 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904115908/http://www.lgbt.ucla.edu/Campus-Resources/Asexual |archive-date=September 4, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
 
=== Ace Week ===
Ace Week (formerly Asexual Awareness Week) occurs on the last full week in October. It is an [[List of LGBT awareness periods|awareness period]] that was created to celebrate and bring awareness to asexuality (including grey asexuality).<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/meet-india-s-newest-sexual-minority-the-asexuals/story-pNyerWTWrBnJHFqpkPwrIP.html|title=Meet India's newest sexual minority: The asexuals|last=Kumar|first=Shikha|date=2017-03-18|work=[[Hindustan Times]]|access-date=2017-09-08|archive-date=June 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629050058/https://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/meet-india-s-newest-sexual-minority-the-asexuals/story-pNyerWTWrBnJHFqpkPwrIP.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="aaw">{{cite web|url=http://asexualawarenessweek.com/about.html|title=AAW – About Us|website=asexualawarenessweek.com|access-date=2016-01-03|archive-date=January 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107024024/http://www.asexualawarenessweek.com/about.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It was founded by Sara Beth Brooks in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/robyn-exton/aces-show-their-hand-what_b_12915544.html|title=Aces Show Their Hand – What Is Asexuality And Why You Should Know About It|last=Exton|first=Robyn|date=2016-11-14|website=HuffPost|access-date=2017-09-08|archive-date=June 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629022453/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/robyn-exton/aces-show-their-hand-what_b_12915544.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asexualawarenessweek.com/prerelease/About.html|title=About [prerelease]|website=asexualawarenessweek.com|access-date=2017-09-04|archive-date=September 4, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904104951/http://www.asexualawarenessweek.com/prerelease/About.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
=== International Asexuality Day ===
International Asexuality Day (IAD) is an annual celebration of the asexuality community that takes place on 6 April.<ref name = "IAD official website">{{cite web |title=International Asexuality Day |url=https://internationalasexualityday.org/en/ |website=International Asexuality Day (IAD) |language=en |access-date=April 8, 2021 |archive-date=April 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210407060241/https://internationalasexualityday.org/en/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The intention for the day is "to place a special emphasis on the international community, going beyond the anglophone and Western sphere that has so far had the most coverage".<ref name = "IAD faq">{{cite web |title=FAQ |url=https://internationalasexualityday.org/en/faq/ |website=International Asexuality Day (IAD) |language=en |access-date=April 8, 2021 |archive-date=March 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307034815/https://internationalasexualityday.org/en/faq/ |url-status=live }}</ref> An international committee spent a little under a year preparing the event, as well as publishing a website and press materials.<ref>{{cite web |title=Redefining Perceptions Of Asexuality With Yasmin Benoit |url=https://noctismag.com/art-culture/redefining-perceptions-of-asexuality-with-yasmin-benoit/ |website=noctismag.com |language=en |access-date=April 8, 2021 |archive-date=April 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406181514/https://noctismag.com/art-culture/redefining-perceptions-of-asexuality-with-yasmin-benoit/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This committee settled on the date of 6 April to avoid clashing with as many significant dates around the world as possible, although this date is subject to review and may change in future years.<ref name = "IAD faq"/><ref name = "Newsweek" >{{cite web|last=Flood|first=Rebecca|title=Asexual Meaning as First International Asexuality Day Celebrated Around the World|url=https://www.newsweek.com/international-asexuality-day-first-celebrated-world-1581256|date=April 6, 2021|website=[[Newsweek]]|access-date=April 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406142109/https://www.newsweek.com/international-asexuality-day-first-celebrated-world-1581256|archive-date=April 6, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
The first International Asexuality Day was celebrated in 2021 and involved asexuality organisations from at least 26 countries.<ref name = "IAD official website" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Waters|first=Jamie|title='I don't want sex with anyone': the growing asexuality movement|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/mar/21/i-dont-want-sex-with-anyone-the-growing-asexuality-movement|date=March 21, 2021|website=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=April 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401020931/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/mar/21/i-dont-want-sex-with-anyone-the-growing-asexuality-movement|archive-date=April 1, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=O'Dell|first=Liam|title=What is International Asexuality Day?|url=https://www.indy100.com/news/international-asexuality-day-lgbtq-aven-b1827276|date=April 6, 2021|website=[[The Independent]]|access-date=April 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406115115/https://www.indy100.com/news/international-asexuality-day-lgbtq-aven-b1827276|archive-date=April 6, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref> Activities included virtual meetups, advocacy programs both online and offline, and the sharing of stories in various art-forms.<ref>{{Cite web|title=In Nepal's growing queer movement, here's how asexuals are trying to amplify their voice|url=https://kathmandupost.com/art-culture/2021/04/07/in-nepal-s-growing-queer-movement-here-s-how-asexuals-are-trying-to-amplify-their-voice|access-date=2021-04-07|website=kathmandupost.com|language=English|archive-date=April 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210409151345/https://kathmandupost.com/art-culture/2021/04/07/in-nepal-s-growing-queer-movement-here-s-how-asexuals-are-trying-to-amplify-their-voice|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
== Religion ==
Studies have found no significant statistical correlation between religion and asexuality,<ref name="Aicken">{{cite book|last1=Aicken|first1=Catherine R.&nbsp;H.|last2=Mercer|first2=Catherine H.|last3=Cassell|first3=Jackie A.|editor1-last=Carrigan|editor1-first=Mark|editor2-last=Gupta|editor2-first=Kristina|editor3-last=Morrison|editor3-first=Todd G.|article=Who reports absence of sexual attraction in Britain? Evidence from national probability surveys|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sEGDCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT22|title=Asexuality and Sexual Normativity: An Anthology|location=New York City, New York and London, England|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-73132-4|pages=22–27|date=2015-09-07|access-date=January 10, 2018|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726094223/https://books.google.com/books?id=sEGDCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT22|url-status=live}}</ref> with asexuality occurring with equal prevalence in both religious and irreligious individuals.<ref name="Aicken"/> Nonetheless, asexuality is not uncommon among celibate clergy, since others are more likely to be discouraged by vows of chastity.<ref name="Bogaert"/> In Aicken, Mercer, and Cassell's study, a higher proportion of Muslim respondents than Christian ones reported that they did not experience any form of sexual attraction.<ref name="Aicken"/>
 
Because of the relatively recent application of the term ''asexuality'', most religions do not have clear stances on it.<ref name="AsexualityandChristianity">{{cite web|title=Asexuality and Christianity|url=http://asexualawarenessweek.com/docs/PRIDE-Asexuality-and-Christianity.pdf|work=Asexual Awareness Week|access-date=January 10, 2018|archive-date=October 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029184212/http://asexualawarenessweek.com/docs/PRIDE-Asexuality-and-Christianity.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=July 2021}} In {{Bibleverse||Matthew|19:11-12|9}}, [[Jesus]] mentions "For there are [[eunuch]]s who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others – and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs to the sake of the [[Kingdom of Heaven (Gospel of Matthew)|kingdom of heaven]]."<ref name="Kaoma">{{cite book|last=Kaoma|first=Kapya|date=2018|title=Christianity, Globalization, and Protective Homophobia: Democratic Contestation of Sexuality in Sub-Saharan Africa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xSU_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA160|location=Boston, Massachusetts|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-3-319-66341-8|pages=159–160|access-date=January 10, 2018|archive-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923043738/https://books.google.com/books?id=xSU_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA160|url-status=live}}</ref> Some [[biblical hermeneutics|biblical exegetes]] have interpreted the "eunuchs who were born that way" as including asexuals.<ref name="Kaoma"/><ref>{{cite book|last1=Cole|first1=William Graham|title=Sex in Christianity and Psychoanalysis|date=2015|orig-year=1955|series=Routledge Library Editions: Psychoanalysis|publisher=Routledge|location=New York City, New York and London, England|isbn=978-1138951792|page=177|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZaLhCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA177|access-date=January 10, 2018|archive-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923043751/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZaLhCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA177|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
Christianity has traditionally revered celibacy (which is not the same as asexuality); the apostle [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]], writing as a celibate, has been described by some writers as asexual.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Zuckerman|first1=Phil|title=An Invitation to Sociology of Religion|date=2003|publisher=Routledge|location=New York City, New York and London, England|isbn=978-0-415-94125-9|page=111|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ml6TAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA111|access-date=January 11, 2018|archive-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923043738/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ml6TAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA111|url-status=live}}</ref> He writes in {{Bibleverse||1 Corinthians|7:6-9|9}},
{{blockquote|I wish that all men were as I am. But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.}}
 
== Discrimination and legal protections ==
{{Main|Discrimination against asexual people}}
[[File:WorldPride 2012 - 175.jpg|alt=|left|thumb|Asexuals marching in a pride parade in [[London]]]]
A 2012 study published in ''[[Group Processes & Intergroup Relations]]'' reported that asexuals are evaluated more negatively in terms of [[prejudice]], [[dehumanization]] and [[discrimination]] than other [[Sexual minority|sexual minorities]], such as gay men, lesbians and bisexuals. Both homosexual and heterosexual people thought of asexuals as not only cold, but also animalistic and unrestrained.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Intergroup bias toward 'Group X': Evidence of prejudice, dehumanization, avoidance, and discrimination against asexuals |first1=Cara C. |last1=MacInnis |first2=Gordon |last2=Hodson |s2cid=3056711 |journal=Group Processes & Intergroup Relations |doi=10.1177/1368430212442419 |volume=15 |number=6 |pages=725–743 |year=2012}}</ref> A different study, however, found little evidence of serious discrimination against asexuals because of their asexuality.<ref>Gazzola, Stephanie B, and Melanie A. Morrison. "Asexuality: An emergent sexual orientation". ''Sexual Minority Research in the New Millennium''.</ref> Asexual activist, author, and blogger Julie Decker has observed that sexual harassment and violence, such as [[corrective rape]], commonly victimizes the asexual community.<ref name="huff"/> Sociologist Mark Carrigan sees a middle ground, arguing that while asexuals do often experience discrimination, it is not of a [[homophobia|phobic]] nature but "more about marginalization because people genuinely don't understand asexuality."<ref>{{Cite news|title=What is it like to be asexual?|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16552173|newspaper=BBC News|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=January 17, 2012|last=Wallis|first=Lucy|access-date=January 1, 2014|archive-date=January 6, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190106105618/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16552173|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
Asexuals also face prejudice from the LGBT community.<ref name="Decker"/><ref name="huff">{{Cite news|title=Battling Asexual Discrimination, Sexual Violence, and Corrective Rape|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/20/asexual-discrimination_n_3380551.html|newspaper=[[HuffPost]]|date=June 20, 2013|last=Mosbergen|first=Dominique|access-date=August 2, 2013|archive-date=August 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130818012540/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/20/asexual-discrimination_n_3380551.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Many LGBT people assume that anyone who is not homosexual or bisexual must be straight<ref name="Decker"/> and frequently exclude asexuals from their definitions of ''queer''.<ref name="Decker"/> Although many well-known organizations devoted to aiding LGBTQ communities exist,<ref name="Decker"/> these organizations generally do not reach out to asexuals<ref name="Decker"/> and do not provide library materials about asexuality.<ref name="Decker"/> Upon [[coming out]] as asexual, activist Sara Beth Brooks was told by many LGBT people that asexuals are mistaken in their self-identification and seek undeserved attention within the social justice movement.<ref name="huff"/> Other LGBT organizations, such as [[The Trevor Project]] and the [[National LGBTQ Task Force]], explicitly include asexuals because they are non-heterosexual and can therefore be included in the definition of [[queer]].<ref>[https://www.thetrevorproject.org/trvr_support_center/asexual/#sm.0000eryjch8mbfogrhn1jltiw7n8l The Trevor Project - FAQ about asexuality] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406125426/https://www.thetrevorproject.org/trvr_support_center/asexual/#sm.0000eryjch8mbfogrhn1jltiw7n8l |date=April 6, 2021 }}, [[The Trevor Project]] website. Retrieved April 4, 2018.</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://thetaskforceblog.org/2013/04/30/the-a-is-here-to-stay/ | title=The a is Here to Stay | date=April 30, 2013 | access-date=April 4, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310174238/https://thetaskforceblog.org/2013/04/30/the-a-is-here-to-stay/ | archive-date=March 10, 2018 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Some organizations now add an A to the LGBTQ acronym to include asexuals; however, this is still a controversial topic in some queer organizations.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/21/lgbt-asexual_n_3385530.html |title=LGBT, Asexual Communities Clash over Ace Inclusion |newspaper=HuffPost |date=June 21, 2013 |last1=Mosbergen |first1=Dominique |access-date=April 4, 2018 |archive-date=March 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305162424/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/21/lgbt-asexual_n_3385530.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
In some jurisdictions, asexuals have legal protections. While Brazil bans since 1999 whatever pathologization or [[Conversion therapy|attempted treatment of sexual orientation]] by mental health professionals through the national ethical code,<ref>[http://blogs.diariodepernambuco.com.br/lgbtudo/2013/07/psiquiatra-jairo-bouer-fala-dos-efeitos-colaterais-da-cura-gay/ Psychiatrist Jairo Bouer talks about the "collateral effects" of "gay cure" bill] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140115041606/http://blogs.diariodepernambuco.com.br/lgbtudo/2013/07/psiquiatra-jairo-bouer-fala-dos-efeitos-colaterais-da-cura-gay/ |date=January 15, 2014}} {{in lang|pt}}</ref> the U.S. state of New York has labeled asexuals as a [[protected class]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100316120639/http://www.ag.ny.gov//bureaus/civil_rights/sonda_brochure.html ''The Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act ("SONDA")'' (State of New York, Office of the Attorney General, Civil Rights Bureau)]</ref> However, asexuality does not typically attract the attention of the public or major scrutiny; therefore, it has not been the subject of legislation as much as other sexual orientations have.<ref name=Bogaert2004 />
 
== In the media ==
{{main|Media portrayal of asexuality}}
[[File:Sherlock Holmes - The Man with the Twisted Lip.jpg|thumb|[[Arthur Conan Doyle|Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]] intentionally portrayed his character [[Sherlock Holmes]] as what would today be classified as asexual.<ref name="Bogaert"/>]]
Asexual representation in the media is limited and rarely openly acknowledged or confirmed by creators or authors.<ref name="Kelemen">Kelemen, Erick. "Asexuality". ''Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender''. Ed. Fedwa Malti-Douglas. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 103. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. May 2, 2016.</ref> In works composed prior to the beginning of the twenty-first century, characters are generally automatically assumed to be sexual<ref name="JacksonScott"/> and the existence of a character's sexuality is usually never questioned.<ref name="JacksonScott">Jackson, Stevi, and Sue Scott. Theorizing Sexuality. Maidenhead: Open UP, 2010. Web. May 2, 2016.</ref> [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Sir Arthur Conan Doyle]] portrayed his character [[Sherlock Holmes]] as what would today be classified as asexual,<ref name="Bogaert">{{cite book|last1=Bogaert|first1=Anthony|title=Understanding Asexuality|date=2012|publisher=Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc.|location=Lanham, Maryland|isbn=978-1-4422-0099-9|pages=36–39|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3P2pVq9XlGsC&pg=PA39|access-date=January 10, 2018|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726093617/https://books.google.com/books?id=3P2pVq9XlGsC&pg=PA39|url-status=live}}</ref> with the intention to characterize him as solely driven by intellect and immune to the desires of the flesh.<ref name="Bogaert"/> The Archie Comics character [[Jughead Jones]] was likely intended by his creators as an asexual [[Foil (literature)|foil]] to [[Archie Andrews|Archie]]'s excessive heterosexuality, but, over the years, this portrayal shifted, with various iterations and reboots of the series implying that he is either gay or heterosexual.<ref name="Bogaert"/><ref name="Vulture">{{Cite news|url=http://www.vulture.com/2016/02/archie-jughead-asexual.html|title=Archie Comic Reveals Jughead Is Asexual|date=February 8, 2016|work=Vulture|access-date=December 14, 2017|archive-date=December 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207111405/http://www.vulture.com/2016/02/archie-jughead-asexual.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2016, he was confirmed to be asexual in the ''[[New Riverdale]]'' Jughead comics.<ref name="Vulture"/> The writers of the 2017 television show ''[[Riverdale (2017 TV series)|Riverdale]]'', based on the Archie comics, chose to depict Jughead as a heterosexual despite pleas from both fans and Jughead actor [[Cole Sprouse]] to retain Jughead's asexuality and allow the asexual community to be represented alongside the gay and bisexual communities, both represented in the show.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://nerdist.com/cole-sprouse-is-bummed-that-riverdales-jughead-isnt-asexual/|title=Cole Sprouse Is Bummed That RIVERDALE's Jughead Isn't Asexual {{!}} Nerdist|date=2017-01-27|work=Nerdist|access-date=2018-09-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626111031/https://nerdist.com/cole-sprouse-is-bummed-that-riverdales-jughead-isnt-asexual/|archive-date=June 26, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> This decision sparked conversations about deliberate [[asexual erasure]] in the media and its consequences, especially on younger viewers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.teenvogue.com/story/riverdales-asexual-erasure-can-be-harmful|title='Riverdale's' Asexual Erasure Can Be More Harmful Than You Think|last=Revanche|first=Jonno|work=Teen Vogue|access-date=2018-09-09|archive-date=March 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304102207/https://www.teenvogue.com/story/riverdales-asexual-erasure-can-be-harmful|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
Anthony Bogaert has classified [[Gilligan (Gilligan's Island)|Gilligan]], the eponymous character of the 1960s television series ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'', as asexual.<ref name="Bogaert"/> Bogaert suggests that the producers of the show likely portrayed him in this way to make him more relatable to young male viewers of the show who had not yet reached puberty and had therefore presumably not yet experienced sexual desire.<ref name="Bogaert"/> Gilligan's asexual nature also allowed the producers to orchestrate intentionally comedic situations in which Gilligan spurns the advances of attractive females.<ref name="Bogaert"/> Films and television shows frequently feature attractive, but seemingly asexual, female characters who are "converted" to heterosexuality by the male protagonist by the end of the production.<ref name="Bogaert"/> These unrealistic portrayals reflect a heterosexual male belief that all asexual women secretly desire men.<ref name="Bogaert"/>
 
Asexuality as a sexual identity, rather than as a biological entity, became more widely discussed in the media in the beginning of the twenty-first century.<ref name="Kelemen"/> The [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox Network]] series ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' represented an "asexual" couple in the episode "Better Half". However, this representation has been questioned by members of the asexual community (including AVEN founder, David Jay) due to the episode concluding in the reveal that the man simply had a pituitary tumor that reduced his sex drive, and the woman was only pretending to be asexual to please him.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2012/01/31/house_gets_asexuality_wrong/|title="House" gets asexuality wrong|last=Clark-Flory|first=Tracy|date=January 31, 2012|website=Salon|access-date=September 8, 2017|archive-date=September 21, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921144000/http://www.salon.com/2012/01/31/house_gets_asexuality_wrong|url-status=live}}</ref> This led to controversy over the representation and a change.org petition for Fox Network to reconsider how it represents asexual characters in the future, stating it "represented asexuality very poorly by attributing it to both medical illness and deception."<ref name=":5" /> Children's animated television series ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' was under speculation (2002) and later controversy (2005) because of claims that [[SpongeBob SquarePants (character)|SpongeBob]] and his best friend, [[Patrick Star|Patrick]], are gay.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4190699.stm|title=US right attacks SpongeBob video|date=2005-01-20|access-date=2019-11-25|archive-date=March 23, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070323022539/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4190699.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2015/the-long-and-speculative-history-of-gay-characters-on-childrens-tv-shows/spongebob-squarepants/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2015/the-long-and-speculative-history-of-gay-characters-on-childrens-tv-shows/spongebob-squarepants/ |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=The long and speculative history of gay characters on children's TV shows|date=2016-01-28|work=The Telegraph|access-date=2019-11-25|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref> This prompted the creator, [[Stephen Hillenburg]], to clarify on both occasions that he does not consider them gay or heterosexual, but rather asexual.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2313221.stm|title=Camp cartoon star 'is not gay'|date=2002-10-09|access-date=2019-11-25|archive-date=March 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329055836/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2313221.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/celebrity/spongebob-asexual-not-gay-creator/|title=SpongeBob Asexual, Not Gay: Creator|website=People|access-date=2019-11-25|archive-date=February 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225031127/https://people.com/celebrity/spongebob-asexual-not-gay-creator/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/20659-spongebob-is-asexual-says-creator/|title=SpongeBob is asexual, says creator|website=Asexual Visibility and Education Network|access-date=2019-11-25|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726101018/https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/20659-spongebob-is-asexual-says-creator/|url-status=live}}</ref> He also linked SpongeBob's ability to [[reproduce asexually]] by "[[budding]]" to further explain that the character doesn't necessarily need relationships.<ref>Writers: Jay Lender, William Reiss, David Fain (March 8, 2001). "Pressure". ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. Season 2. Episode 32a. Nickelodeon.</ref>
 
The [[Netflix]] series ''[[BoJack Horseman]]'' revealed in the end of the third season that [[Todd Chavez]], one of the primary characters, is asexual. This has been further elaborated in the fourth season of the series and has been generally well accepted by the asexual community for its methods of positive representation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bustle.com/p/todds-asexuality-on-bojack-horseman-isnt-a-perfect-depiction-but-its-made-me-feel-understood-12057178|title=Todd's Asexuality on 'BoJack' Isn't a Perfect Depiction, But It's Made Me Feel Understood|last=Kliegman|first=Julie|website=Bustle|access-date=2019-04-30|archive-date=February 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226202745/https://www.bustle.com/p/todds-asexuality-on-bojack-horseman-isnt-a-perfect-depiction-but-its-made-me-feel-understood-12057178|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
== See also ==
{{Portal|Human sexuality}}
<!--NOTE: Per WP:SEE ALSO, only links that are not linked higher in this article should be in its See also section. -->
* [[Asociality]] – a lack of interest in social relationships in general
* [[Antisexualism]] – the views of someone who is antagonistic towards sexuality
* [[Kinsey scale]] – a scale for human sexuality with X indicating "no socio-sexual contacts or reactions"
* [[Media portrayal of asexuality]]
* [[Platonic love]] – a non-romantic/non-sexual affectionate love
* [[Queerplatonic relationship]] – a form of non-romantic/non-sexual affectionate partnering
* [[Sexless marriage]] – a marriage in which little or no sex is performed
* [[Sexual anorexia]] – a loss of "appetite" for romantic-sexual interaction
* [[Timeline of asexual history]]
* [[Supernormal stimulus]] – a form of non-sexual stimulus, as opposed to [[libido]]
 
== Explanatory notes ==
{{notelist}}
 
== References ==
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{{Reflist|30em}}
 
== Further reading ==
* {{cite book|last=Bogaert|first=Anthony F.|title=Understanding Asexuality|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O3v27O00GEYC |access-date=July 27, 2013 |date=August 9, 2012 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1-4422-0101-9}}
* {{cite book
| author = Decker, Julie
| title = The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7PiPngEACAAJ
| access-date = September 28, 2014
| date = September 2, 2014
| publisher = Carrel Books
| isbn = 978-1631440021
}}
* [https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/sep/08/relationships.healthandwellbeing "We're married, we just don't have sex"], ''[[The Guardian]]'' (UK), September 8, 2008
* [http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Asexuals-leave-the-closet-find-community-3219180.php "Asexuals leave the closet, find community"] – [[SFGate.com]]
* "Asexuality", article by Mark Carrigan, in: [https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/the-sage-encyclopedia-of-lgbtq-studies/book244331%20 ''The SAGE Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Studies'' Vol. 1 (A–G)].
* Rle Eng. ''Leather Spinsters and Their Degrees of Asexuality'' St. Mary Pub. Co. of Houston, 1998.
* Geraldine Levi Joosten-van Vilsteren, Edmund Fortuin, David Walker, and Christine Stone, ''Nonlibidoism: The Short Facts''. United Kingdom. {{ISBN|1447575555}}.
* Chen, Angela (September 15, 2020). ''[https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/625230/ace-by-angela-chen/ Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex]''. Beacon Press. {{ISBN|9780807013793}}.
 
== External links ==
* {{commons category-inline|Human asexuality}}
 
{{Asexuality topics}}{{Navboxes
|list =
{{Human sexuality and sexology}}
{{Sexual identities}}
{{Human sexuality}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
 
[[Category:Asexuality| ]]
[[Category:Non-sexuality]]
[[Category:Sexual attraction]]
[[Category:Sexual orientation]]
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