Celebrity asexuals?

[sexnointerest]

Does anyone know of any celebrity or high profile asexuals? They could help us raise our profile.

I think it would be great to have a documentary about asexuality, in the style of Stephen Fry (he's done some great ones about homosexuality and mental illness). If we could do something similar I think that would help us a lot.

[Quintus Crinis]

I'm assuming Stephen Fry covered those topics in separate series?

There are a number of celebrities with rumours about being asexual - of course rumours are just rumours and shouldn't be taken as truth though.
(The rumours I can remember - though I imagine there are others - were about Morrisey, Taylor Swift and possibly Sophie Ellis-Bextor) but as I said rumours are just that - only rumours.

[catsaregood]

Yes, he did cover them separately, a few years apart :)

I think Morrissey has openly said he's celibate, something to do with creativity and purity of self. He's also been vegetarian I think, for the same sort of reason... the others I never heard rumours about :)

It would be great for visibility if someone would come out, or preferably a few people so it's not just weird and isolated!

[potato-chip]

Also Tim Gunn, the dapper host of Project Runway!

[Xavy]

It would be so great for visibility of our community if a big celebrity came out openly as ace. That said we need to be careful that celebrities who identify themselves as other things such as celibate, etc are not mistaken for asexuals. Celebrities like morrisey, john Frusciante and cliff Richards, all suspected aces, have never openly said they are asexual.

[starwife]

I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere that Morrissey said if he'd known about the ace label earlier, he would have identified with it!

[mausgrau]

Janeane Garofalo. If memory serves, there's a whole segment in her 2010 stand-up If You Will about her being asexual and in a celibate relationship, explicitly saying the word and all. I've found this quote from there: "I don't have a fear of intimacy, I have sort of a genuine lack of interest. Which is not good for my boyfriend of ten years."

some info

[littlepersonparadox]

Thats cool that Janeane Garofalo come out sort of. That is if Humdingers memory is correct. Not a lot of really big mainstream ones thought. However i guess you can kinda count Game of Thrones character comig out and stateing that he nevel felt attraction even before he was castrated as a kind of win. or at least a step in the right direction i suppose;

not thought tho

[Xavy]

I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere that Morrissey said if he'd known about the ace label earlier, he would have identified with it!

I would be interested in seeing that quote from Morrisey, but, this below is from his Wikipedia page :

"In October 2013, Morrissey released a statement through his semi-official website, which said: "Unfortunately, I am not homosexual. In technical fact, I am humasexual. I am attracted to humans. But, of course ... not many"."

[Quintus Crinis]

Yes, he did cover them separately, a few years apart :)

I think Morrissey has openly said he's celibate, something to do with creativity and purity of self. He's also been vegetarian I think, for the same sort of reason... the others I never heard rumours about :)

It would be great for visibility if someone would come out, or preferably a few people so it's not just weird and isolated!

Was hoping that was the case. :)

That would make sense I guess, wonder if it's a lack of visibility though?

Taylor Swift was something about the reasons she and a boyfriends broke up - not sure how long ago though (also some of the things she is quoted as saying since).

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/4738638/harry-styles-dumped-taylor-swift-for-not-putting-out.html

Can't seem to find the one I thought I'd seem about Sophie Ellis-Bextor? Thought it was from her appearence on Strictly Com Dancing last year (maybe I just interpreted some of the things she said as sounding ace). :(

I guess that begs the question whether there's such a thing as an "acedar" though?

It would be so great for visibility of our community if a big celebrity came out openly as ace. That said we need to be careful that celebrities who identify themselves as other things such as celibate, etc are not mistaken for asexuals. Celebrities like morrisey, john Frusciante and cliff Richards, all suspected aces, have never openly said they are asexual.

Certainly need to avoid confusion of asexuality and celibacy, although I wonder if this is sometimes lack of visibility rather than actual choice in some cases? Not saying that's always the case of course. :)

Janeane Garofalo. If memory serves, there's a whole segment in her 2010 stand-up If You Will about her being asexual and in a celibate relationship, explicitly saying the word and all. I've found this quote from there: "I don't have a fear of intimacy, I have sort of a genuine lack of interest. Which is not good for my boyfriend of ten years."

some info

Seem to remember seeing that quote somewhere before - don't think I've heard the name though? What sort of comedy does she do?

[catsaregood]

Taylor Swift was something about the reasons she and a boyfriends broke up - not sure how long ago though (also some of the things she is quoted as saying since).

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/4738638/harry-styles-dumped-taylor-swift-for-not-putting-out.html

Can't seem to find the one I thought I'd seem about Sophie Ellis-Bextor? Thought it was from her appearence on Strictly Com Dancing last year (maybe I just interpreted some of the things she said as sounding ace). :(

Didn't know that about Taylor, although I'm guessing she hasn't actually come out 'cos it would probably be pretty big news...Poor Harry Styles was probably just confused that someone might not want to have sex with him all the time, 'cos he's so attractive and super-talented and everything! (erm, not)

You watch Strictly? :O :P

[Yuli]

I wish I could bookmark this thread since I am a musician myself, this looks like one of the favorites threads I had seen so far. Its a whole lot harder for celebrities to come out because the whole world is watching and unfortunately as much as I don't want to say it there happens to be more judgmental people than understanding ones. I wish I could say or even believe differently, but I keep on meeting a lot of people irl all the time that prove to be very judgmental, so I can imagine we might never really get an asexual coming out from a celebrity for a while until either someone pays them to do it or being asexual will become more popular on its own.

[sexnointerest]

It is interesting that the celebrities already mentioned are not confirmed as being asexual. People don't understand asexuality, so there is a fear of making ourselves vulnerable by being open. It is sad that we're not recognised for who we are.

It is a risk for anyone to come out, especially a celebrity. But if a celebrity 'came out', it would demonstrate strong courage, and they would inspire others to do the same. I challenge a high profile asexual stand up and be a leader. I can only imagine that in time, others would follow them. In the future people would look back and admire what they did. Just like they do with other celebrities who are open about other things.

[Quintus Crinis]

Taylor Swift was something about the reasons she and a boyfriends broke up - not sure how long ago though (also some of the things she is quoted as saying since).

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/4738638/harry-styles-dumped-taylor-swift-for-not-putting-out.html

Can't seem to find the one I thought I'd seem about Sophie Ellis-Bextor? Thought it was from her appearence on Strictly Com Dancing last year (maybe I just interpreted some of the things she said as sounding ace). :(

Didn't know that about Taylor, although I'm guessing she hasn't actually come out 'cos it would probably be pretty big news...Poor Harry Styles was probably just confused that someone might not want to have sex with him all the time, 'cos he's so attractive and super-talented and everything! (erm, not)

You watch Strictly? :o :P

I have to admit to having no idea who Mr Styles is. :)

I've been tap-dancing for about 14/15 years now, so although I've not been watching it as often recently, I'm quite a fan of Strictly. :)

[Xavy]

Didn't know that about Taylor, although I'm guessing she hasn't actually come out 'cos it would probably be pretty big news...P

It certainly would be big news and great for our community of Taylor came out, but as far as I can tell, she hasn't done that yet.

[Member54880]

Taylor Swift not wanting sex with her (ex) boyfriend doesn't necessarily mean she's asexual. There are many reasons she said no, but it's interesting that asexuality was one of the first assumptions made.

[sexnointerest]

Taylor Swift not wanting sex with her (ex) boyfriend doesn't necessarily mean she's asexual. There are many reasons she said no, but it's interesting that asexuality was one of the first assumptions made.

Agree. That was the first thing that came to my mind too.

[RainbowGalaxy]

Morrissey contradicts himself in interviews all the time. He practically prides himself on being an enigma, so I think any comment on his sexuality is speculation at best.

But I like to believe he's ace.

[Quintus Crinis]

Taylor Swift not wanting sex with her (ex) boyfriend doesn't necessarily mean she's asexual. There are many reasons she said no, but it's interesting that asexuality was one of the first assumptions made.

Certainly many reasons that she may have said no, if the rumours regarding their break-up are correct. But many of the things she has said more generally possibly added to the assumption. (certainly set-off my "ace-dar" if such a thing exists?).

[Mycroft is Yourcroft]

(certainly set-off my "ace-dar" if such a thing exists?).

I used to say 'Spadar' (spade-ar) as in, ace of spades, before I knew that aces of hearts and diamonds were a thing too!

[Xavy]

So, I had another thought about this : if the 1% estimate of asexuals in the worldwide population is even half correct, then there must certainly be more celebrity asexuals out there than the few who have come out or the ones we suspect are ace. Could it be the reason why more celebrities have not come out as ace is because they fear it would harm their careers ? Take Taylor swift for instance (and I am not saying she is ace, only she can confirm that and she has not done so) if she did come out as ace, would her songs about relationships seem disingenuous and would this have an effect on her marketability ?

[PaintedDoll]

I've wondered about Taylor Swift, but I really hope she is NOT ace. Taylor Swift has a reputation of being prudish and judgmental- it would only reinforce negative stereotypes about asexuals.

For all the lithromantics out there, I've always wondered about Dante Alighieri.

[Quintus Crinis]

So, I had another thought about this : if the 1% estimate of asexuals in the worldwide population is even half correct, then there must certainly be more celebrity asexuals out there than the few who have come out or the ones we suspect are ace. Could it be the reason why more celebrities have not come out as ace is because they fear it would harm their careers ? Take Taylor swift for instance (and I am not saying she is ace, only she can confirm that and she has not done so) if she did come out as ace, would her songs about relationships seem disingenuous and would this have an effect on her marketability ?

Certainly coming out as homosexual has caused initial harm to some celebrities careers but there are also some very famous people who have bounced back from this - Ellen DeGeneres and Neil Patrick Harris for example. So while there may be initial prejudices, they would be possible to overcome and they would possibly gain quite a bit of respect for being the first major celebrity to come out as well.

Why would Taylor Swift coming out (if that is the case) make her songs any less honest - I though she was writer for many of them? Granted it might loose her some male fans, but she's never been marketed in the same sexualised way as many artists anyway so may not have a major impact - also help to make clear the difference between romantic and sexual attraction?

I've wondered about Taylor Swift, but I really hope she is NOT ace. Taylor Swift has a reputation of being prudish and judgmental- it would only reinforce negative stereotypes about asexuals.

For all the lithromantics out there, I've always wondered about Dante Alighieri.

It is possible those reputations/stereotypes came about because people mis-understand asexuality - could help to set the record straight? That it's us mis-understanding rather than either prudish or judgmental.

Is that Dante the Italian author of "inferno" and the "vita nova"? Just interested to where the idea comes from there as not studied him much (although friends have).

[Xavy]

Why would Taylor Swift coming out (if that is the case) make her songs any less honest - I though she was writer for many of them? Granted it might loose her some male fans, but she's never been marketed in the same sexualised way as many artists anyway so may not have a major impact - also help to make clear the difference between romantic and sexual attraction?

Yes Taylor writes most of her own songs, and I am not saying she could loose her fans by coming out for any legitimate reasons, but let's face it, we live in a very fickle world, and since no major celebrity had come out as ace before, no one really know what the general reaction to such a coming out would be.

Please don't get me wrong though, because I think we fundamentally agree.

[Xavy]

I've wondered about Taylor Swift, but I really hope she is NOT ace. Taylor Swift has a reputation of being prudish and judgmental- it would only reinforce negative stereotypes about asexuals.

Humm..... I don't know, I am just thinking out loud here ....... is Taylor actually prudish and judgmental, or is she perceived as being prudish and judgmental because she is generally misunderstood ?

[Kanenas]

Morrissey was always suspected to be either homo- or asexual by the media and fans. He toyed with it a lot, nobody really knows. I say, listen to his songs and you will get ace vibes again and again and again. Recently, he gave an interview saying "I'm not homosexual, I'm humasexal". Really? Love him, but give that old man a carrot before he makes up more terms!

[sexnointerest]

If we can't get a real celebrity to 'come out', how about creating fictional characters, such as in a movie, tv show or book? That would raise awareness and increase our profile. It would be great if we could get someone to do that.

[schwitz]

All I know of 100% is Morrissey! He is openly what I would describe as asexual, though he labels himself humasexual (?) I believe. Love that man! He's also extremely introverted, as am I :)

[Happydays97]

Probably classical composer Erik Satie??

[Heart]

So, I had another thought about this : if the 1% estimate of asexuals in the worldwide population is even half correct, then there must certainly be more celebrity asexuals out there than the few who have come out or the ones we suspect are ace. Could it be the reason why more celebrities have not come out as ace is because they fear it would harm their careers ? Take Taylor swift for instance (and I am not saying she is ace, only she can confirm that and she has not done so) if she did come out as ace, would her songs about relationships seem disingenuous and would this have an effect on her marketability ?

I wonder if the 1% as a population-wide statistic is not represented in celebrities due to the nature of how celebrities are selected for? As in, perhaps asexuals really are under-represented in the pool of celebrities for whatever reason. I can think of a few possible reasons this might be the case... I mean, the usual "sex sells" philosophy would strongly discourage repulsed aces from becoming celebrities, or at least give them a disadvantage. And the drama factor around sexual relationships in the tabloids would leave asexuals who either have celebate relationships or who choose not to engage in traditional relationships out of the free publicity, further selecting for sexual celebrities....

Of course, this is all just the ramblings of a tired Heart. These are possibly all irrelevant, and possibly there are advantages that encourage ace celebrities as well. Who knows. Without research, we are all really limited to speculation.