Angelnoir Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Just browsing through googleNGRAMviewer wich shows you how often a word is mentioned through a certain period of time in all the books and magazines googlebooks posseses. It only or mostly shows only snippets of those books which mention that word. I tried searching for the word asexuality and asexuals. And I did not count late 2000s because from then on, mentions of asexuality "explode" in comparison to all the years before. Heresies, 13-16, Heresies Collective, Icorporated, (1981); p. 3-94 (BTW, the magazines are online, but I haven’t searched them for this part http://heresiesfilmproject.org/archive/): I know it’s an unpopular situation, one which women are unwilling to admit to. This is the issue which I would like to address: Why, in 1981, are celibates (asexuals) the only ones left in the closet? No self-respecting gay would be left cowering in the darkness, so why are we so embarrassed and ashamed? Watching Gay Pride parade march up Fifth Avenue, I felt jealousy and a hunger for the unashamed joyful, solidarity and celebration of self that these people felt. It would be a lot easier to refute these messages, to say, "I am what I am and there's nothing wrong with it," if we asexuals had the help of a support group such as lesbians and gay men have. The problem is that asexuals don't organize to support each other; most of us are ashamed to admit our… In the same magazine (but not the same issue, I guess); I found this to be interesting, although the letter is talking about celibacy rather than asexuality: Wooden, S. W. (1982): Men Behind Bars: Sexual Exploitation in Prison. ; p. 159-160: Medical Aspect of Human Sexuality (12), Hospital Publications 1989, p.53: How common is asexuality in men (lack of sexual feelings for either women or men)? A Primary asexuality (never having experienced sexual feelings, fantasies, etc) is quite rare and may have its… Wicks, R; Parsons, R.; Capps, D. (1993): Clinical Handbook of Pastoral Counseling (1); p. 525: Clearly, one difficulty in making the diagnosis of ISD is the question of what is normal sexual desire. […] It must also be noted that asexuality, in and of itself, does not constitute psychopathology. “Asexuality is certainly not always abnormal… Some persons’ sexual appetite falls on the low side of the normal distribution on the basis of constitutional determinants. Such persons are not bothered by the infrequency of their need for sex unless external circumstances exert pressure” (Kaplan, 1979, p.68). Leonard, A. S. (1997): Homosexuality and the Constitution: Homosexual conducts and state regulation. ; p.207 ( This was a citing of a statement by a Judge made in 1993.): Storr, M. (1999): Bisexuality: A Critical Reader. ; p. 52: Storms was also bothered by the issue of asexuality described above. In 1980, he proposed a new sexuality scale, similar to Bem, Spence and Helmreich's work on gender roles, but using an x-y axis rather than two separate continua [storms 1980]. Few people of any sexuality seem to be aware of this model; Kinsey’s and Fritz Klein’s model are cited far more frequently. This may be because Storms published in a psychology journal, while Kinsey produced two books and Klein publishe in the Journal of Homosexuality. Or it may be because Storm’s model does not translate into catchy phrases like Kinsey 6, or because the subtlety of his argument differentiating bisexuality and asexuality was lost on most of the people who did encounter his articles, or even because of social trends in lesbian and gay communities, in which the Kinsey scale has been especially valued. Regardless of the reason, Storm’s model did not set off a new debate about the conceptualization of sexuality. Journal of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Identity (1996) (1), p.305-308: Nardi, P. ; Schneider, B. (1998): Social Perspectives in Lesbian and Gay Studies: A Reader. : Despite their complaints of loneliness, Asexuals are not very interested in establishing a relationship with a special partner or in any of the rewards the gay world might offer them. For example, in addition to their lack of involvement with friends ... Hirschfeld, M. (2000): Homosexuality of Men and Women. ; p. 222; 321: Sawer, M.; Zappala, G. (2001): Speaking for the People: Representation in Australian Politics. 8 Link to post Share on other sites
Angelnoir Posted April 12, 2014 Author Share Posted April 12, 2014 Heresies, 13-16, Heresies Collective, Icorporated, (1981); p. 3-94 (BTW, the magazines are online, but I haven’t searched them for this part http://heresiesfilmproject.org/archive/): I know it’s an unpopular situation, one which women are unwilling to admit to. This is the issue which I would like to address: Why, in 1981, are celibates (asexuals) the only ones left in the closet? No self-respecting gay would be left cowering in the darkness, so why are we so embarrassed and ashamed? Watching Gay Pride parade march up Fifth Avenue, I felt jealousy and a hunger for the unashamed joyful, solidarity and celebration of self that these people felt. It would be a lot easier to refute these messages, to say, "I am what I am and there's nothing wrong with it," if we asexuals had the help of a support group such as lesbians and gay men have. The problem is that asexuals don't organize to support each other; most of us are ashamed to admit our… In the same magazine (but not the same issue, I guess); I found this to be interesting, although the letter is talking about celibacy rather than asexuality: So I found the letter of this person who wrote about asexuals (celibates?) who should be forming support groups. It seems to me that in another issue, someone wrote a letter about staying celibate which I quoted above (the one person who writes about choosing celibacy). In the next issue of this magazine someone responded by writing about forming support groups. Here's that response: These things have been written in 1981. So the first one defines asexuality as celibacy. The response letter seems to be about the inability to attract lovers and form sexual relationships and defines that as asexuality. Regardless, I think both have interesting thoughts about things that can be related to asexuality. Although they aren't about it anyway. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
ithaca Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Oh wow this is quite an awesome research :o Lots of cake to you :cake: Hirschfeld's "Homosexuality of Men and Women" was probably translated and re-printed in 2000, but it's actually from 1922. Link to post Share on other sites
ithaca Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 So I found the letter of this person who wrote about asexuals (celibates?) who should be forming support groups. It seems to me that in another issue, someone wrote a letter about staying celibate which I quoted above (the one person who writes about choosing celibacy). In the next issue of this magazine someone responded by writing about forming support groups. Here's that response: These things have been written in 1981. So the first one defines asexuality as celibacy. The response letter seems to be about the inability to attract lovers and form sexual relationships and defines that as asexuality. Regardless, I think both have interesting thoughts about things that can be related to asexuality. Although they aren't about it anyway. I found the letter in the previous issue (#12, "Sex Issue") of 1981. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Heart Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 Wow. We have some amazing archivists and researchers here :o Way to go guys! I'm very impressed :D 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Lord Happy Toast Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 As a historical comment, the strong distinction between "asexuality" (attraction) and "celibacy" (behavior) seems to be a fairly recent thing, and the two used to be positioned much closer to each other when talking about asexuality. (As a comparison, people use the term "homosexuality" both for a certain pattern of sexual attraction and for a kind of sexual behavior. The same is true of a number of other terms pertaining to sexual interests. So it shouldn't be too surprising to find "asexuality" being used in ways that don't sharply distinguish between attraction and behavior.) Consequently, it shouldn't be assumed that "asexuality" and "(preferential) celibacy" are totally different things when reading through newspapers, books, journals, etc. from before the rise of the World Wide Web. Likewise for reading through some of the online articles about asexuality from 1997-2001ish. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Angelnoir Posted April 15, 2014 Author Share Posted April 15, 2014 As a historical comment, the strong distinction between "asexuality" (attraction) and "celibacy" (behavior) seems to be a fairly recent thing, and the two used to be positioned much closer to each other when talking about asexuality. (As a comparison, people use the term "homosexuality" both for a certain pattern of sexual attraction and for a kind of sexual behavior. The same is true of a number of other terms pertaining to sexual interests. So it shouldn't be too surprising to find "asexuality" being used in ways that don't sharply distinguish between attraction and behavior.) Consequently, it shouldn't be assumed that "asexuality" and "(preferential) celibacy" are totally different things when reading through newspapers, books, journals, etc. from before the rise of the World Wide Web. Likewise for reading through some of the online articles about asexuality from 1997-2001ish. Thank you for that comment. That's what I was assuming when I read that. Either asexuality was assumed to be celibacy which probably really was its meaning and today still is for a lot of people (otherwise there would be no debunking of that "stereotype") or celibacy was meant to be like asexuality today, just differently defined. The recent asexuality definition, is really recent but not everybody will understand it right away and know what it means, and celibacy could've been used as a marker for that. That specific letter was from 1981 though. I've actually found other mentions of asexuality in research papers and books, especially one study about homosexuals and how asexual homosexuals were the least happy, the group with the most suicidal thoughts. Even more so than dyfunctionals (people with sexual dysfunctions). I thought it was a really depressing and negative study, so I didn't include it here. (It were only snippets anyway). But I always wonderd how they defined asexual...so. Link to post Share on other sites
Lord Happy Toast Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 I've actually found other mentions of asexuality in research papers and books, especially one study about homosexuals and how asexual homosexuals were the least happy, the group with the most suicidal thoughts. Even more so than dyfunctionals (people with sexual dysfunctions). I thought it was a really depressing and negative study, so I didn't include it here.I'm guessing that you're referring to the Bell and Weinberg book Homosexualities? (Several years ago, I did a lot of searching for stuff about asexuality and posted about my finds here.) Link to post Share on other sites
Angelnoir Posted April 17, 2014 Author Share Posted April 17, 2014 (edited) I've actually found other mentions of asexuality in research papers and books, especially one study about homosexuals and how asexual homosexuals were the least happy, the group with the most suicidal thoughts. Even more so than dyfunctionals (people with sexual dysfunctions). I thought it was a really depressing and negative study, so I didn't include it here.I'm guessing that you're referring to the Bell and Weinberg book Homosexualities? (Several years ago, I did a lot of searching for stuff about asexuality and posted about my finds here.) Thank you. Exactly that's the one study. And I found this one, too: Hirschfeld, M. (1948); p.167: Sexual Anomalies: The Origins, Nature and Treatment of Sexual Disorders. A Summary of the Works of Magnus Hirschfeld, Comp. as a Humble Memorial by His Pupils. A Textbook for the Medical and Legal Professions, Ministers, Educators, Psychologists, Biologists, Sociologists and Social Workers, Criminologists and Students in These Fields 2015 Edit: All of Hirschfeld's book can be read here Edited April 3, 2015 by ithaca 1 Link to post Share on other sites
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