Front page on French Metro

[SkinnyLove]

Feeling good this morning. On my way to Dublin and a small article on asexuality just came out today in a French paper.

[Guest]

Feeling good this morning. On my way to Dublin and a small article on asexuality just came out today in a French paper.

Would you happen to have a scan or at least the paper name? I'm dying to read it. :o French is fine really. Also, yes!

[EdenRose]

There is also an article in another newspaper

If you can read French : http://www.20minutes.fr/france/1144605-aiment-sexe

http://next.liberation.fr/sexe/2013/04/22/chastete-bien-ordonnee_898112

[ithaca]

Feeling good this morning. On my way to Dublin and a small article on asexuality just came out today in a French paper.

Would you happen to have a scan or at least the paper name? I'm dying to read it. :o French is fine really. Also, yes!

I think the paper is Metro

[EdenRose]

Feeling good this morning. On my way to Dublin and a small article on asexuality just came out today in a French paper.

Would you happen to have a scan or at least the paper name? I'm dying to read it. :o French is fine really. Also, yes!

I think the paper is Metro

It is

[illGatsby]

Here's my rough first-go at the translation.

[sOCIETY] - Asexuals want their orientation recognized.

They will not sleep with you the first night. Nor the second. Or those who follow. And they want to make it known. On Friday, members of the Association for Asexual Visibility (AVA) will hold a day to recognize their movement. As straight or gay, asexuals have a sexual attraction to one gender (boys, girls or both), but they do not experience sexual desire.

"We want asexuality to be recognized as a sexual orientation in itself," says Paul, one of the spokesmen of the AVA, "to enable many people to feel more comfortable."

The only real study on the subject was conducted in the United States in 2004 by Anthony Bogaert, and concluded that 1% of the population indentifies as asexual. But many more are not aware.

Antoine was one.

"At 18, I did not have the same feelings as others," he recounts, "I could see that something was wrong without knowing what. So I tried everything."

No pleasure

With girls and boys, his relationships ended in failure - "except those where sex were secondary," he continues. And then, one day, he discovered the asexual movement on the Internet, talking with people disgusted by sex - others who say they never take pleasure and make love only to satisfy their partner.

"It reassured me," he says.

In a society where sex is displayed [so prominently]*, asexuals simply want to be identified.

"...to stop masquerading as aliens," explains Paul. After a long silence, Antoine lifted the veil. "Right now I'm in a relationship with a woman. I told them about it and it's not a problem. We found our way of working, I think."

* Translation Note: I had a problem getting the idiom right at this point.

[Guest]

Gosh, my bad, I thought it was a paper distributed at the French metro... I'm hopeless.

Gatsby, you seem to have rendered the first one pretty well :) Here's my contribution, I'll translate the second:

We all know how sex works: galloping libido with such torrid frisks [?] that it makes the thermometer blow up. We don't know nearly as much about the other end of the thermometer, where asexuals are, and their desire flirts with the polar colds.

They're not religious abstainers, nor are they disgusted by sex or shy about it, and they're not part of virgin gangs either. They're just men and women who don't feel the need or desire to engage in sexual relationships, and prefer a slice of cake to a game of legs-in-the-air. An eccentric behaviour? According to Anthony Bogaert, psychologist at the University of Brock (Ontario, Canada), asexuality concerns about 1% of the world population, perhaps more. "Asexuals are invisible, radars can't detect non-sexuality. Very few people identify as such because most don't even know about this option, or don't know how it's called."

Coming out. Even if they've always existed, these voluntary abstainers who are also happy of it (read below), they've only come out of their shell a dozen years ago. They group together in order to let others know and acknowledge asexuality, to the point of organising, for the first time in France, this April 26th, the first Asexual Day. No ads or big parties, the event will happen on the Internet. Objective: a huge coming out. Asexuals are invited to "publish a simple facebook status, or mention it on their blog. They may also share their story, a text message, a picture, a drawing, an image or a poem on the dedicated page."

"Asexuality is tied to the Internet: on the English AVEN [Asexual Visibility and Education Network] forum, created in 2001, the first few asexual members started contacting each other and defining asexuality. AVEN now counts over 30,000 members in the world, out of which almost 3,500 in France" says Paul, the founder of the Asexual Visibility Association (AVA). "This Asexual Day is the occasion to let people know about asexuality, so that others like us may no longer feel ashamed of their situation." In societies where an active sexual life is viewed as a sign of well-being, it could seem contradictory to not want to experience it, almost a psychological issue. "Manifesting a not-so-well-known taste in sexuality may trigger others to think of it as a flaw to be quickly treated", analyses Peggy Sastre, author of "No Sex". "Violence and discrimination [on asexual people] are nowhere near those homosexuals experience, but just like homosexuals, some people want to 're-educate' asexuals, which makes no sense. Sexual normality doesn't exist" says Philippe Brénot, psychiatrist and couple therapist: "Not having a sexuality isn't a pathology, if the individual doesn't suffer from it".
Life is Better. The community is really heterogeneous and sometimes hard to understand [?]. Can an asexual masturbate? The topic is under discussion. Another question: can an asexual be hetero, homo, or bi? Asexuals answer. "Asexuality isn't about behaviour or practices, it's about desire. For us, sexuality has many forms and we claim this difference [to be recognised]", explains Paul.

Oddly, in this case, absence of desire is claimed as an orientation just like homosexuality? "Zero is a digit, too" replies an "A", as they call themselves in various dedicated forums.

Yet, if asexuals have chosen a logo (a reversed triangle), colours (black and purple), and join in with LGBT people in their prides, the boundaries stay blurred, and typologies hard to define. "I'm not sure asexuality is a full-blown orientation", says Philippe Brénot. "I think it's more like a set of different personal conditions, a history that leads the individual to that state of being: 'I'm fine without sex'."

Orientation or not, the topic is gaining visibility. After the 2,099th episode of Life is Better, the river magazine [?] of France 3, Léa confesses their asexuality to Jonas. If this is not the start of acknowledgement...

P. S.: I also watched the video in the first link, and the woman talking made some pretty good points. She pointed out how asexuals can still feel romantic attraction and that asexuality isn't the same as chastity. Then she added something on mixed relationships. :D I liked it.

[illGatsby]

SilverKitsune and I are translation MACHINES!

[Guest member25959]

This may be a different article entirely, but it was released today and focuses on the same subject

Non Amour: A Day In France Devoted To Asexuals

Published on 2013-04-25 17:59:20. 20 Minutes, Marie Claire, La Dépêche

PARIS - This doesn't sound very French.

A group has declared Friday 'Asexuality Day' in France. Organized by the AVA (Association for Asexual Visibility), the goal of the celebration is to inform the public about this little-known category of sexual identity of those people who do not like sex, reports the Paris-based daily 20 Minutes.

Like straight or gay people, asexual people are attracted to men or women (or both), fall in love and marry -- but unlike most people, do not feel sexual desire. Most of them have tried sex, but just don't like it, even though some do experience pleasure from the act.

Contrary to abstinence, asexuality is not a choice, and asexuals are therefore often misunderstood. Many have difficulties in finding partners, reports Marie Claire.

“We want asexuality to be recognized as a fully fledged sexual orientation," said an AVA spokesman who gave his name as Paul.

Asexual Pride flag

Thus on Friday, all those who identify with this orientation are encouraged to participate in some kind of public way, through a Facebook post, or by wearing a black and mauve shirt, or even just talking about it with friends. The association's tumbler account is collecting, testimonies, poems, pictures and more.

Indeed, asexuality remains largely unknown to the general public. The only serious academic study was conducted by psychology professor Anthony Bogaert , who concluded that 1% of the population was indeed asexual, notes La Dépêche. No doubt, new awareness would be needed in France, a country with particular pride in its 99%.

The first-ever French Asexuality Day coincidentally arrives the same week that France became the 14th country to legalize same-sex marriage.

Crunched by: Jean Marcel Maillard

They make a few common mistakes, the usual assumption that asexuality equals an automatic disinterest in sex

[vervain]

looks like a single generalised press release which the journalists then embroidered on or not, as they chose ; here's a fairly plain one which I was stunned to find in my local newspaper : http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2013/04/25/1614114-aiment-desir-sexuel-asexuels-font-parler.html (and unusually for La Depeche, the online comments are not too cringemaking)

For the translation machines : :cake: !

(so please forgive me for wanting to play too... :redface: I confirm "understand" for suivre (= keep up with/get one's head round) ; the mysterious "river magazine" is a neverending soap opera (of which Plus Belle la Vie is a particularly revolting example). For the sentence beginning Bizarre, dans ce cas... you could also translate it something like : Given all this, isn't it a bit odd to claim that the absence of desire is a fully-fledged orientation, just like homosexuality ?)

[vervain]

Here's a bash at the temoignages to go with the article from Liberation:

Hervé, 25.

Before I realised I was asexual, I had always held back from any kind of love relationship. I didn’t chat people up, and I turned down any expression of interest, because I was nervous of having to make love. It isn’t that I’m scared of it, or can’t be bothered, just indifference. I’m not curious to know what it feels like, I don’t see what’s so important about going all the way. And I don’t want it [having sex] to become obligatory if I start a relationship with someone.

I knew I was different from very early on: in early adolescence it was obvious that I wasn’t as interested in girls as my friends were. I used to tell myself : ‘Sex is for everyone, you can’t be the only Earthling with this quirk!’. Now my earlier doubts have gone : I’m more outgoing, and less reluctant to have a love relationship. Being asexual doesn’t mean being prudish: I laugh at dirty jokes when I’m with my friends. And I’ve come across pornographic content too, I just found the physical sensation which forced itself on me very unpleasant.

Alice, 26.

When you come out as asexual you always have to explain to people what that is ! Everyone’s familiar with homosexuality, but for asexuality you’re starting from scratch. You often get the same comments: ‘You haven’t found the right person yet’, ‘it’ll pass’, or ‘how sad life without sex must be’. But it’s just as weird for me to see things from the point of view of people who make love. I get sick of always having to justify what I am, that I’m not afraid of sex and that I don’t feel I’m missing out. I’ve experienced deep love and strong physical attraction, but I’ve never felt so much desire that I wanted to make love. And masturbation doesn’t bring me that much pleasure.

I’ve been going out with my boyfriend — who isn’t asexual — for three years now. We’re very tactile and give each other lots of hugs. But that’s all. The fact that we’re not in a monogamous relationship means that he isn’t forced to abstain from sex.

Julien, 27.

When I was at high school I used to think that it couldn’t be normal not to feel desire when all my friends were into sex. Sex doesn’t disgust me, I quite enjoy making love, but although it can give me pleasure, it’s not something I feel a need for. I came across asexuality when watching a TV documentary. What the people said struck a chord with me, and it was an enormous relief.

I realised that I shouldn’t force myself to be something I’m not. With my exes, sex wasn’t ever a chore, but I never initiated it and I think that over time it would have weighed on me too much.

You don’t suddenly define yourself as asexual just like that, though, it’s a gradual thing. I questioned myself a lot — could I be asexual when I liked sex? For me, it’s not a contradiction in terms, given that I’m fine without sex. Asexuality is an orientation: you’re born like this, you don’t get a choice about it.

Marie, 23.

I think I’ve always been asexual, even if I didn’t realise it until I was 20. I was looking for information on low sex drive, which was causing difficulties in my relationship, when I came across the term. For me, sex has always been of secondary importance, just a way of meeting a physical need.

The Internet and forums are very important for asexuals. It allows us to give our differences a name, to feel less alone, and, by talking, to accept who we are. As it happens, I met my current boyfriend on an asexual forum.

I personally don’t feel any desire, but asexuality doesn’t rule out sensuality. I like it when my boyfriend touches me. I like giving him pleasure, even if he would happily go without. We would like to have children, conceived naturally if possible. I’m a virgin, I hope my body will react positively to sex and that we’ll be able to have sex.

[illGatsby]

Play on, friend! It was serendipitous that the articles were in French, 'cause I am working on a translation of a Baudelaire book.

And, I totally get what you were talking about when re-translating that sentence; the authors of these articles have some interesting viewpoints that show through; I was torn about re-translating one sentence in the once I did quickly just because it was a troubling notion.

But yay to us for upholding the text! And, welcome to the MACHINES!

looks like a single generalised press release which the journalists then embroidered on or not, as they chose ; here's a fairly plain one which I was stunned to find in my local newspaper : http://www.ladepeche.fr/article/2013/04/25/1614114-aiment-desir-sexuel-asexuels-font-parler.html (and unusually for La Depeche, the online comments are not too cringemaking)

For the translation machines : :cake: !

(so please forgive me for wanting to play too... :redface: I confirm "understand" for suivre (= keep up with/get one's head round) ; the mysterious "river magazine" is a neverending soap opera (of which Plus Belle la Vie is a particularly revolting example). For the sentence beginning Bizarre, dans ce cas... you could also translate it something like : Given all this, isn't it a bit odd to claim that the absence of desire is a fully-fledged orientation, just like homosexuality ?)

[Sennkestra]

Here's some more stuff I've stumbled across about the French Asexuality Day:

http://journeeasexualite.tumblr.com/

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/04/26/french-asexuals-come-out-about-their-lack-of-desire/

http://now.msn.com/association-for-asexual-visibility-declares-asexuality-day-in-france

http://topnews.ae/content/215942-asexuals-form-1-global-population

[Guest member25959]

Lord, these articles are exploding

"French asexuals come out about their lack of desire" - GlobalPost

"Just not into sex" -iAfrica

"New charity helps French asexuals come out" - The Local.fr

[illGatsby]

Wow. The folks in France are really putting forward the cause!

[Guest member25959]

The latest, from Singapore! Courtesy of Facebook

[Fringey]

1% are asexual? That is quite high...

[Fringey]

Wow. The folks in France are really putting forward the cause!

I was thinking of doing my Masters/PhD in France...this has made me even more determined XD

[illGatsby]

Wow, such dedication/self-awareness to know at 18 that you want to go for your PhD (I am assuming age based on profile number). It is definitely an interesting development in a part of the world where diversity has been hotly contested.

Wow. The folks in France are really putting forward the cause!

I was thinking of doing my Masters/PhD in France...this has made me even more determined XD

[vervain]

<completely off-topic and may derail thread>

illGatsby, which book is it ? I'm curious, as I've read and liked most of them... but whichever it is, it's no soft option ! so I admire you for taking that on.

<returns to work>

[SkinnyLove]

Gosh, my bad, I thought it was a paper distributed at the French metro... I'm hopeless.

Gatsby, you seem to have rendered the first one pretty well :) Here's my contribution, I'll translate the second:

We all know how sex works: galloping libido with such torrid frisks [?] that it makes the thermometer blow up. We don't know nearly as much about the other end of the thermometer, where asexuals are, and their desire flirts with the polar colds.

They're not religious abstainers, nor are they disgusted by sex or shy about it, and they're not part of virgin gangs either. They're just men and women who don't feel the need or desire to engage in sexual relationships, and prefer a slice of cake to a game of legs-in-the-air. An eccentric behaviour? According to Anthony Bogaert, psychologist at the University of Brock (Ontario, Canada), asexuality concerns about 1% of the world population, perhaps more. "Asexuals are invisible, radars can't detect non-sexuality. Very few people identify as such because most don't even know about this option, or don't know how it's called."

Coming out. Even if they've always existed, these voluntary abstainers who are also happy of it (read below), they've only come out of their shell a dozen years ago. They group together in order to let others know and acknowledge asexuality, to the point of organising, for the first time in France, this April 26th, the first Asexual Day. No ads or big parties, the event will happen on the Internet. Objective: a huge coming out. Asexuals are invited to "publish a simple facebook status, or mention it on their blog. They may also share their story, a text message, a picture, a drawing, an image or a poem on the dedicated page."

"Asexuality is tied to the Internet: on the English AVEN [Asexual Visibility and Education Network] forum, created in 2001, the first few asexual members started contacting each other and defining asexuality. AVEN now counts over 30,000 members in the world, out of which almost 3,500 in France" says Paul, the founder of the Asexual Visibility Association (AVA). "This Asexual Day is the occasion to let people know about asexuality, so that others like us may no longer feel ashamed of their situation." In societies where an active sexual life is viewed as a sign of well-being, it could seem contradictory to not want to experience it, almost a psychological issue. "Manifesting a not-so-well-known taste in sexuality may trigger others to think of it as a flaw to be quickly treated", analyses Peggy Sastre, author of "No Sex". "Violence and discrimination [on asexual people] are nowhere near those homosexuals experience, but just like homosexuals, some people want to 're-educate' asexuals, which makes no sense. Sexual normality doesn't exist" says Philippe Brénot, psychiatrist and couple therapist: "Not having a sexuality isn't a pathology, if the individual doesn't suffer from it".

Life is Better. The community is really heterogeneous and sometimes hard to understand [?]. Can an asexual masturbate? The topic is under discussion. Another question: can an asexual be hetero, homo, or bi? Asexuals answer. "Asexuality isn't about behaviour or practices, it's about desire. For us, sexuality has many forms and we claim this difference [to be recognised]", explains Paul.

Oddly, in this case, absence of desire is claimed as an orientation just like homosexuality? "Zero is a digit, too" replies an "A", as they call themselves in various dedicated forums.

Yet, if asexuals have chosen a logo (a reversed triangle), colours (black and purple), and join in with LGBT people in their prides, the boundaries stay blurred, and typologies hard to define. "I'm not sure asexuality is a full-blown orientation", says Philippe Brénot. "I think it's more like a set of different personal conditions, a history that leads the individual to that state of being: 'I'm fine without sex'."

Orientation or not, the topic is gaining visibility. After the 2,099th episode of Life is Better, the river magazine [?] of France 3, Léa confesses their asexuality to Jonas. If this is not the start of acknowledgement...

P. S.: I also watched the video in the first link, and the woman talking made some pretty good points. She pointed out how asexuals can still feel romantic attraction and that asexuality isn't the same as chastity. Then she added something on mixed relationships. :D I liked it.

It is actually distributed in the metro! ;)

[kitchenwitch]

The French Asexuality Day was coordinated by the Association pour la Visibilité Asexuelle, who never expected it to explode like this. :D Check out their site for amazing French language resources about asexuality, they have slides, fliers, and more. :D

[Captain Darkhorse]

Anyone read the rawstory article? (Here for those who haven't read it)

AVEN (albeit very very indirectly as asexuality.org) was mentioned.