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Asexuality in University newspaper


Cilas

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I think this thread is in the right place

Anyways, I was reading my university paper, and the last week had a queer edition

I was pleasantly surprised that, in addition to talking about homosexuality, there was an article on asexuality in there as well.

The title is called "Problems Asexuals face" and I think it's an article that many people here will be be able to relate to well

They even have a list of asexual people, real and fictional XD

If you want to have a look, the paper can be downloaded here

http://www.src.usyd.edu.au/Honisoit/index.html






2014 Mod Edit: The above link doesn't work anymore, but I found this, which is the blog of the author of the article. The blog version may be shorter than the paper's one, I'm not sure. For future reference:


Problems Asexuals Face

September 15th 2008 16:56

The problems that Asexuals face mostly arise from other people not understanding or not accepting what Asexuality is. In our sex-crazed society we place a high premium on sexuality and sexual conquests, so where does a person with no sexual desires or motivations fit in?


Internal Identity Problems

Faking it
Buiding enough confidence to not have to fake sexual attraction to fit in is an important step for an Asexual person. It is tempting to exaggerate tales of sexual behaviour or to completely fabricate an interest in members of the opposite sex (or same sex) to avoid having to explain yourself. Some Asexuals will fool around with people they are not interested in just to maintain the facade of being "normal". It may seem like it makes life easier to mimic your high-sex-drivel friends, studying their reactions and repeating things they would say, but eventually you have to stop being a copy of a person and start being an original. A careful balance of knowing when to "fake it" at some points in your life may feel like a tug of war between becoming a complete outsider or developing into a complete sociopath!

Gender
The rigid gender sterotypes we are surrounded by can make it difficult for Asexual people to know how to act and how to identify. Media, entertainment and the suburban backyard BBQ have taught us that women belong in one corner and men in the other - but which corner should an Asexual go to? So much of ones masculinity hinges on the ability to pusue a female successfully, while women are valued on their ability to attract a male and produce some offspring. A women only seems "feminine" when contrasted with a man, and vice versa, so without a partner to be compared to how can you gauge your gender identity? It is a similar confusion that some homosexual people can experience - if you are not in a traditional male-female pairing then you dont have your role automatically cut out for you . . . you have to forge it yourself!







Some Religious Folk Claim Asexuals Do Not Exist

"What do you call a person who is asexual? Answer: Not a person. Asexual people do not exist. Sexuality is a gift from God and thus a fundamental part of our human identity."


David Nantais, S.J - Catholic minister from the University of Detroit Mercy


thats not very nice David . . .



Common False Assumptions People Make About Asexuals

Examples:
"oh youre just a late bloomer"
"you just havent found the right man/woman"
"you must be a closeted gay/lesbian"
"were you abused as a child?"
"you must have a bad body image/ low self esteem"
"is it because you dont want people to see you naked?"
"you must come from a strict religious family"
"did an ex-partner beat/rape/humiliate you?"
"you must have a hormone imbalance"
"you must hate people that have sex"
"oh you wouldnt know anything about relationships or feelings"
"youre probably just depressed"
"are your genitals deformed/malfunctioning?"
"its probably your diet/medications/alcohol intake"

None of these things are relevant to your sexual orientation, they might affect how quickly you come to accept your natural born orientation but they can not change it. Asexual people do not fear, hate, or resent sex, they simply dont think about it. They are physically able to have sex if they wanted to, they just find that they never particularly want to.

The Journal of Sex Research and New Scientist magazine have reported that around 1% of people are born Asexual. Now that we know each other exist we dont have to pretend anymore.

image-from-theories-of-sexual-orientatio

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theimpossiblek

Thanks for the link! Wow, there are so many interesting articles (including the one on asexuality, of course) ... and the list of famous asexuals?? Hmm... I dunno if Dr. House counts. From what I've seen, he does seem to experience sexual attraction- unless you think that's a "front" he puts up? I'm kinda curious how they got this list...

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I suddenly am overcome with an urge to transfer to your University. It's great that they mentioned asexuality in the paper. I think I'd have cardiac arrest if it was mentioned at my school.

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I think this thread is in the right place

Anyways, I was reading my university paper, and the last week had a queer edition

I was pleasantly surprised that, in addition to talking about homosexuality, there was an article on asexuality in there as well.

The title is called "Problems Asexuals face" and I think it's an article that many people here will be be able to relate to well

They even have a list of asexual people, real and fictional XD

If you want to have a look, the paper can be downloaded here

http://www.src.usyd.edu.au/Honisoit/index.html

Thanks.

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I suddenly am overcome with an urge to transfer to your University. It's great that they mentioned asexuality in the paper. I think I'd have cardiac arrest if it was mentioned at my school.
I would read that and then wonder who on the newspaper staff was Ace and how could I make them my friend. :lol:

I had both of these reactions. I would freak the heck out if anyone at my school said anything remotely related to asexuality (that they didn't hear from me).

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metalgirl2045

I recognise the famous and fictional asexuals list from Wikipedia.

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