Mashable - "How the queer community can embrace the asexual spectrum"

[scarletlatitude]

https://mashable.com/article/sex-positivity-asexual-demisexual-community/

26 June 2019

 

Neat article describing asexual history. 

 

Snippet (article is longer)

Quote

Pride is a time for embracing one’s identity, for shouting it loudly from the rooftops because we should, all of us, be proud of who we are.

 

But for a small part of the LGBTQIA+ community — the A specifically — it continues to present a quandary. The asexual community, named for its lack of interest in sex, struggles to navigate a movement defined by sexual attraction.

 

“On the one hand we have this sex-positive culture which is wonderful and liberating, but there is a story that’s missing, and what’s missing is not everyone is sexual,” said Phillip L. Hammack, professor of psychology and director of the Sexual and Gender Diversity Laboratory at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

 

“Variations in the levels of sexual attraction or the conditions under which people experience sexual desire is a normal form of human diversity, and it’s not one that’s been represented historically,” he said.

 

Roughly 1 percent of the population identifies as asexual, but there’s a spectrum to lack of sexual interest just as there is for sexual interest. Some people identify as demisexual (interested in sex but only when there's a strong emotional connection) or as graysexual (moving fluidly between asexual and sexual depending on the circumstances). Sexual and romantic identities are also distinct; a person may identify as asexual, but not aromantic (uninterested in emotional relationships), and therefore pursue romantic relationships with little or no physical component.

 

 

It also mentions AVEN:

 

Quote

Asexuality as a sexual orientation didn’t really enter mainstream discourse until the early 2000s, in conjunction with two main things, said Hammack. First came the establishment of AVEN (the Asexual Visibility and Education Network) by David Jay in 2001. Inextricably linked to its rise was the internet. Asexual people around the country found each other via forums, message boards, and online connections that turned into real-life ones. But despite this rise, the asexual community was — and still is — often regarded with confusion.