Famous Asexuals

[Shivers]

LOL, that's okay, Cate! I never googled myself until a couple weeks ago (there was a thread on here, I forget what).

However, don't count yourself safe yet, I know some really odd resources on the net.... (-:þ

[Mistah J]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asexual#Famous_Asexuals

[supergeekgirl]

I've always thought that whoever compiled that Wikipedia list didn't have any clue what asexuality was. There are a few people on there who are possibly asexual, like Morrissey, who claimed to be, or Isaac Newton, who some think was gay, but many of those people are on there for really odd reasons. For example, someone put Kellogg on there because he was against masturbation. Someone thought that abstinence before marriage was asexuality, so they put a couple of people on there for that (who eventually got married).

[Mistah J]

I've always thought that whoever compiled that Wikipedia list didn't have any clue what asexuality was. There are a few people on there who are possibly asexual, like Morrissey, who claimed to be, or Isaac Newton, who some think was gay, but many of those people are on there for really odd reasons. For example, someone put Kellogg on there because he was against masturbation. Someone thought that abstinence before marriage was asexuality, so they put a couple of people on there for that (who eventually got married).

Trust me... I've checked the internet and red books about them... Every single one of that list was against sex (asexual, non-sexual, anti-sexual or whatever...). And what does marriage got to do with anything? J. M. Barrie was married for a few years but never had sexual relationships with his wife... So did Beethoven...

[Damien Day]

Beethoven was known for having frequent sex with prostitutes, with the possibility that he may have contracted syphilis as a result. Isaac Newton was most definitely asexual and certainly neither gay nor straight in any way - there's historical evidence to support this, given accounts from very close friends etc., like with Nikola Tesla. I also agree re the Ruskin/J M Barrie accounts, that's borne out by evidence, as well. I'm pretty sure, though, that Morrissey is lying about being asexual, as quite a number of pop-stars have pretended to be so for publicity-purposes.

[supergeekgirl]

There are also the couple of stars on the list who were against sex BEFORE marriage, but they got married, and, as far as anyone knows, are having sex now. That's not asexual.

[Mistah J]

Trust me... I know what I'm saying! Despite the tacky romance of the film Immortal Beloved and rumors that he died of syphilis (the scars on his face are now believed to be from lupus), it's widely accepted now that Ludwig van Beethoven remained a lifelong celibate. :D

[ghosts]

There are also the couple of stars on the list who were against sex BEFORE marriage, but they got married, and, as far as anyone knows, are having sex now. That's not asexual.

Welllllll... I know I'm being picky, but anyway... It's likely that they aren't asexual, but who knows? Maybe they aren't sexually attracted to anyone, but are married to a sexual person- so, they're having sex as a compromise like some members on this forum. However, I don't really know that much about these people so I couldn't say for sure, of course.

[supergeekgirl]

And neither does whoever put them on the list as asexual. What I'm saying is that I think someone put them on the list based on the fact that they were celibate until marriage because that's the closest thing in their Wikipedia articles that I can find to asexual.

[Mistah J]

Why don't you check this out...? :P

[Damien Day]

Trust me... I know what I'm saying! Despite the tacky romance of the film Immortal Beloved and rumors that he died of syphilis (the scars on his face are now believed to be from lupus), it's widely accepted now that Ludwig van Beethoven remained a lifelong celibate. :D

There are several authors who've already written about Beethoven's predilection for prostitutes, and this frequent association is cited as fact on a number of online sources:-

''You have to remember that syphilis and gonorrhea were rampant in those days,'' Guevara continued. ''Absolutely rampant. Case in point: We know for a fact that Beethoven hung out with prostitutes. It's documented by a cellist friend of his. Beethoven was a romantic, he wanted to be loved, but he could never find a good partner. When his friends got him drunk and took him out to the red-light district, he did what he had to do. Remember, a syphilis infection manifests itself in many different ways. Deafness is one condition you could develop. You could have had an ear infection that never got treated.''

taken from:- http://tinyurl.com/y23cmx

I agree that the syphilis theory is unproven, unlike the bit about his red-light district visits, but then so is the lupus theory. There's even now a "lead" theory being proposed, among others.

Re Joker/asexual reference in your sig:- In the "Killing Joke" the Joker is mentioned as being married to a (pregnant) wife, so is unlikely to be asexual.

[Mistah J]

Trust me... I know what I'm saying! Despite the tacky romance of the film Immortal Beloved and rumors that he died of syphilis (the scars on his face are now believed to be from lupus)' date=' it's widely accepted now that Ludwig van Beethoven remained a lifelong celibate. :D[/quote']

There are several authors who've already written about Beethoven's predilection for prostitutes' date=' and this frequent association is cited as fact on a number of online sources:-

Re Joker/asexual reference in your sig:- In the "Killing Joke" the Joker is mentioned as being married to a (pregnant) wife' date=' so is unlikely to be asexual.[/quote']

First of all, my signature doesn't say that Joker was asexual... although there's a speculation out there that sustains he is (was... or whatever). My signature only states that Joker (I'm talking about the "Joker", not the Jack Napier person... You know... the Axis Chemicals scene in which Jack Napier falls into the toxic waste and becomes the Joker) never had sexual intercourse with Harleen Quinzel a.k.a. Harley Quinn in their partnership as the Gotham's funny wrongdoers... Although there seemes to have been some romance between them, the fact is that it was all platonic... They were to childlike to like sex... They didn't do "it"... How can I put this simple: they were chaste... As for the "Killing Joke" (whatever that may be), I'm sure you mean Jack Napier was married to a (pregnant) wife... I don't really care about Jack Napier, but for the JOKER... and HARLEY QUINN...

[thylacine]

How 'bout Ralph Nader? Some people think he might be asexual? (If his name was mentioned previously, I didn't have time to read the whole thing... ) Anyone know any details about Ralphie? Or is he "Unsafe at Any Speed?"

(For those who are too young to remember, that was a book he wrote about the Corvair. It had an unpleasant habit of spinning out of control and flipping over.)

[thylacine]

How 'bout Ralph Nader? Some people think he might be asexual? (If his name was mentioned previously, I didn't have time to read the whole thing... ) Anyone know any details about Ralphie? Or is he "Unsafe at Any Speed?"

(For those who are too young to remember, that was a book he wrote about the Corvair. It had an unpleasant habit of spinning out of control and flipping over.)

[mindlife]

I'm pretty sure, though, that Morrissey is lying about being asexual, as quite a number of pop-stars have pretended to be so for publicity-purposes.

I just wonder why he would do that though? What would he have to gain by it?

[Damien Day]

I just wonder why he would do that though? What would he have to gain by it?

The idea behind pretending to be asexual is to give the impression of being inaccessible, as that raises the perceived sexual value of the person(people want what they cannot have). For example, it's quite common for certain types of women to actively seek out and seduce male Catholic priests, purely because the latter are forced to vows of celibacy.

[mindlife]

Yes of course.

That's like me wanting to go to Antarctica or Baffin Island.

[Hpets]

Here's Wikipedia's full list (though I don't think any are truly confirmed):

Benjamin Banneker

J.M. Barrie

Jorge Luis Borges

Emily Brontë

George Washington Carver

Paul Erdős

Edward Gorey

Immanuel Kant

Christina of Sweden

H.P. Lovecraft

Isaac Newton

Florence Nightingale

John Ruskin

Erik Satie, French pianist and composer

Sun Ra, American jazz musician

Nikola Tesla

Samuel J. Tilden

Simone Weil

Hans Christian Andersen

Jean Alexander

Todd Fuller

John Harvey Kellogg

Morrissey

Joan of Arc

Maximilien Robespierre, French Revolutionary

Alfred Nobel

The Wright brothers

Friedrich Nietzsche

[hydrae]

Some of my favourite people are on the Wiki list :D

[FISH']

I thought Morissey was gay?

[borrowedTime]

I thought Morissey was gay?

I don't think he's ever confirmed that any more than he's confirmed he's asexual... you can certainly read both into lots of his songs.

I wouldn't hold too much store in the wikipedia list. It's been completely deleted, and subsequently rebuilt, before, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it happened again.

[secretstar]

I thought Morissey was gay?

I don't think he's ever confirmed that any more than he's confirmed he's asexual... you can certainly read both into lots of his songs.

I wouldn't hold too much store in the wikipedia list. It's been completely deleted, and subsequently rebuilt, before, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it happened again.

Trust me, the more you find out about Morrissey, the more you realize he is probably NOT lying about the whole Asexuality thing. The thing is Morrissey ACTS very sexual on stage with regards to the way he moves and presents himself, but it is the stage persona that is the deception. The reality is he is easily one of the most private people out there and is essentially asexual. There are also sexual assumptions built into his songs by other people, but the reality is, there is alot of questions if the sexuality is even there. There is a deep amount of romantic longing (for both genders it seems), but when confronted with actual sexuality he always leaves. Morrissey is a person deeply conflicted by his own feelings, but he is also crystal clear about them when he is sincere (the most sincere and personal song I think Morrissey has ever done is I have Forgiven Jesus)

The thing is Morrissey's asexuality is constantly questioned because he has created such a conflicting stage persona compared to his actual personality. The thing is when you do begin to ask the few people who know him, they say he is what he says he is. Somebody who is deeply romantic, but extremely private, and essentially asexual. The asexuality has little to do with being percieved as unattainable.

He says he is no longer celibate, but he has not really dropped his claims about asexuality.

The thing is Morrissey is the ONLY celiberty I have EVER heard claiming he was asexual. He never did it to get famous or increase his popularity. He says he has always been completely honest about who he is, but people doubt him because the fact he is intelligent and complex as an individual. Who he really is as a person conflicts with the image he presents on stage (which is fully intentional).

They have interviewed everybody from bandmates, to high school friends and family, and they all say he is not really hiding anything. The image is just that an image. The image does create a level of ambiguity, but in reality Morrisey lives alone and eats toast. Actually if you hear him talk, he really does not have much of interest in people in general.

I think the only people who doubt Morrissey as being asexual, are people who are falling for the image and reading to many of his skeptics. He is a very interesting figure that has many layers of ambiguity. But the reality is there is a great deal of honesty there as well, and he has been extremely honest about his sexuality. Actually part of the joke of Morrissey and his eroticism that is percieved to be there, is the fact Morrissey is not really interested in anybody.

I will be honest. Saying you are asexual is always doubted by some people. Morrissey may in fact be the first public and prime example of how asexuality is doubted. Being deeply romantic and asexual, always cast a shadow of doubt. I know this from personal experience.

The thing is I understand what Morrissey talks and sings about as a romantic asexual. It makes sense to me, and I don't see it as some kind of show or persona, its who he really is.

[Knlys]

Hm...Reel around the fountain doesn't sound very asexual to me. I don't know if I understand it right, but the lyrics seem to be about sexual desire and acts.

[GreenCircles]

I wash my hands too much.

Me too!

[RickMacLeod]

Emily Brontë was a lesbian, as accounted by her sisters. I just recently read a couple of biographies, which all account Emily as seeing women. (whether or not she was sexual with them, I admit remains to be see, but...)

H.P. Lovecraft was off-and-on lovers with Alistair Crowley, actually, during the time they wrote such things as Necronomicon, and AC was building the ODO, and the Temple of Thelema.

Joan of Arc - was celibate, to be sure.... but I don't think she was asexual...

Maximilien Robespierre, French Revolutionary

I did a report on Robespierre when I was younger, and he was married, and eventually had 2 children. (though the paternity of ONE was suspect.)

[wiredcrow]

Did anyone mention Nikola Tesla, the greatest inventor and engineer who ever lived?

[Noskcaj.Llahsram]

H.P. Lovecraft was off-and-on lovers with Alistair Crowley, actually, during the time they wrote such things as Necronomicon, and AC was building the ODO, and the Temple of Thelema.

That's actually a complete myth, he was married to Sonia Greene, but sex was infrequent, and unimportant, also so she was jewish, and he didn't like the jews as a people, but apparently didn't mind them individually. Also

SHAZAM

Myth: Lovecraft was a homosexual

The facts that Lovecraft had little success with women and had many male friends have led people to believe that he was a homosexual. However, it must be remembered that he was married (briefly) and his wife described him as an “adequately excellent lover” (Sonia H. Davis, “Memories of Lovecraft: I,” The Arkham Collector, No. 4, Winter 1969). Some of Lovecraft’s friends and acquaintances (most notably, Robert H. Barlow, Samuel Loveman, and Hart Crane) were homosexuals, but Lovecraft apparently didn’t even realize this. Lovecraft makes his attitudes on homosexuality clear in a letter to J. Vernon Shea dated 14 August 1933:

As a matter of fact—although of course I always knew that paederasty was a disgusting custom of many ancient nations—I never heard of homosexuality as an actual instinct till I was over thirty . . . which beats your record! It is possible, I think that this perversion occurs more frequently in some periods than in others—owing to obscure biological & psychological causes. Decadent ages—when psychology is unsettled—seem to favour it. Of course—in ancient times the extent of the practice of paederasty (as a custom which most simply accepted blindly, without any special inclination) cannot be taken as any measure of the extent of actual psychological perversion.

In addition, in a letter to August Derleth dated 16 February 1933, Lovecraft also writes, “So far as the case of homosexuality goes, the primary and vital objection against it is that it is naturally (physically and involuntarily—not merely ‘morally’ or aesthetically) repugnant to the overwhelming bulk of mankind...” Some might argue that this was merely defensive posturing on Lovecraft’s part, and yet no evidence exists to indicate that he had any homosexual inclinations. But, this is not to say that his heterosexual inclinations were especially strong, either. Lovecraft, like many intellectuals, focused his attentions and efforts on mental, rather than physical, pursuits, and simply didn’t have very strong sexual interests at all.

Myth: Lovecraft (or his wife, Sonia) was associated with Aleister Crowley

Again, we have the “Simon” edition of the Necronomicon to thank for this misconception. The book implies some sort of vague connection between Lovecraft and Crowley:

That a reclusive author of short stories who lived in a quiet neighborhood in New England and the manic, infamous Master Magician who called the world his home, should have somehow met in the sandy wastes of some forgotten civilization seems incredible. That they should both have become Prophets and Forerunners of a New Aeon of Man’s history is equally, if not more, unbelievable. Yet, with H.P. Lovecraft and Aleister Crowley, the unbelievable was a commonplace of life. These two men, both acclaimed as geniuses by their followers and admirers, and who never actually met, stretched their legs across the world, and in the Seven League Boots of the mind they did meet, and on common soil . . . . Sumeria.

There’s that “recluse” myth popping up again... This is just the sort of vague implications that says nothing, but causes the reader to see something. In addition, Colin Low’s Necronomicon Anti-FAQ also infers a connection between Lovecraft and Crowley. This time, it’s Lovecraft’s wife, Sonia Greene:

In 1918 Crowley was in New York. As always, he was trying to establish his literary reputation, and was contributing to The International and Vanity Fair. Sonia Greene was an energetic and ambitious Jewish emigre with literary ambitions, and she had joined a dinner and lecture club called “Walker’s Sunrise Club” (?!); it was there that she first encountered Crowley, who had been invited to give a talk on modern poetry.... Crowley did not waste time as far as women were concerned; they met on an irregular basis for some months.

Once again, such claims are entirely unsubstantiated. Low also claims that Lovecraft had heard of the Necronomicon from Greene who had, in turn, heard of it from Crowley. This is a fortunate coincidence, since Lovecraft first mentions the Necronomicon in “The Hound,” which he wrote in mid-October 1921—only three months after having met Greene. However, Lovecraft first mentions Abdul Alhazred, the author of the Necronomicon, in “The Nameless City” (which he wrote in January 1921) a full six months before having met Greene. Still, all this is moot since Colin Low has openly admitted that his “Necronomicon Anti-FAQ,” like the book it discusses, is a hoax.

From http://www.hplovecraft.com/life/myths.asp

You shall not speak unproven statements of Lovecraft within my presence, also if if you objectively view his interpersonal behaviour, he exemplifies a classic schizoid individual, though this is my personal opinion

[thylacine]

Oh yeah, Tesla. He rocks!

[ghostgurl]

The only ones I can think of is Morrisey and possibly J.M. Barrie.

[EGAD!]

Oh yeah, Tesla. He rocks!

I second that opinion...I'm actually in the process of reading a biography about him.