Asexuality is the New Black - Sydney Star

[Live R Perfect]

http://www.ssonet.com.au/display.asp?ArticleID=3741

The asexual revolution

Sydney Star Observer
Issue 737
Published 28/10/2004


APPARENTLY ASEXUALITY IS THE NEW BLACK. STACY FARRAR FEELS VERY UNCOOL.
With our TV shows sliding into obscurity (it seems even a bus-stop marketing campaign couldn’t save the wretched Playing It Straight from its graveyard timeslot destiny), a new contender for quirky sexuality of choice has emerged – and it’s all about not getting any.

New Scientist magazine is calling it an “asexual revolution” and, like all modern revolutions, it comes with T-shirts and online communities. No surprises there. Without sex to occupy one’s mind, there is plenty of time for printing T-shirts.

Stranger than the “Asexuals Party Hardest” and “I’m Asexual, And So Is My Significant Other” T-shirts – not to mention the “uneffable” lunchboxes and Frisbees – is the idea of asexuality as a cultural struggle, compared to the gay rights movement of the 70s. The asexuals of the world are coming out. They’re here, they’re not queer (but they’re not not queer either) and they’re thinking about gardening. Or something.

Oddly, members of the self-affirming asexual community, those who buy and wear the T-shirts and chest-thump about their asexual identities, position themselves side-by-side with the gay community. They argue over the inherent “queerness” of asexuality and state that asexuality exists within those romantically (but not sexually) attracted to the same sex, the opposite sex or both sexes. The website asexuality.org talks about the benefits of “coming out” as asexual, like no longer having to pretend to enjoy looking at a colleague’s legs in a short skirt to fit in with the office mates.

The difference between being queer and being asexual, according to asexuality.org, is that asexuality is not an oppressive state so the asexuals of the world haven’t sought each other out. Until now. There are online communities of “leather spinster” asexuals, Japanese asexuals and asexuals who just want to celebrate non-sexual friendships.

I reckon everyone has asexual impulses from time to time. Sometimes we feel tired. Or bored. We’ve come out of bad relationships or had a horror one-nighter. And I’m sure a lot of gay men have left a SOPV thinking they might not do that again. But, as representatives of a sexual minority we must give our asexual brothers and sisters the benefit of the doubt. And next time a relationship looks like it’s heading to bed death, do a quick Google search on asexuality. Your partner might just be having some coming out issues.

2013 Mod Edit: The above link doesn't work, but the article has been archived here.

[IT]

Interesting article, Karl. Well found

Let's just hope that after the forthcoming presidential election the American press can start to give this forum as much visibility as the Australian and British press are.

Colin.

[Cate Perfect]

Eh. I'm not holding my breath.

1) We don't have huge national papers

2) We're not really a nation of paper-readers.

It'd have to make the TV news.

Cate

[cait]

I see gramatical errors! I am still not convinced that "asexuality is the new black". In fact, I don't really see any reference to it? What does that even mean? Black sheep, or something?

[bard of aven]

"uneffable" lunchboxes and frisbees?? Somebody tell me I didn't really do that!!!!

boa

[yam]

my questions are:

1.) who's stacey farrar?

2.) why does she care about the new black?

3.) hmm i thought we'd made it pretty clear that asexuality is fairly long-lasting (i.e. may be fluid definition for some but for most of us it's a lifetime thing), why does the author seem to argue that we or others should think otherwise?

[coralleane]

I see gramatical errors! I am still not convinced that "asexuality is the new black". In fact, I don't really see any reference to it? What does that even mean? Black sheep, or something?

It's just a phrase. "Such-and-such is the new black" means that something is likely to become very popular, and it originally comes from a reference to fashion. Black is often considered a staple of most people's wardrobes, so if another colour were to displace it, it would be "the new black". It's an incredibly common phrase over here, at least - the papers use it whenever they can, so you frequently get things like "Green is the new black", "Brown is the new black" and so on and so forth in fashion columns. Because it's such a common phrase now it's used for *anything* that's likely to become popular and common.

~Coral

[VivreEstEsperer]

That's a great article. It made me laugh.

They’re here, they’re not queer (but they’re not not queer either) and they’re thinking about gardening. Or something.

lol...the author has a sense of humor, anyway.

Kate

[Qwerty]

... along with "Black is the new black", which seems to appear in between each episode of green or brown or whatever.

[cait]

I see gramatical errors! I am still not convinced that "asexuality is the new black". In fact, I don't really see any reference to it? What does that even mean? Black sheep, or something?

It's just a phrase. "Such-and-such is the new black" means that something is likely to become very popular, and it originally comes from a reference to fashion. Black is often considered a staple of most people's wardrobes, so if another colour were to displace it, it would be "the new black". It's an incredibly common phrase over here, at least - the papers use it whenever they can, so you frequently get things like "Green is the new black", "Brown is the new black" and so on and so forth in fashion columns. Because it's such a common phrase now it's used for *anything* that's likely to become popular and common.

~Coral

Ah, thankyou for clearing that up. It all makes sense now.

[Kensta]

That was quite good!

Made me chuckle!

Ben