The other day, I posted an article about the initials LGBTQ. In that article I learned there are three other initials often used to described an individual sexual orientation. In that article it mentioned the so called alphabet soup, listing 3 letters( two A's and and one I). One of the A letter meant Asexuality. I was curious, so I did some Web search and here's some information about asexuality that I did not know. So, today I learned something and I am sharing it with you.
Asexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by a persistent lack of sexual attraction toward any gender. At least 1% of people are believed to be asexual. An asexual person (“ace”, for short) is simply someone who does not experience sexual attraction. That’s all there is to it. Aces can be any sex or gender or age or ethnic background or body type, can be rich or poor, can wear any clothing style, and can be any religion or political affiliation.
There is no asexual "type". Many people hear the word “asexual” and make assumptions about what it means. They think of single-celled organisms in a petri dish. They think of a celibate monk on far off mountaintop. They think of a genderless robot from outer space. Asexuality isn’t any of those things.
In particular:
Asexuality is not an abstinence pledge. (Although there may be abstinent aces.)
Asexuality is not a synonym for celibacy. (There are celibate aces and promiscuous aces and aces everywhere in between.)
Asexuality is not a gender identity. (Although there may be trans, non-binary, or genderqueer aces.)
Asexuality is not a disorder. (Although there may be aces with physical or mental conditions.)
Asexuality is not a choice. (Although not every ace is "born that way".)
Asexuality is not a hormone imbalance. (Although there may be aces with hormone issues.)
Asexuality is not a fear of sex or relationships. (Although there may be aces who are afraid of or otherwise dislike sex or relationships.)
Source: www.asexuality.com
Side Note( From Washington Post): Based on the 2013 NHIS data [collected in 2013 from 34,557 adults aged 18 and over], 96.6% of adults identified as straight, 1.6% identified as gay or lesbian, and 0.7% identified as bisexual. The remaining 1.1% of adults identified as “something else" [0.2%,] stated “I don’t know the answer" [0.4%] or refused to provide an answer [0.6%].
More specifically, 1.8 percent of men self-identify as gay and 0.4 percent as bisexual, and 1.5 percent of women self-identify as lesbian and 0.9 percent as bisexual. This is much less than the 10% previously posted in the Web in the previous years!
More Information: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/magnetic-partners/201406/asexuality
https://www.facebook.com/AVENOfficial/Asexuality, Visibility, Education Network
Note: Have you met or know of an asexual person? I believe I met an ace female in graduate school in the early 1960's in Chicago based on the article above. She was very pretty and intelligent but not friendly.
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