Amoebas at Bowdoin

[(SP)]

http://www.bowdoinorient.org/studorgs/orie...5/opinion03.htm

This should also be in the links section, and something makes me think it was....but i don't see it anymore......?

It's an old article i've seen alot of times before.but for anyone who hasn't...

2013 Mod Edit: The above link doesn't work anymore, but this one should. For future reference:

Volume CXXXI, Number 20
April 5, 2002

Is it possible to be an amoeba at Bowdoin?
KARA OPPENHEIM

Ah, spring is in the air. Warmer weather, longer days, girls in short skirts and shirtless guys playing catch on the quad. Yes, the mating season has come to Bowdoin and everyone is feeling a little frisky. Everyone, that is, except for those students who are not interested in the opposite sex, or their own sex, or any sex for that matter. I have written about gay students and straight students, but what about the percentage of students who are not sexually oriented at all? That is why this week I investigate ASEXUALITY.

Long ago, old bachelor uncles and spinster aunts were commonplace. Then society became more educated and accepting and many of these people came out of the closet. The rest of them passed away, having never gotten over that long-lost love who perished in the war. But what about the ones that were neither homosexual nor heterosexual? Is it inconceivable that there are some people in this world who are actually not sexual beings at all? Can human beings really be asexual?

Andy is a Bowdoin student who appears to defy the statistic that adolescent boys think about sex 17 times in an hour. His friends were quite confused as they tried to figure out if he was gay or straight. He never hooked up with anyone or had crushes. It wasn't that he didn't like to have fun; he went out every night of every weekend and even some weeknights. He just did not have a sexual preference.

Finally, Andy's friends had to accept the fact that he was asexual. He now lives with a bunch of his teammates-last spring, they all fought (albeit behind his back) over who would be his roommate, because everyone knew that a roommate of Andy's would never be sexiled.

Claire is much like Andy. In fact, they are good friends and will often order pizza together at the end of a night when all of their friends have left parties with their respective significant others or random hookups. Sometimes they even prank call them.

Claire and Andy have never hooked up, though. Claire's friends wonder about her. They don't understand why she never flirts with anyone or thinks someone-anyone, male or female-is hot. Lots of people think Claire is hot, but she rejects all advances from girls and guys. Why? No one can figure it out. She says she dated people in high school, but who knows what that means?

Asexuality is especially enigmatic in a college environment where hormones are raging. Some people are relationship people and some people fear commitment, but almost everyone is looking for some sort of fulfillment, be it sexual, emotional, or both. So how can some people lack this drive?

Jill tells of her experience with Andy (yes, that same Andy): "I had a crush on him for so long, I mean he's a cool, good-looking ___-player who's really nice and really smart!" Note: Jill is a cute, smart, fun girl as well. "We talked and emailed for what seemed like forever. He never asked me out and never even tried to kiss me. I thought he might be shy, but finally his roommate explained to me that that's just the way Andy is. He's asexual. We're still good friends, but I just had to come to terms with the fact that nothing is ever going to happen."

Asexuality is not necessarily the same thing as celibacy (as demonstrated by recent scandals within the Catholic Church). Asexual people don't necessarily scorn sexuality (homo- or hetero-), but simply do not feel the drive that so many of us do. It seems that some people really just might not feel compelled to seek out sex. While Claire would probably never actually call herself "asexual," when I asked her why she is never attracted to anyone, she replied, "I don't know. It never really occurs to me."

It is, of course, entirely possible that Claire or Andy will one day meet a man or woman who changes the way they feel about the world and they will fall madly in love. It is also equally possible that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston will divorce one day and both be on the market again-celebrity marriages rarely last. In both cases though, you never really know-but either way, it's not really relevant to the issue at hand.

In short, it seems that some people are simply not as preoccupied with sex as most college students are. It's always hard for a girl to find out that the guy she likes is gay, but she will eventually accept it. So why is it so hard for her to accept that he might be asexual? As strange as it might sound, asexuality is really just a matter of diversity. Just as some people think sports are a waste of time and others can't understand why anyone would want to be a math major, some people, for whatever reason, don't think about sex.

I don't know why some people think about sex less than others. I certainly don't have the scientific resources to get to the bottom of it, although I doubt that it is hormonal. But I have found that such is the way of the world and people are who are asexual just are. My only question is this: if a person is asexual, do they still read my sex column?

[Cate Perfect]

That's cool, sacred. I hadn't seen that before.

Cate

[AVENguy]

Wow, from '02 no less. I'm e-mailing the author to see there's been any asexual organizing at Bowdoin that's somehow slipped under our radar...

[Guest]

Hey, interesting. Nice work finding that, sacred.

[(SP)]

I am America's #1 Asexual pharmacy...that you can trust.

..and actually i thought it was old news, but i guess not many others had seen it, and i kept it to myself for along time.

[bard of aven]

I am America's #1 Asexual pharmacy...that you can trust.

By that, o revered Canadian, I assume, you mean a continent, or two....

boa

[VivreEstEsperer]

Omg, that ROCKS!

Asexual organizing in Maine! at Bowdoin! woah! :) maybe i should have gone to bowdoin after all! imagine how shocked i would have been to see that appear in the paper! she did a really good job of writing that editorial. maybe i should write one for our school paper. thatd be so scary tho! hehe. cus it gets such a wide readership.

anyway thats so awesome! those two people she mentioned in the article are so lucky to know each other!

david tell us if you get a response, id love to email her myself....how are you finding her email addy tho?

thanks for showing us!

Kate

[junie99]

That means there are now four people in Maine who are asexual! I wonder if they know about AVEN or the asexuality meet-up day?

[VivreEstEsperer]

That means there are now four people in Maine who are asexual!

Woah, it is so good to read those words...

[(SP)]

~~~because the link is dead, I am going to put in a copy of the article, which will result in this being bumped on up.

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Ah, spring is in the air. Warmer weather, longer days, girls in short skirts and shirtless guys playing catch on the quad. Yes, the mating season has come to Bowdoin and everyone is feeling a little frisky. Everyone, that is, except for those students who are not interested in the opposite sex, or their own sex, or any sex for that matter. I have written about gay students and straight students, but what about the percentage of students who are not sexually oriented at all? That is why this week I investigate ASEXUALITY.

Long ago, old bachelor uncles and spinster aunts were commonplace. Then society became more educated and accepting and many of these people came out of the closet. The rest of them passed away, having never gotten over that long-lost love who perished in the war. But what about the ones that were neither homosexual nor heterosexual? Is it inconceivable that there are some people in this world who are actually not sexual beings at all? Can human beings really be asexual?

Andy is a Bowdoin student who appears to defy the statistic that adolescent boys think about sex 17 times in an hour. His friends were quite confused as they tried to figure out if he was gay or straight. He never hooked up with anyone or had crushes. It wasn't that he didn't like to have fun; he went out every night of every weekend and even some weeknights. He just did not have a sexual preference.

Finally, Andy's friends had to accept the fact that he was asexual. He now lives with a bunch of his teammates-last spring, they all fought (albeit behind his back) over who would be his roommate, because everyone knew that a roommate of Andy's would never be sexiled.

Claire is much like Andy. In fact, they are good friends and will often order pizza together at the end of a night when all of their friends have left parties with their respective significant others or random hookups. Sometimes they even prank call them.

Claire and Andy have never hooked up, though. Claire's friends wonder about her. They don't understand why she never flirts with anyone or thinks someone-anyone, male or female-is hot. Lots of people think Claire is hot, but she rejects all advances from girls and guys. Why? No one can figure it out. She says she dated people in high school, but who knows what that means?

Asexuality is especially enigmatic in a college environment where hormones are raging. Some people are relationship people and some people fear commitment, but almost everyone is looking for some sort of fulfillment, be it sexual, emotional, or both. So how can some people lack this drive?

Jill tells of her experience with Andy (yes, that same Andy): "I had a crush on him for so long, I mean he's a cool, good-looking ___-player who's really nice and really smart!" Note: Jill is a cute, smart, fun girl as well. "We talked and emailed for what seemed like forever. He never asked me out and never even tried to kiss me. I thought he might be shy, but finally his roommate explained to me that that's just the way Andy is. He's asexual. We're still good friends, but I just had to come to terms with the fact that nothing is ever going to happen."

Asexuality is not necessarily the same thing as celibacy (as demonstrated by recent scandals within the Catholic Church). Asexual people don't necessarily scorn sexuality (homo- or hetero-), but simply do not feel the drive that so many of us do. It seems that some people really just might not feel compelled to seek out sex. While Claire would probably never actually call herself "asexual," when I asked her why she is never attracted to anyone, she replied, "I don't know. It never really occurs to me."

It is, of course, entirely possible that Claire or Andy will one day meet a man or woman who changes the way they feel about the world and they will fall madly in love. It is also equally possible that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston will divorce one day and both be on the market again-celebrity marriages rarely last. In both cases though, you never really know-but either way, it's not really relevant to the issue at hand.

In short, it seems that some people are simply not as preoccupied with sex as most college students are. It's always hard for a girl to find out that the guy she likes is gay, but she will eventually accept it. So why is it so hard for her to accept that he might be asexual? As strange as it might sound, asexuality is really just a matter of diversity. Just as some people think sports are a waste of time and others can't understand why anyone would want to be a math major, some people, for whatever reason, don't think about sex.

I don't know why some people think about sex less than others. I certainly don't have the scientific resources to get to the bottom of it, although I doubt that it is hormonal. But I have found that such is the way of the world and people are who are asexual just are. My only question is this: if a person is asexual, do they still read my sex column?

[VivreEstEsperer]

thank you for doing that SP!