Asexuality in fiction

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This list is for fictional portrayals of asexual or suspected-asexual characters. For non-fiction, see Asexuality in non-fiction.

Please expand this list!

Literature

Novels

Title Author Character(s)
Case Histories: A Novel Kate Atkinson Amelia, Philip
The Pavilion of Women Pearl S. Buck Madam Wu
Sherlock Holmes Mysteries Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes
Geek Love Kathrine Dunn Miss Lick
Tom Jones Henry Fielding Blifil
Namedropper: A Novel Emma Forest Viva Cohen?
A Room With a View E.M. Forster Mr. Beebe and Cecil Vyse
Jude The Obscure Thomas Hardy Sue Bridehead
Guardian of the Dead Karen Healey Kevin comes out as asexual to his best friend
The Bone People Keri Hulme Kerewin Holmes
The World According to Garp John Irving Jenny Fields
Herland Charlotte Perkins Stetson Gilman the women
The Book of Disquiet Fernando Pessoa Bernardo Soares
Crampton Hodnet Barbara Pym (Barbara Bird)
The Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast Bill Richardson Virgil
The Wrong Boy Willy Russell Raymond Marks
Operation Hurdler and Operation Outside Hitter Michael Bilka Faye and Linda Cooper
To The Lighthouse Virginia Woolf Lily Briscoe (described as asexual by Market Drabble in the introduction to the Oxford University Press edition and also here)

Science fiction and fantasy

Title Author Character(s)
White Mars Brian W. Aldiss Cang Hai
I, Robot Isaac Asimov Dr. Susan Calvin
Diaspora Greg Egan Akili
Distress Greg Egan  ?
Fool's Errand, Golden Fool, Fool's Fate Robin Hobb Amber/Lord Golden
The Fire's Stone Tanya Huff Chandra
The Metabarons: Aghora the Father-Mother & Immaculate Conception Alexandro Jodorowsky Aghora
The Oathbound, Oathbreakers, and Oathblood Mercedes Lackey Tarma
Ombria in Shadow Patricia A. McKillip Mag the Waxling
The Deed of Paksenarrion: A Novel Elizabeth Moon Paks
The best of all possible worlds Karen Lord Lian
When the King Comes Home Caroline Stevermer Hail Rosamer
Cat's Cradle Kurt Vonnegut Mona Aamons Monzano
Deadeye Dick Kurt Vonnegut Rudy Waltz
Rose of the Prophet Trilogy: The Will of the Wanderer, The Paladin of the Night, The Prophet of Akhran Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman Azriel
The Hobbit J. R. R. Tolkien Bilbo Baggins

Short stories

Title Author Character(s)
Aye, and Gomorrah Samuel R. Delaney Spacers
The [Widget], the [Wadget], and Boff Theodore Sturgeon  ?

Featuring asexual or suspected-asexual characters

  • Susan Isaacs - Lily White (sexual main characters lead asexual relationship)
  • Caren Lissner - Carrie Pilby (Carrie Pilby)
  • Caren Lissner et al. - Scenes From A Holiday (Carrie Pilby, see novella titled "Carrie Pilby's New Year's Resolution")
  • Tim O'Brien - July, July (Marla Dempsey)
  • George Orwell - A Clergyman's Daughter (Dorothy Hare)
  • Banana Yoshimoto - The Lake (Nakajima; asexual relationship)

Movies

Year Title Reason Notes
1987 Withnail and I The film ends with Withnail saying "Man delights not me, no, nor women neither, nor women neither."[1] (These words are in fact originally taken from a quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet, act 2, scene 2.[2]) Directed by Bruce Robinson
2006 Sherlock Holmes (Most versions) Sherlock Holmes is generally considered asexual. -
2010 Inception Ellen Page plays Ariadne. Unusually for a female character, she isn't a romantic interest and she expresses no desire for other characters in the film. Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character, Arthur, tricks her into a kiss once, to which she seems unreactive. Directed by Christopher Nolan
2004 Mysterious Skin Brian Lackey, who was sexually abused as a child. He shows no interest in sex or romance, and seems repulsed when a female character abruptly tries to kiss, touch and undress him. Another character describes his "vibe" as "kinda weirdly asexual."[3] His memories of the abuse are strongly repressed until the end of the movie, as he believes he was abducted by aliens and not sexually abused. Directed by Gregg Araki

Television Shows

Year Title Reason
2006 – present Dexter The title character, a serial killer, feels emotionally divorced from the rest of humanity and has no interest in romance or sex.[4]
1963 – 1989,
2005 – present
Doctor Who The Doctor's sexuality is ambiguous; his relationship with Rose Tyler has been described as "a love story without the shagging".[5]
2010 Huge American show, character Poppy (played by Zoe Jarman) is the girl's cabin leader. She self-identifies as asexual in season 1, episode 5.[6]
2002 – present Ouran High School Host Club Haruhi Fujioka, the main character, has no interest in romance and prefers platonic relationships despite being surrounded by attractive males and females.[7]
1992 – present Shortland street New Zealand TV Show - character Gerald is asexual.[8][9]
2007 – present The Big Bang Theory American sitcom, character Sheldon Cooper expresses asexual tendencies.
1985 – 1992 The Golden Girls American sitcom, character Rose never thought about sex before she was married and when her husband wanted to have sex for the first time she didn't really understand sexual desire. She has never orgasmed.
2006 The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya One known asexual character, Yuki Nagato, and an anti-romantic character (titular). The show doesn't feature any relationships except for platonic ones, although the narrator character does experience some sexual attraction himself.[10]
2010 Sherlock Holmes says having a girlfriend is "not really my area", he considers himself "married to [his] work", and tells Watson, "I am flattered by your interest, [but] I am really not looking for anyone." Steven Moffat said in an interview 'He's happy being Sherlock Holmes... other people might have a problem with him being asexual, he doesn't have any problem with it, he's fine.'[11]
2014 - 2015 Sirens Voodoo, one of the EMTs has canonically said that she is asexual. The other EMTs refute the theory that she "hasn't met the right person" by saying that she met Johnny Depp and only thought that he wore too much makeup.
2015 - present The March Family Letters Webseries. When asked if she had a crush on Laurie, Beth asked, "You do remember that I'm ace, right?" Jo responded by saying "that doesn't mean you're aromantic." Beth made no further comment on her romantic orientation, only saying that she was not interested in Laurie.

See also

External Links

References

  1. Withnail & I on Shitespace
  2. Hamlet Text and Translation - Act II - Scene II on eNotes
  3. Mysterious Skin Script - Dialogue Transcript on Drew's Script-O-Rama
  4. Dexter - on AVEN Forums
  5. Doctor (Doctor Who) on Wikipedia
  6. Huge (TV series) on Wikipedia
  7. TV romantic cliches *clenches fist* - on AVEN Forums
  8. Shortland Street Asexuality Storyline - playlist on YouTube
  9. Shortland Street on TVNZ
  10. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - on AVEN Forums
  11. Sherlock – Audio interview with Steven Moffat on Geek Syndicate