Asexual
Asexual (commonly shortened to ace) is an orientation defined by experiencing little to no sexual attraction, the prefix a- meaning not or lack of in Greek.[1][2] The asexual spectrum (often shorted to ace-spec or acespec) is an umbrella term for all asexual identities, or a term used by individuals who do not wish to identify themselves with any particular asexual microlabel.[3]
Being asexual does not mean that one is unable to experience romantic attraction or any other type of attractions. An asexual individual can have any romantic orientation. They may identify with a romantic orientation in addition to the label of asexual to specify who they're interested in romantically, if anyone.[4][2] For example, a heteromantic asexual individual is romantically attracted to individuals of a different gender, but is not sexually attracted to any gender. Some asexual individuals are also aromantic (aroace), meaning they experience neither sexual nor romantic attraction.
Sexual dispositions among asexual individuals can vary. Some asexual individuals may still masturbate or have or seek sexual relationship(s) despite not feeling sexual attraction to anyone (cupiosexual).[5] This could be for many reasons, such as for their own pleasure, their partner's pleasure, desire for self exploration, or feeling that one's attraction is not an important aspect to partaking in their sexual relationship(s). Other asexual individuals may be repulsed by the concept of sexuality. Terms like sex-repulsed, sex-indifferent, sex-favorable, or sex-ambivalent are commonly used to describe these attitudes.
A common misconception is that all asexual individuals are either celibates or practicing abstinence. Those who are abstinent or celibate are not necessarily asexual; they may still experience sexual attraction but choose not to act on it, typically for moral or religious reasons.[6]
History
Early uses of the term asexual for human sexuality predate the formation of the asexual community. One of the first (indirect) references to asexuality was in 1896 by physician Magnus Hirschfeld, in his book Sappho und Sokrates where he states "There are individuals who are without any sexual desire ('Anästhesia sexualis')."[7] In 1948 and 1953 Dr. Alfred Kinsey added a category X to the Kinsey Scale, indicating those with "no socio-sexual contacts or reactions.”[8][9]
In a study published in 1983, Paula Nurius examined the relationship between mental health and sexual orientation. The study focused on heterosexuality and homosexuality but also included bisexual and asexual as options.[10]
The contemporary asexual community originated once the internet enabled small, geographically-dispersed demographics to connect with each other. The earliest asexual proto-community formed in the comments of a 1997 article by Zoe O'Reilly and published by StarNet Dispatches, entitled My Life as a Human Amoeba.[11] On October 12, 2000, the Yahoo e-mail group Haven for the Human Amoeba (HHA) was founded.[12] The following year, David Jay created the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN).[13] On LiveJournal, an asexuality community was founded in 2002.[14]
Over the years, asexuality has been defined in a variety of different ways by different individuals. One of the most popular definitions emphasizes attraction, but there have also been those that emphasize a lack of sex drive or desire.[15][16]
Low Sexual Interest in the DSM
The DSM-5 and ICD-10 currently define low sexual desire as a disorder. The diagnosis has gone under several name changes, the current names being:
- DSM-5 — Female sexual interest/arousal disorder, Male hypoactive sexual desire disorder
- ICD-10 — Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD)
In 2013, the DSM-5 was published. Female Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder and Male Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder remain listed as disorders, but their criteria exclude individuals who self-identify as asexual.[17]
Related Terms
| Label | Relationship | Description | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allosexual | Opposite | An individual that experiences sexual attraction. | Asexual individuals rarely or never experience sexual attraction. |
| Aplatonic | Counterpart | An individual that experiences little to no platonic attraction. | Aplatonic is the platonic counterpart to asexual. |
| Aroace | Similar | An individual that experiences little to no romantic nor sexual attraction. | Aroace includes aromantic. |
| Aromantic | Counterpart | An individual that experiences little to no romantic attraction. | Aromantic is the romantic counterpart to asexual. |
| Non-libidoist | Similar | An individual without an active sex drive (libido).[18] | Not all asexual individuals lack an active sex drive. |
Subterms
| Label | Prefixes / Suffixes | Flag | Description | Creator(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rat Ace | Rat |  [19]
|
An asexual individual who prefers cuddles, hugs, kisses, and other affectionate and sensual non-sexual acts over sexual acts.[19] | PhoeniXXTalon |
Prefixes and Suffixes
| Label | Prefix / Suffix | Flag | Description | Creator(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acefog | -fog |  [20]
|
An individual that knows they are asexual but are unsure if one experiences sexual attraction as a result of neurodiversity.[20] | emostiims |
| Aceflexible | -flexible |  [21]
|
An individual who rarely experiences sexual attraction (also see greysexual).[24][25][26] | Seeking, R_1, PennedWriterz, The Bigender Cosmonaut |
| Aceflexible (alt) / Flexible Asexual | -flexible / flexible | An asexual individual who is open to the idea of sexual acts or relationships (also see cupiosexual).[27][25] | ||
| Acefluid (alike arofluid) | -fluid |  [28]
|
Fluid between acespec orientations, such as identifying as fraysexual, to identifying as demisexual.[31] | Unknown, Pride-Flags, RayDudePrideHoard, Mxthet |
| Acefluid (new) | An individual who has a specific orientation that is fluid between one's orientation types, temporarily replacing one's aspec orientations. For example, aromantic homosexual, to homoromantic asexual, noting that a specific type of orientation (homo- in this example) temporarily replaces one's asexuality, aromanticity, or other aspec tertiary orientation. The non-paraphrased definition is "when your attraction flows from asexual, to aromantic to another with core feelings the same".[32][33] | |||
| Acefluid (original) | Synonymous with aceflux (see above).[34] | |||
| Acefluix | -fluix |  [35]
|
Both aceflux and acefluid.[35] | Kau |
| Aceflux | -flux |  [36]
|
Fluctuating between feeling sexual attraction and lacking sexual attraction.[37] | Unknown, ngc2068 |
| Acejump | -jump |  [38]
|
Normally allosexual, but occasionally experiencing sudden and intense periods of asexuality.[38] | luigis-mogai-mansion |
| Acemid | -mid |  [39]
|
Strictly asexual but partially aromantic.[39] | star-allos |
| Acespike | -spike |  [40]
|
Normally asexual, but occasionally experiencing sudden and intense sexual attraction for a short period of time.[40] | Cyzu, Unknown |
| Acevague | -vague |  [41]
|
Asexuality partially influenced by one's neurodivergence.[41] | transboy-lou |
| Acevoid | -void |  [42]
|
Experiences neutral or no feelings towards one's own orientations except one's asexuality.[42] | aromagpie |
Flags and Symbols
In the summer of 2010, AVEN and several other asexual websites held a contest to design an asexual flag. The current asexual flag was designed by the AVEN user Standup and was uploaded on June 30th, 2010.[43] The colours were chosen based on the colours of the AVEN triangle. The black stripe represents asexual individuals, grey representing greyasexual and demisexual individuals, white representing allosexual partners and allies, and purple representing community.[44] Some pride flags that represent forms of asexuality use these colors.
A common symbol is an ace playing card, due to the fact that asexual is often shortened to ace. Generally the ace of hearts is used to represent asexual individuals who feel romantic attraction. The ace of spades can be used to represent aromantic asexual individuals, or is sometimes used as an umbrella symbol for all asexual and ace-spec individuals. The ace of diamonds and the ace of clubs are less commonly seen. The ace of diamonds is most commonly associated with demisexual and sometimes greyasexual individuals as well. The ace of clubs is commonly associated with greyasexual individuals, but also sometimes is used for individuals who are questioning where they fall on the asexual spectrum.
Wearing a black ring on the middle finger, typically of the right hand, known as an ace ring, has become a way to subtly identify the wearer as being asexual. The origin of the black ring began in a thread from 2005. The material and exact design of the ring are not important as long as it is primarily black.[45][46]
Cake has been an informal symbol of asexuality since 2004, originating from the AVEN forums cake emote and the joke that asexual individuals "prefer eating cake to having sex".[47] Dragons have also been used to symbolize asexuality, stemming from a joke that "asexual individuals are way more interested in dragons than in sex" it is also a reference to Charlie Weasley from Harry Potter, who was described as being "...more interested in dragons than relationships and all that stuff" causing many individuals to headcanon him as asexual.[48]
An older asexual symbol is the AVEN triangle, which used a black-to-white gradient to represent the asexual spectrum, with white representing allosexuality and black representing asexuality.[49] This gradient is what inspired the white, grey, and black stripes of the asexual flag.
The asexual symbol is characteristized by a hollow circle, which may have some semblance to the asexual black ring.[50][45][46]
An acespec flag was created by sude.the.acespec, featuring the same colors as the current popular asexual flag.[51]
An acespec flag was created by theflagarchive. Dark blue represents the community, it’s history, and solidarity. Purple represents asexuality of all kinds. Red represents self determination, pride in one's identity, and ascceptance of one's own and others’ asexuality. Cream represents diversity in experiences and types of attraction.[52]
Ace of Spades
AVEN Triangle (The AVEN)
Asexual Symbol (Sexual Diversity)
AceSpec (sude.the.acespec)
Acespec (theflagarchive)
Resources
- ↑ "a-". Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/a-#Catalan. Accessed on 21 Jan, 2023.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ferguson, Sian. "What Does It Mean to Be Asexual?". Healthline, 17 Nov, 2021, https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-asexual.
- ↑ King, Tatyannah. "What Is the Asexual Spectrum?". Cosmopolitan, 2 Sep, 2022, https://www.cosmopolitan.com/sex-love/a41058910/what-is-asexual-spectrum/.
- ↑ Levens, Ali. "The SAM: Splitting the Difference Between Romantic and Sexual Orientations". Pepperdine Graphic, 3 May, 2020, https://pepperdine-graphic.com/the-sam-splitting-the-difference-between-romantic-and-sexual-orientations/.
- ↑ Howard, Madeline. "What It Means To Be Aromantic, According To Relationship Experts & Aromantics". Women's Health, 26 Apr, 2022, https://www.womenshealthmag.com/relationships/a26116061/aromantic-definition-sexuality-meaning/.
- ↑ "12 FAQs About Celibacy". Healthline, 28 Mar, 2022, https://www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sex/celibacy#overview.
- ↑ tommy92. "(indirect) mentions of asexuality in Magnus Hirschfeld's books". AVEN, 8 Feb, 2014, https://web.archive.org/web/20221201232801/https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/98639-indirect-mentions-of-asexuality-in-magnus-hirschfelds-books/.
- ↑ Kinsey, Alfred C. (1948). Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. W.B. Saunders. ISBN 0-253-33412-8
- ↑ Kinsey, Alfred C. (1953). Sexual Behavior in the Human Female. W. B. Saunders ISBN 025333411X
- ↑ Nurius, Paula. (1983). "Mental Health Implications of Sexual Orientation" The Journal of Sex Research 19 (2) pp.119-136.
- ↑ O'Reilly, Zoe. "My life as an amoeba". Dispatches, 30 May, 1997, http://web.archive.org/web/20030210212218/http://dispatches.azstarnet.com/zoe/amoeba.htm.
- ↑ "Haven for the Human Amoeba". AVEN Wiki, 26 Aug, 2013, https://web.archive.org/web/20221201232759/http://wiki.asexuality.org/Haven_for_the_Human_Amoeba.
- ↑ "AVEN". The AVEN, 24 Jan, 2014, https://web.archive.org/web/20221116211059/http://wiki.asexuality.org/AVEN.
- ↑ "asexuality's Journal". Live Journal, 28 Apr, 2022, https://web.archive.org/web/https://asexuality.livejournal.com/profile.
- ↑ Hinderliter, Andrew C.. "Asexuality: The History of a Definition". Asexual Explorations, 2009, https://web.archive.org/web/20220810101136/http://www.asexualexplorations.net/home/history_of_definition.html.
- ↑ osteophage. "A Condensed History of Asexuals Arguing with Asexuals Over What Asexuality Is". Pillow Fort, 2019, https://web.archive.org/web/20220329030655/https://www.pillowfort.social/posts/717314.
- ↑ "Asexuality in the DSM-5". Asexuality Archive, 20 Oct, 2015, https://web.archive.org/web/http://www.asexualityarchive.com/asexuality-in-the-dsm-5/.
- ↑ http://wiki.asexuality.org/Nonlibidoism
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 PhoeniXXTalon. "Rat ace flag". DeviantArt, 16 Jan, 2022, https://www.deviantart.com/phoenixxtalon/art/Rat-ace-flag-903968689.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 emostiims. "Acefog". Tumblr, 18 Feb, 2021, https://archive.md/2022.01.20-163744/https://emostiims.tumblr.com/post/643480202473799680/acefog-where-one-knows-that-they-are-acespec. Archived on 14 Feb, 2022.
- ↑ PennedWriterz. "Aceflexible". LGBTQIA+ Wiki, 25 Nov, 2021, https://www.lgbtqia.wiki/wiki/Aceflexible.
- ↑ PennedWriterz. "Aceflexible". LGBTQIA+ Wiki, 26 Nov, 2021, https://www.lgbtqia.wiki/wiki/Aceflexible.
- ↑ Tbc2021 / The Bigender Cosmonaut.. "Aceflexible". LGBTQIA+ Wiki, Uploaded by PennedWriterz, 27 Nov, 2021, https://www.lgbtqia.wiki/wiki/Aceflexible.
- ↑ Karret. "Poll: Proposed New Definition (Demographics)". The AVEN, 3 Nov, 2021, https://archive.md/2022.02.14-050339/https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/220180-poll-proposed-new-definition-demographics/?tab=comments%23comment-1064431871#selection-10195.412-10195.544.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 R_1. "Ace-flexible label". The AVEN, 10 Feb, 2013, https://archive.md/2022.02.14-050324/https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/83926-ace-flexible-label/. Archived on 14 Feb, 2022.
- ↑ Star Bit. "Gray-sexual and Gray-asexual need to be two different terms?". The AVEN, 21 Mar, 2016, https://archive.md/2022.02.14-050406/https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/135841-gray-sexual-and-gray-asexual-need-to-be-two-different-terms/.
- ↑ "Asexual". Seeking, https://archive.md/2022.02.14-050430/https://www.seeking.com/glossary/sexual-orientation/asexual. Archived on 14 Feb, 2022.
- ↑ Pride-Flags. "Acefluid". DeviantArt, 22 Aug, 2015, https://archive.md/2022.02.14-050749/https://www.deviantart.com/pride-flags/art/Acefluid-555350845.
- ↑ RayDudePrideHoard. "Acefluid". DeviantArt, 13 Jul, 2022, https://web.archive.org/web/20220713000044/https://www.deviantart.com/raydudepridehoard/art/Acefluid-922302405. Archived on 13 Jul, 2022.
- ↑ Mxthet. "Acefluid". LGBTQIA+ Wiki, 23 Apr, 2022, https://www.lgbtqia.wiki/wiki/Acefluid.
- ↑ askfluentjoy. "So, now that you know about the ace spectrum". Tumblr, 5 Apr, 2015, https://archive.md/2022.02.14-050821/https://askfluentjoy.tumblr.com/post/115611818727/so-now-that-you-know-about-the-ace-spectrum-and.
- ↑ "Acefluids". Orientando, https://archive.md/2022.02.14-051312/https://orientando.org/listas/lista-de-orientacoes/acefluide/#selection-923.0-947.78. Archived on 14 Feb, 2022.
- ↑ Pride-Flags. "Acefluid". DeviantArt, 22 Aug, 2015, https://archive.md/2022.02.14-050749/https://www.deviantart.com/pride-flags/art/Acefluid-555350845.
- ↑ demigray. "Anonymous asked:". Tumblr, 9 Dec, 2014., https://www.tumblr.com/demigray/104711572424/to-the-anon-that-was-asking-about-her-sexuality.
- ↑ 35.0 35.1 Kau. "Acefluix Pride Flag". Tumblr, Beyond-Mogai-Pride-Flags, 27 Apr, 2018, https://archive.md/2022.02.14-050907/https://beyond-mogai-pride-flags.tumblr.com/post/173364617590/acefluix-pride-flag.
- ↑ "Aceflux". Library.LGBT, 11 Jun, 2021, https://flag.library.lgbt/flags/aceflux/.
- ↑ aromanticaardvark. "aceflux: similar to genderflux". Tumblr, 25 Jul, 2014, https://web.archive.org/web/20230626160550/https://www.tumblr.com/aromanticaardvark/92742126325/mogai-archive-aceflux-similar-to-genderflux-in. Archived on 26 Jun, 2023.
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 luigis-mogai-mansion. "New aro/ace/aroace terms". Tumblr, 20 May, 2020, https://web.archive.org/web/20220120220220/https://luigis-mogai-mansion.tumblr.com/post/618617450841489408/new-aroacearoace-terms. Archived on 20 Jan, 2022.
- ↑ 39.0 39.1 star-allos. "Hello aspecs who aren’t strictly aro and/or ace!". Tumblr, 21 Nov, 2019, https://archive.md/2021.08.29-085001/https://star-allos.tumblr.com/post/189204961946/yeah-i-think-labels-cause-more-problems-than. Archived on 29 Aug, 2021.
- ↑ 40.0 40.1 pride-color-schemes. "Acespike". Tumblr, 26 Jun, 2016, https://pride-color-schemes.tumblr.com/post/146491333508/acespike.
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 Pride-Flags. "Acevague". DeviantArt, 16 Dec, 2016, https://archive.md/2022.02.14-052852/https://www.deviantart.com/pride-flags/art/Acevague-651435563. Archived on 14 Feb, 2022.
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 Pride-Flags. "Acevoid". DeviantArt, 22 Apr, 2021, https://archive.md/2022.02.14-053008/https://www.deviantart.com/pride-flags/art/Acevoid-872880175#selection-913.0-913.7. Archived on 14 Feb, 2022.
- ↑ "The Asexuality Flag". Asexuality Archive, 20 Feb, 2012, http://www.asexualityarchive.com/the-asexuality-flag/.
- ↑ "ASEXUALITY GUIDE". Illinois Springfield, https://www.uis.edu/gsss/lgbtq-resources/lgbtq-guides/asexuality-guide. Accessed on 21 Sep, 2023.
- ↑ 45.0 45.1 "Black ring". The AVEN, 27 Aug, 2017, https://web.archive.org/web/20221229071021/http://wiki.asexuality.org/Black_ring.
- ↑ 46.0 46.1 Rawphish. "Black rings and other ways to show asexual pride". The AVEN, 16 Jun, 2005, https://web.archive.org/web/20220926212558/https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/76607-black-rings-and-other-ways-to-show-asexual-pride/.
- ↑ "Cake". The AVEN, 10 Nov, 2019, https://web.archive.org/web/20221017162430/http://wiki.asexuality.org/Cake.
- ↑ alien.hedgehog. "Dragons?". The AVEN, 23 Feb, 2019, https://web.archive.org/web/20220522230551/https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/182214-dragons/?tab=comments#comment-1063215480.
- ↑ "AVEN Triangle". The AVEN, 19 Aug, 2017, https://web.archive.org/web/20220120151255/http://wiki.asexuality.org/AVEN_Triangle.
- ↑ "Unicode Asexuality Character". SexualDiversity.org, 17 Nov, 2022, https://www.sexualdiversity.org/edu/symbols/emoji/1065.php.
- ↑ sude.the.acespec. "It's my ace spec flag design.". Instagram, 17 Jun, 2021, https://www.instagram.com/p/CQMfS9mDH5J/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet.
- ↑ theflagarchive. "Asexual spectrum flag!". Tumblr, 2021, https://web.archive.org/web/20230605140015/https://theflagarchive.tumblr.com/post/624655680467599360/asexual-spectrum-flag-while-i-like-the-asexual. Archived on 5 Jun, 2023.
