Jump to content

Recent bigger articles and stuff while AVEN was down


ithaca

Recommended Posts

Here we go.

1- Irish Mirror article: http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/asexuals-reveal-how-theyre-bullied-3876623

Asexuals reveal how theyre bullied for having no interest in nookie

Jul 17, 2014 21:20

Asexuality In Ireland spokesman Vivien White feels that a lot of people are unsure of asexuals

iPadVivien.jpg

17/07/2014 Vivien White from Dublin who is part of the Dublin Asexuality in Ireland Group. Photo: Gareth Chaney Collins

No sex please, were Irish... meet the people who say they are picked on as theyve no interest in making love.

It is estimated around 45,000 people here are asexual who claim they are isolated as theyre not interested in nookie.

Known as aces, they say they have low to nil sex urges, something that puts them out of sync with most people.

Asexuality In Ireland spokesman Vivien White feels that a lot of people are unsure of asexuals and see them as a threat to the countrys sexual liberation.

He said: A lot of people in modern Ireland are riding the wave of sex positivism and they see us as a threat to them.

Its strange but I think thats why people think asexuality is wrong. Today people go around talking about how many people theyve slept with and were essentially doing the opposite.

The 23-year-old added that for some people a life without sex and sexual urges is perfectly natural.

I140717_174513_2105699oTextCS_65862036.j

Vivien White from Dublin who is part of the Dublin Asexuality in Ireland Group.

He said: I was just 15 when I realised my interest in sex was a lot less than the people around me. I found the whole thing annoying and a complete waste of time.

People say I should just go out and drag someone into bed but thats not me.

I dont want or need sex to enjoy my life and Im not alone. This year a handful of asexuals marched at the Dublin Pride Parade carrying the banner asexuals exist next to men in leather g-strings and women in skimpy bikinis.

Vivien added: Even though only a small group participated in Dublin Pride Parade this year, we are a growing group.

The community is more online as people can be quite shy about meeting up with strangers theyve only spoken to on the internet.

Generally responses range from neutral to angry.

People tell me Im not mature enough and I dont have enough experience. People can be hostile but then there are always those who appreciate what Im doing.

Vivien said the community is also an important outlet for older people with no libido.

He added: We have meet-ups and these are vital for older asexuals who have spent their lives trying to fit into other peoples ideals. For a lot of them its the first time theyve met people who understand.

2- Psychology today article: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/living-single/201408/so-long-compulsory-sex-see-ya-viagra-asexuality-is-here

"So Long, Compulsory Sex! See Ya, Viagra! Asexuality is Here"

Guest blogger Kristina Gupta on the power of asexuality

Published on August 9, 2014 by Bella DePaulo, Ph.D. in Living Single

[Bella's intro: We think society is oh-so-open-minded when it comes to sex. Sexual messages are everywhere. There are endless tips for how to get more sex and enjoy it more. But the incessant sex talk and the unchallenged message that everyone does and should experience sexual attraction is a kind of pressure that makes us, as a society, far less enlightened and open-minded than we should be. The first post I ever wrote on Asexuality, back in 2009, got more page views than anything else I've ever written in more than 6 years here at Psych Today. There was almost no scholarly research at the time. Now we have scholars who have done important work on the topic. There are even a few anthologies on asexuality. I am so delighted that the co-editor of one of them, Kristina Gupta, has written this guest post for us. She can say something that perhaps no one else can: She wrote her dissertation on asexuality and compulsory sexuality, and has continued to develop her expertise on the matter ever since. Thanks, Kristina!]

Relax, Its Ok Not to Have Sex Once In Awhile: Lessons Everyone Can Learn from the Asexuality Movement

By Kristina Gupta

In 2009, Dr. DePaulo wrote an excellent post about asexuality, which provides a nice introduction to the contemporary asexual movement. Just to recap briefly, in the past fifteen years, people in online communities have begun to define asexuality as a sexual identity or orientation. The largest online community, the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN), defines an asexual person as someone who does not experience sexual attraction. Asexual identity is defined primarily by how a person feels, not how a person acts many people who identify as asexual describe themselves as not feeling internally motivated to engage in sexual activity with other people, but may do so for a variety of reasons.

In 2009, there wasnt yet a lot of scholarship available on asexual identities, as Dr. DePaulo notes in her post. Since that time, a number of articles and books have been published. [Bella's note: This is a link to a very useful bibliography of scholarly writings on asexuality.] I can heartily recommend two recent collections Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives (2014), edited by Karli June Cerankowski and Megan Milks, and Asexuality and Sexual Normativity: An Anthology(2014), which I co-edited with Mark Carrigan and Todd Morrison.

In my opinion, two of the more interesting (and related) questions that have begun to be addressed in this recent scholarship are, first, what can the asexuality movement teach us about contemporary society and, second, what can sexual people learn from the asexuality movement?

In regards to the first question, a number of scholars and activists argue that the asexuality movement encourages us to recognize the ways in which sexuality may be compulsory in contemporary society. In other words, our society assumes that (almost) everyone is, at their core, sexual and there exists a great deal of social pressure to experience sexual desire, engage in sexual activities, and adopt a sexual identity. At the same time, various types of non-sexuality (such as a lack of sexual desire or activity) are stigmatized for example, in one study, researchers found that heterosexual-identified people expressed more bias toward asexual people than toward heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual people. This is not to deny, of course, the fact that our society also continues to stigmatize people especially women who are perceived as engaging in too much sexual activity.

This answer to the first question leads into the answer to the second question: what can sexual people learn from the asexuality movement? Many people, even those who consider themselves to be highly sexual, will probably experience changes in their level of interest in sex and/or in their patterns of sexual activity. Sexual desire and activity may change (increase or decrease) as one ages, if ones relationship status changes, or if other factors that affect sexuality (such as employment status or health status) change.

Yet, as part of compulsory sexuality, our society sends the message than almost any decrease in sexual desire or activity is a major problem that must be addressed immediately. For example, advertisements for Viagra tell men that they must maintain sexual virility throughout their lives, even if they must take medication to do so (Marshall 2002). Currently, pharmaceutical companies are working to develop drugs for female sexual dysfunction, and some feminist activists worry that the ads for these drugs will send the message that women must also maintain high levels of interest in sex, whatever the cost (Tiefer 2006). Many mainstream womens magazines and sexual and relationship self-help books send the message that if a couple begins to have sex less frequently, the relationship is doomed to failure. Some of these books go so far as to encourage readers to have sex even if they dont want to, in order to prevent a partner from leaving (Gupta and Cacchioni 2013).

All of these messages can create intense anxiety for individuals and couples who experience changes in sexual desire or activity. So what sexual people can learn from the asexuality movement is that these messages reflect certain assumptions about sexuality that are not necessarily true all of the time or for all people. A decrease in sexual desire or activity can be a distressing problem, but it doesnt have to be. People who identify as asexual are actively challenging compulsory sexuality and are demonstrating that it is possible to build intimate relationships that are not based on sexual attraction or sexual activity and that it is possible to lead a fulfilling life even if, or perhaps even because, one does not experience sexual attraction. This alternative message can give sexual people the space to take a deep breath and ask themselves the question why am I so worried about this decrease in sexual desire or activity? Is part of the distress or anxiety I am feeling coming primarily from the fact that society is telling me that I have a problem? Do I want to work to increase my sexual desire or do I want to instead see this change as either something temporary that will pass as circumstances change or as a new phase of life that could even be enjoyed?

Certainly, many sexual people will still decide that they want to work to increase their level of interest in sex or their sexual activity, but hopefully the lessons they learn from asexual-identified people will allow them to do so with less anxiety. And some sexual people may just decide that they want to explore and take pleasure from a less sexual phase in their lives. If the asexuality movement teaches us how to respond differently to the pressure that many people experience to constantly feel sexual desire, engage in sexual activity, and adopt a sexual identoty, then the movement has offered us all a valuable lesson indeed.

About the Author

Kristina Gupta is an Assistant Professor in the Womens, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department at Wake Forest University. Her dissertation analyzed contemporary asexual identities and compulsory sexuality.

Citations

Gupta, Kristina and Thea Cacchioni. 2013. Sexual Improvement as if Your Health Depends on It: An Analysis of Contemporary Sex Manuals. Feminism & Psychology. 23(4): 442-458.

Marshall, Barbara L. 2002. `Hard Science: Gendered Constructions of Sexual Dysfunction in the `Viagra Age. Sexualities 5 (2): 13158.

Tiefer, Leonore. 2006. Female Sexual Dysfunction: A Case Study of Disease Mongering and Activist Resistance. PLoS Med 3 (4): e178.

3- The Asexual Agenda interview: http://asexualagenda.wordpress.com/2014/08/14/a-conversation-with-robin-on-taiwan/

A conversation with Robin on Taiwan

Posted on August 14, 2014 by Siggy

This interview is part of our international voices series. If youd be interested in contributing, check out our call for submissions and interviews.

I was pleased to get an interview with Robin, who runs a Chinese-language asexual community, and lives in Taiwan. They are also part of the AVEN Project Team.

Siggy: Tell us about the Chinese asexual community you run. What kind of community is it?

Robin: Its a place where people who speak Chinese can get together, organize meetups, discuss the concept of asexuality in relation to Chinese culture, and figure out the terminology. Its still a relatively new community (started in February), and not many people have joined.

The situation was, there were two online groups in China, and none in Taiwan. I wished to create a new community. First I wanted it to be only for Taiwan, since there was none before, but then I wanted it to be Chinese-speaking people in general. The structure is modeled a bit after the English AVEN.

Siggy: So far weve found that many non-English communities simply take the English information and directly translate it. To what extent do you do this?

Robin: I use the English information as a base, and edit it according to local culture. Like, the part about being shamed for being a virgin is removed, since that doesnt exist here.

Siggy: How many members understand English?

Robin: Not many, as far as I know.

Siggy: So members of the community primarily understand asexuality through the main page information, or are there other sources?

Robin: There is an article on Wikipedia, and a bunch of badly-written media articles that are obviously copied, or plain wrong.

Siggy: You said that there isnt any virgin-shaming. What sort of problems do you or others encounter then?

Robin: There are traditional family values. A lot of asexual people are also aromantic, and/or dont want children. But people are always expected to have a normal family, as to pass down the family line. Also, I have heard from other members who got married, not knowing that people are actually sexual, and get surprised when asked for sex.

Siggy: Ive heard that Chinese-speaking cultures generally put romantic relationships lower down than family relationships. Is this true to your experience in Taiwan?

Robin: Hmmm That may be true in the older generation, but now, romantic relationships are also important. The concept of romantic love seems to be popular among the younger population. Valentines Day, romantic tourist destinations, and other stuff.

Siggy: How do people in Taiwan see LGBT people?

Robin: They think that gays are just seeking attention. They also think people decide to become homosexual. And bisexuality is almost invisible.

LGBT has been included in the curriculum, including homo, bi, and the gender spectrum, so the younger generation is more accepting of queers. So basically, the younger generation is more accepting, and more leaning towards western culture.

Siggy: How do asexuals see themselves in relation to LGBT then?

Robin: We see ourselves as part of the LGBT. My group is pretty close to a bi group, because were both invisible identities here. The bi group actually had a speech at the pride parade last year that included asexuality. We werent that organized back then, but we plan to march in the parade this year. As a new group, we have a major problem of inactivity, so Im trying to bring involvement up. Hopefully the pride parade can do that, and also get us some new members.

Siggy: Do you know how LGBT got into the curriculum? What age group is it taught to?

Robin: We have sex ed three times, one time in the higher elementary grades, in junior high, and in high school. LGBT was mentioned every time, and the concept of the gender spectrum appeared in social studies. Asexuality was never mentioned, although Storms Model was mentioned in high school. In 10th grade, we had a group talk to us about abstinence, and traditional family values. The flip-side of traditional family values is anti-LGBT.

Siggy: It sounds like there is a big generational gap. How does this impact asexuals?

Robin: LGBT people are comfortable coming out to their peers, but not to their parents. Parents always think that my child could never be gay, and may also bring that up, causing the LGBT child to fear coming out. And as mentioned above, parents expect their children to be married and have children, but asexuals might not want that. I believe that the US is also like this, but its more strict here.

So the younger generation believes in free love, which includes not loving (romantically).

Siggy: Youve mentioned (privately) that some of the English terms are missing from the Chinese language. How do you feel about that?

Robin: I feel that this causes a big problem in both self-identification and visibility. For example, there is no word for romantic relationship, or romantic orientation. The word for sexual orientation sounds a lot like romantic orientation, so a lot of members think they must also be aromantic to be asexual. The Chinese culture doesnt like to talk about sex, so a lot of related terms are replaced so they sound like love or romance related. Also, the Chinese culture considers everyone to be demisexual, so it is supposed to be normal not to have sexual desires outside of marriage. Which is, of course, not true.

  • Like 3
Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...