Asexuality
Asexuality is a sexual orientation. People with asexuality are asexual. Asexual people have little to no sexual attraction. A lot of times, the asexual label is used to mean a person feels no sexual attraction. Some people think, because some asexual people feel no sexual attraction, that this is the only way to be asexual. This is not true. Asexual people can feel any amount of sexual attraction if it is less than what what allosexual people feel. Allosexual is the opposite of asexual. Most people are allosexual, and only 1% are not. Allosexuality means that a person feels full sexual attraction towards real life adult human beings. Because they feel sexual attraction, they can be homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual, or any other sexual orientation. [1]
Asexuality is a spectrum. This means there are many ways to be asexual. Demisexuality is one of the ways to be asexual. Demisexual people are on the asexual spectrum. They can feel sexual attraction, but only to people who they feel an emotional connection to. Alfred Kinsey used the label "X" to describe asexual people.[2] Not having sex is not always asexuality. Some homosexuals, for example, don't want to have sex because they feel guilty about their sexual attraction.[3]
Some health professionals believe that asexuality can be mostly separated into three types. These types are called sex-repulsed, sex-neutral, and sex-positive. Sex-repulsed people are either repulsed (disgusted) by sex, or simply do not like it. Sex-neutral people do not dislike sex but have a very low libido, which may make them not have sex often, even though they are fine with sex. Sex-positive people like sex and also have a high or normal sex drive (libido). Some sex-positive people have as much sex as an allosexual person.
Sometimes people do not understand why some asexual people have sex. This because a lot of people think sexual attraction means how much someone likes sex, and they also think that no asexual person likes sex. Sexual attraction is when a person thinks of other people sexually. For example, if a person thinks of someone else as "sexy", that person is feeling sexual attraction. Another example is that someone can like sex, and even like a person that they have sex with, but they do not see that person as "sexy" or "hot" which would mean that they do not feel sexual attraction towards that person. (https://www.webmd.com/sex/what-is-graysexuality)
Studies
[change | change source]In 2001, David Jay started the Asexual Visibility and Education Network. A 2012 study found that asexuals are just as discriminated against as gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals.[4] Asexuality has only recently been studied. One writer, S.E. Smith, speculates that it has not increased, but
Libido
[change | change source]Libido, or sex drive, is the sexual arousal that humans feel. Some acientific study libido. This does not mean they are allosexual. Some see it as the body just doing its thing, and many masturbate to relieve it.[5][6]
Romantic orientation
[change | change source]Some asexual people are aromantic. This means that they do not feel romantic attraction, or that they do not feel a lot of it. Asexual people can have any romantic orientation, so they can be aromantic, homoromantic, heteroromantic, biromantic, or something else.[7]
References
[change | change source]- ↑ Powers, Olivia (25 April 2018). "Asexual student shares story of identity". The Gateway. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
- ↑ Kinsey, Alfred C. (1948). Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. W.B. Saunders. ISBN 0-253-33412-8.
- ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/gay-christians-choosing-celibacy-emerge-from-the-shadows/2014/12/13/51c73aea-6ab2-11e4-9fb4-a622dae742a2_story.html
- ↑ "SAGE Journals: Your gateway to world-class journal research". SAGE Journals. doi:10.1177/1368430212442419. S2CID 3056711.
- ↑ Prause, Nicole; Graham, Cynthia A. (2007-06-01). "Asexuality: Classification and Characterization". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 36 (3): 341–356. doi:10.1007/s10508-006-9142-3. ISSN 1573-2800. PMID 17345167. S2CID 12034925.
- ↑ Yule, Morag A.; Brotto, Lori A.; Gorzalka, Boris B. (August 2014). "Sexual fantasy and masturbation among asexual individuals". The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality. 23 (2): 89–95. doi:10.3138/cjhs.2409. ISSN 1188-4517. S2CID 4091448.
- ↑ MacNeela, Pádraig; Murphy, Aisling (2015-04-01). "Freedom, Invisibility, and Community: A Qualitative Study of Self-Identification with Asexuality". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 44 (3): 799–812. doi:10.1007/s10508-014-0458-0. ISSN 1573-2800. PMID 25548065. S2CID 23757013.
