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Theoretical issues in the study of asexuality


Lord Happy Toast

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Lord Happy Toast

Chasin, CJ DeLuzio. (in press). Theoretical issues in the study of asexuality. Archives of Sexual Behavior. DOI: 10.1007/s10508-011-9757-x

Abstract: Academic interest in asexual people is new and researchers are beginning to discuss how to proceed methodologically and conceptually with the study of asexuality. This article explores several of the theoretical issues related to the study of asexuality. Researchers have tended to treat asexuality either as a distinct sexual orientation or as a lack of sexual orientation. Difficulties arise when asexual participants are inconsistent in their self-identification as asexual. Distinguishing between sexual and romantic attraction resolves this confusion, while simultaneously calling into question conceptualizations of the asexual population as a single homogenous group. Arguments are considered in favor of exploring diversity within the asexual population, particularly with respect to gender and romantic orientation, proposing that the categorical constructs employed in (a)sexuality research be replaced with continuous ones. Furthermore, given the recently noted bias toward including only self-identified asexuals, as opposed to non-self-identified asexuals or “potential-asexuals,” in research about asexuality, the nature and meaning of asexual self-identification are discussed. Particular attention is paid to the theoretical importance of acknowledging asexual self-identification or lack thereof in future research into asexuality. This article discusses what these current theoretical issues mean for the study of asexuality and sexuality more generally, including a brief consideration of ethical implications for research with asexual participants. Finally, directions for future research are suggested.

For anyone wanting to read it who can't get a copy, feel free to email the author to request a copy.

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AGlassRoseNeverFades

Is the author willing to send people a copy without asking for payment? This article looks promising compared to others I've seen. I'm glad to see more researchers are starting to take a closer look at asexuality as a field of study!

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Lord Happy Toast

The journals ask for payment because making things not-free is a major part of how they motivate libraries to subscribe to them (or to motivate people to get their libraries to subscribe to them), and is thus a big part of how they make money. In general, authors just want more people to read (and cite!) their stuff. (And they don't get any money from these publications. Rather, they get something to put on their CV.)

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AGlassRoseNeverFades

Cool, I'll have to look into it then.

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Lord Happy Toast

You will find it under pubmed and google scholar, so I would expect so. (I wasn't familiar with the term "Academic Search Elite" but googling it, it appears to be the same as EBSCO?)

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Sennkestra

when I click the download in full link it didn't charge me or anything. Maybe because I'm on a university network?

Anyway, I have the PDF now so if people still can't access it I can email it/put it somewhere where you can download it, I guess.

I have finals in an hour so I don't really have time to read it now, but I'll certainly be reading this carefully as soon as I'm done. Something to look forward to!

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. . .but there are sounds

You will find it under pubmed and google scholar, so I would expect so. (I wasn't familiar with the term "Academic Search Elite" but googling it, it appears to be the same as EBSCO?)

EBSCO is a metasearch, Academic Search Elite is one of the database search thingyies it taps. Smaller universities tend to grab bits and pieces of EBSCO rather than the whole thing cause its too expensive over their entire student body.

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Lord Happy Toast

when I click the download in full link it didn't charge me or anything. Maybe because I'm on a university network?

Yes. Presumably this means that your university subscribes to this journal. For the many university students on AVEN, they should be able to download it by themselves for free.

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Yellow Fish

Unless their university doesn't subscribe to many journals :|.

[Most frustrating aspect of doing research ... finding recent articles that sound - by the abstract - like a major contribution but not having access. I am all giddy when I find things that are useful; not being allowed to read is wargh. Big time.]

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I can't access this (not in college anymore) and I'm too shy to email the author. Can someone who has read it summarize what the "ethical implications" are? I'm curious.

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Sennkestra

I can't access this (not in college anymore) and I'm too shy to email the author. Can someone who has read it summarize what the "ethical implications" are? I'm curious.

I'm just starting to read it, but I can PM you a link to read it without requiring payment.

(If anyone else would like a copy, just PM me or something and I can send it to you or give you a link or something)

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As the author... Thanks mandrewliter for posting this.

The journal actually owns the copyright to the paper so I would be breaking the law to send people the paper as is. (I am not responsible for the actions of other people.)

I *do* have the right to keep an archival version on a personal or university website.

Give me a couple days to check the specifics so that I can do this legally, and I will make it available to the best of my ability. This will need to be in manuscript format (it will look like a Word document and not pages out of a journal). It will need to be the pre-proofed version with all the typos.

I do want to make my work about asexuality accessible to anyone within the asexual community.

-- CJ

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The journal actually owns the copyright to the paper so I would be breaking the law to send people the paper as is. (I am not responsible for the actions of other people.)

I *do* have the right to keep an archival version on a personal or university website.

Give me a couple days to check the specifics so that I can do this legally, and I will make it available to the best of my ability. This will need to be in manuscript format (it will look like a Word document and not pages out of a journal). It will need to be the pre-proofed version with all the typos.

In theoretical physics, and to a lesser extent in pure mathematics, people often post their articles to http://arxiv.org/ (which is universally accessible) even if they're already published in a journal. This apparently is quite compatible with copyright law. I don't see any reason it should be different in other fields, but you'd definitely know better than I would!

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In theoretical physics, and to a lesser extent in pure mathematics, people often post their articles to http://arxiv.org/ (which is universally accessible) even if they're already published in a journal. This apparently is quite compatible with copyright law. I don't see any reason it should be different in other fields, but you'd definitely know better than I would!

It depends on the journal. For this particular journal, authors are required to wait at least 12 months before doing anything like that and there are restrictions on that too. If only the institutions of psychology were as forward thinking as the institutions of mathematics.

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Okay. I now have the text freely available online at cj.chasin.ca *without* breaking any laws.

[The article needs to be in its unproofed, untypeset format, but other than the odd typo, the text is identical to the final published version.]

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