Asexuality Presentation at my college - Anything to add?

[Liz Azalea]

At my college I do a short presentation on asexuality as a favor to the sociology professor for one of her classes, and I was wondering if anyone here would have some additional things they would like to add to what I'm telling the class. This presentation does actually have information that the class will be tested on, and I'm always looking to have accurate information whenever I'm attempting to educate others. If anyone has input that would be great!

 

I am approaching the date for my fourth presentation, here is what I talk about already:

 

~I briefly define what it means to be asexual and aromantic, as well as giving a description of the gray spectrum for each and making note of demisexual and demiromantic people, as well as statistics for estimates of how many people are asexual/aromantic

 

~I am sure to make note that action is not equal to attraction, and discuss the difference between sex repulsed, sex indifferent, and sex positive  sex favorable aces, as well as situations in which an asexual person would take part in a sexual relationship

 

~I then talk about the existence of communities built for asexuals and talk about AVEN (making note that anyone who wants to know more can join and ask questions)

 

~I include a section of this YouTube video by Echo Gillette as the analogy and animation used is better than anything I can create

 

~I then talk about Ace symbols including the Ace flag, ace rings, and other things such as dragons, axolotls, cake, and garlic bread. And if I can remember the playing cards as well

 

~After this short but information heavy presentation I take questions and do my best to answer what is asked.

 

I've known that I'm Ace for going on 6 years so I've had a lot of time to look into this sort of thing and get good at explaining it to others, however anything else that you thing I should add would be appreciated! I'll be doing this presentation at least another four times after this one, though if I can find a way to help inform others I will always do it, so any input it greatly appreciated!  

 

Update: The presentation was today and went well, the class was quiet and respectful until questions at the end. The questions that I was asked for anyone wondering were

1) Do Asexual people want physical relationships? (Basically asking about sex drive)

2) On some dating apps there is the option to identify yourself as asexual, but are there any dating apps made specifically for asexual people?

3) Would an asexual person be okay with their partner having another individual to satisfy their sexual needs?

 

I did my best to answer these questions based on my knowledge and was sure to mention that each person is different.

 

Edit 1: Changed "sex positive" to "sex favorable"

 

Updated March 13th, 2020

[Ciki]

Hi!

 

I just read your plan for your presentation and honestly-i feel like it's complete already.

 

It has just the right amount of information.Adding something would,in my opinion,just be too much.

 

Oh,and when it comes down to ace symbols,don't forget to explain why we chose those specific ones.

 

And i feel like that's it.Good luck with your presentation my friend😊💖♠

[Memento1]

Very cool!  I did a presentation on asexuality for a class, but mine was for counseling students, so the topics may or may not apply.  Feel free to take them or leave them.

 

- The difference between sexual attraction and libido.  Many aces have an active libido, just don't have a desire to tend to it through sex.  It causes a lot of confusion.

- Asexuality has really only gained recognition and scientific study in the last 2 decades - the field is ripe for research!

 

Good luck!

[Liz Azalea]

1 hour ago, Ciki said:

Hi!

 

I just read your plan for your presentation and honestly-i feel like it's complete already.

 

It has just the right amount of information.Adding something would,in my opinion,just be too much.

 

Oh,and when it comes down to ace symbols,don't forget to explain why we chose those specific ones.

 

And i feel like that's it.Good luck with your presentation my friend😊💖♠

Thanks for the input! I thought it was pretty well rounded myself, but I just wanted to ask and see what others thought

 

And yes! I do explain the Ace ring and flag, as well as the little bit of logic I've heard for the other ones.

 

Thank you! I'll likely make a post that consists of the questions I get asked over time, as I feel others may find that interesting. I think the presentation will be sometime in the next week

[Liz Azalea]

49 minutes ago, Memento1 said:

Very cool!  I did a presentation on asexuality for a class, but mine was for counseling students, so the topics may or may not apply.  Feel free to take them or leave them.

 

- The difference between sexual attraction and libido.  Many aces have an active libido, just don't have a desire to tend to it through sex.  It causes a lot of confusion.

- Asexuality has really only gained recognition and scientific study in the last 2 decades.

 

Good luck!

Thanks for the feedback!

 

The difference between attraction and libido is included in my point about action and attraction being different

 

And I didn't actually know that, as I've only been around for the last two decades, so I may add that in, thank you for the information!

[Ciki]

1 minute ago, ToneDeafVocalist said:

Thank you! I'll likely make a post that consists of the questions I get asked over time, as I feel others may find that interesting. I think the presentation will be sometime in the next week

No problem and please do!I'd love to see what people found interesting about asexuality.

 

I could help both me and many others struggling to come out.And if nothing,it would be very fun to read.

 

Anyway,good luck.I'm sure you'll do great😊💖

[everywhere and nowhere]

I would correct one thing:

2 hours ago, ToneDeafVocalist said:

discuss the difference between sex repulsed, sex indifferent, and sex positive aces

It should be called "sex-favourable", not "sex-positive". And this one is particularly important (much more important than. for example, insisting that "sex-indifferent" is a stance on having sex and "sex-neutral" only a political stance on sex), because (unfortunately, unlike sex neutrality and sex negativity, and these are legitimate stances too) sex positivity is very, very, very widely understood as a political stance on sex. Using it in the meaning of "open to sex and able to enjoy it even if not actively desiring it" would be very confusing.

You could also add than asexuals can have different opinions on sex in general and that even some personally sex-repulsed people are politically sex-positive. Fine as long as people don't assume that all non-sex-positive people are bad and hate others.

[Liz Azalea]

Just now, Nowhere Girl said:

I would correct one thing:

It should be called "sex-favourable", not "sex-positive". And this one is particularly important (much more important than. for example, insisting that "sex-indifferent" is a stance on having sex and "sex-neutral" only a political stance on sex), because (unfortunately, unlike sex neutrality and sex negativity, and these are legitimate stances too) sex positivity is very, very, very widely understood as a political stance on sex. Using it in the meaning of "open to sex and able to enjoy it even if not actively desiring it" would be very confusing.

Thank you so much! I'll be sure to keep that in mind!

[Tyger Songbird]

This sounds wonderful. If you can post how all of this goes as well. I'd love to see it. I'm trying to make one myself for it. I hope things go so well.

[Liz Azalea]

1 minute ago, tygersongbird said:

This sounds wonderful. If you can post how all of this goes as well. I'd love to see it. I'm trying to make one myself for it. I hope things go so well.

For sure! I'll see about getting concrete presentation notes drawn up to share and if the professor is alright with it might even see about recording the presentation (at least audio) so anyone interested could see/hear how that goes.

 

The presentation typically goes pretty well, I take about 20 minutes and at the end usually have a few questions. Haven't had any huge upsets just yet at least!

[charlessailor]

I'm trying to do something somewhat similar at my institution, so I'm very excited to hear how this goes/has gone. In particular, I'd be curious to hear about the questions you have gotten and how you have responses, if you wouldn't mind sharing. Also curious to hear if the class format is the most conducive for awareness--it is one possibility, but I am also considering maybe making a student organization.

 

Best wishes!

[Liz Azalea]

33 minutes ago, charlessailor said:

I'm trying to do something somewhat similar at my institution, so I'm very excited to hear how this goes/has gone. In particular, I'd be curious to hear about the questions you have gotten and how you have responses, if you wouldn't mind sharing. Also curious to hear if the class format is the most conducive for awareness--it is one possibility, but I am also considering maybe making a student organization.

 

Best wishes!

I would love to start an organization, however my school is small and I'm in a more conservative state so that would not take off.

 

I'll be sure to update this as time goes on of course!

[Winter-Cattle]

8 hours ago, ToneDeafVocalist said:

an asexual person would take part in a sexual relationship

Is it clear that while some asexuals may have sex as e.g. a compromise or because of societal expectations, there are also those of us who would in no situation ever consent to sex? I am not sex-negative or sex-repulsed, or even sex-averse depending on who decides to define it, but I have definitely felt excluded from sex-positivity before because I neither desire nor want to engage in solo or partnered sex.

 

I don't know about the social sciences as I have never studied any, but when I have given presentations for university in a natural science, it was very important to include references to up-to-date research. Have you included the journal articles on asexuality and any gaps in research you noticed? Maybe this is not the type of thing you are expected to include.

 

That's all I can really think of, good luck with the presentation.

[Liz Azalea]

2 minutes ago, Winter-Cattle said:

Is it clear that while some asexuals may have sex as e.g. a compromise or because of societal expectations, there are also those of us who would in no situation ever consent to sex? I am not sex-negative or sex-repulsed, or even sex-averse depending on who decides to define it, but I have definitely felt excluded from sex-positivity before because I neither desire nor want to engage in solo or partnered sex.

 

I don't know about the social sciences as I have never studied any, but when I have given presentations for university in a natural science, it was very important to include references to up-to-date research. Have you included the journal articles on asexuality and any gaps in research you noticed? Maybe this is not the type of thing you are expected to include.

 

That's all I can really think of, good luck with the presentation.

I appreciate the input!

 

Yes typically I'll include discussion of societal pressures, as it's a sociology class that I'm presenting in.

 

And as far as sources go I don't have to list any as the presentation is mostly from experience and I'm not enrolled in the class, however I do mention AVEN several times, which would be where most of my information would have come from anyways

 

This will be my fourth time doing this presentation so it should go nice and smoothly, but thank you for the luck anyhow!

[Chef Remy]

Looks great. Like that you are doing a presentation on asexuality.  Raise awareness about asexuality, and make people think.

I went to a conservative university and no ever really gave presentations about the LGBT community or alternative life styles. Besides just the basic training about Equal Opportunity and Sexual Harassment. 

[Liz Azalea]

1 hour ago, Chef Remy said:

Looks great. Like that you are doing a presentation on asexuality.  Raise awareness about asexuality, and make people think.

I went to a conservative university and no ever really gave presentations about the LGBT community or alternative life styles. Besides just the basic training about Equal Opportunity and Sexual Harassment. 

Thanks for the feedback!

 

It's a fairly conservative area that I'm in as well, the only reason I'm getting away with this presentation is the fact that it's in a class which talks about LGBT life in regards to family. But yeah I'm glad I get to do something like this fairly consistently. Especially since I know there's a lot of Aces who aren't comfortable with being so open about their asexuality, so the more people who know, the better received people will be when they do come out is the way I see it.

[Chef Remy]

12 hours ago, ToneDeafVocalist said:

Especially since I know there's a lot of Aces who aren't comfortable with being so open about their asexuality, so the more people who know, the better received people will be when they do come out is the way I see it.

I agree think more people fall some where on asexual spectrum. But don't want to admit it or accept that they do. Instead they try to fit it in or fake it, especially in today sexualized society.

[Liz Azalea]

To those of you who were wanting to hear about the presentation after it happened, it was today. I wasn't able to get any form of recording and was tight on time so there weren't many questions, but I updated the original post to talk about what actually happened