Surveying the prevalence of asexuality is hard, considering asexuality is an umbrella term that includes multiple identities.
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What I wish people knew about asexuality is that it's OK not to have sex, and that it's OK to have sex and to be asexual, and there's no definitive asexuality.
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Asexuality, though easier than being sexy, does come with drawbacks.
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Since those initial conversations, Nege's asexuality hasn't come up again.
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Asexual people also live their asexuality in an individual way.
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Unlike celibacy, asexuality is a sexual orientation, not a choice.
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"It's almost like people tie virginity with asexuality," Lesli notes.
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Any misconceptions about asexuality that you'd like to clear up?
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There are conversations about blackness, asexuality, consent, and sexual harassment.
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"Asexuality is a spectrum, it's not black and white," Doré says.
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Early mentions of asexuality on television often occurred in talk shows.
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"Acknowledging and discussing variations is an important part of understanding asexuality."
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Asexuality is just beginning to be the subject of scientific research.
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Are there subsets of asexuality you feel are important to distinguish?
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Asexuality was still classified as a medical disorder, in fact, until 2013.
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What's the most frustrating question you frequently have to answer about asexuality?
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There's a huge spectrum of asexuality and we cannot be pinned down.
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This week we're talking to My First Time illustrator Soofiya about their asexuality.
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A year later, Freeform drama Shadowhunters depicted asexuality through its character Raphael Santiago.
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In that context, using asexuality to erase queer identity winds up erasing everyone.
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Even so, many of them often overlook the full QUILTBAG spectrum, especially asexuality.
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For her, asexuality plays a lesser role in how she chooses sex toys.
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After coming to understand her asexuality, Elisa met and married her current partner.
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Increased media representation is slowly helping educate people on what asexuality is all about.
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Part of this is because many of us still aren't completely sure what asexuality means.
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It's not celibacy or abstinence Because asexuality is a sexual orientation, it's not a choice.
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Most of the people I know have only a vague idea of what asexuality entails.
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It kind of covers all of the asexual spectrum that doesn't fall strictly into asexuality.
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In fact, asexuality itself is a spectrum, and there is considerable diversity within the asexual community.
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She mentioned that she was "nonsexual," which was how she identified before she knew about asexuality.
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The only thing that asexual organizations like AVEN do try to distinguish asexuality from is celibacy.
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In November 2014, it added expansive dropdown options for gender and sexuality, including asexuality and demisexuality.
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Online, some of her blog's commenters say they'd never even heard of asexuality to begin with.
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The relationships in Sirens, Shadowhunters, and BoJack Horseman are all incredible stories on their own, but when these are the most prominent examples of asexuality in media, it creates a false and damaging narrative that asexuality is heterosexuality-lite, instead of being a completely separate experience.
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But, much like there's no shame in choosing to not have sex, there's no shame in asexuality.
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It suggests there's a lot more unpacking and research to be done before researchers fully understand asexuality.
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Still, since asexuality is only starting to become the subject of research, we have a lot to learn.
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Many people on the asexuality spectrum are romantically attracted to others and might want a deep emotional relationship.
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Asexuality also avoids the many costs of finding and attracting a mate, not to mention sexually transmitted diseases.
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The series, Queer Kid Stuff, is hosted on YouTube and took on defining asexuality in the latest video.
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Allosexuality is the converse of asexuality; it means you have sexual attraction and desire sex, according to LeClaire.
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Damrosch, rebutting Irvin Ehrenpreis's claim of Swift's asexuality, argues at length for Swift and Vanessa's relationship being sexual.
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There's still a long way to go Asexuality has made some strides in the mainstream consciousness in recent years.
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Figuring there must be an underlying reason, Nege dwelled on this for a year before discovering information online about asexuality.
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"Gay" and "straight" are treated as the default categories, while bisexuality and the overarching umbrella of asexuality are repeatedly ignored.
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But, as asexual artist Kat Flores wrote on their blog, asexuality — like any other sexuality — is more complicated than that.
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Elisa cites The Purple-Red Scale of Attraction as being helpful for her in understanding that asexuality is a spectrum.
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If you're unfamiliar with asexuality, and most people are, an asexual person is someone who does not experience sexual attraction.
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"Asexuality as a sexual orientation is all about who you're attracted to, not about what moral values you have," Doré says.
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They posted their comic on asexuality for Asexual Awareness Week, which started Sunday, October 22 and lasts until this coming Saturday.
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For Taryn, this means bringing awareness of asexuality to readers who may have been just looking for a sex toy review.
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Defined simply, asexuality and aromanticism refer to people who lack the desire to have sexual and romantic relationships with other people.
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In her mid-thirties at the time, Nikki's asexuality was something she'd always been conscious of but never had the word for.
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Asexuality as a sexual orientation didn't really enter mainstream discourse until the early 2000s, in conjunction with two main things, said Hammack.
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When trying to think of other popular and sensitive examples of on-screen asexuality, however, everyone I spoke to came up short.
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A person who identifies as ace can fall anywhere on the spectrum of asexuality—including antisexual, sex-positive, grey-A, and more.
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And while it's valuable for young viewers to gain an unobstructed understanding of douching or asexuality, these concepts mean more in context.
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Langevin says a good way to explore this identity is through online resources about asexuality and talking to others who identify as asexual.
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"My hope is that if we share our experiences, more people will see us and recognize asexuality as a valid identity," Flores wrote.
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In Jughead Issue #4, which comes out on February 10, Jughead's asexuality is confirmed in a casual exchange between Jughead and a friend.
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And asexuality would have been an efficient way to expand — asexual populations are known to grow at twice the rate of sexual ones.
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GRAYSEXUAL Someone who occasionally experiences sexual attraction but usually does not; it covers a kind of gray space between asexuality and sexual identity.
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By 2017, there was enough research on asexuality, including large-scale studies, to justify a review article in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.
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It's about time for an authentic representation of asexuality on mainstream TV — and it sounds like Sprouse is the perfect person for the job.
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Studying literature and pop culture, she initially had preconceptions about asexuality, based on film and TV characters like The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper.
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Here's what asexuality is and what it isn't, based on resources from Aces and Aros, The Asexual Visibility & Education Network and The Trevor Project.
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There are some people who might experience sexual attraction under certain circumstances but feel that their experiences align more with asexuality than other orientations.
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But most people remain unfamiliar with asexuality, and some might not even realize that asexual is a term they can use to describe themselves.
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AVEN has a master list tracking asexuality in fiction, which you could read through in under five minutes (it's also dominated by literary examples).
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As should be clear from Flores' words, asexuality can't be boiled down to a single experience, and it definitely doesn't look just one way.
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Cerankowski says that knowledge and acceptance of asexuality have surged, particularly since 2010, which they credit to increased activism, scholarship, and pop culture representation.
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Barry hasn't converted to asexuality—he still enjoys sex—but he has ended the pursuit of romantic partners through both traditional and digital channels.
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The anthology spans centuries, from a Little Red Riding Hood retelling set in 1870s Mexico to a girl discovering her asexuality in 1970s disco clubs.
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Last season set up Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter's divorce, Todd's struggle to find normalcy in his asexuality, and Princess Carolyn's drive to become a mother.
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When people first began to use the term asexuality in the mid-20th century, it was widely seen as a complete lack of sexual desire.
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Autochorrisexuality is a subset of asexuality in which asexuals, often known as "aces," experience arousal and fantasies, but no desire to take part in them.
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We likewise deny that homosexuality, bisexuality, queer sexuality, trans identity, asexuality, or any other queer identity is sinful, distorted, or outside of God's created intent.
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"The idea that asexuality is the result of something being wrong or somehow being broken is incorrect," Brian Langevin, executive director for Ace Week, told CNN.
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In the early 2000s, Jay appeared on major network talk shows, doing interviews that entailed smiling through serious aspersions about whether asexuality was real or valid.
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In a constant environment, asexuality is the most efficient and reliable form of reproduction, as it directly copies the genomes of parents who survive to reproduce.
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A Jughead issue released this past February confirms the character's asexuality, and a 2012 issue of Life With Archie features the marriage of two gay characters.
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We already allow that sexual orientation lies on a spectrum; it follows that in the vast space between asexuality and hyper-sexuality, sexual desire does, too.
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Like the first season, "Sex Education" tackles huge topics like sexual harassment and asexuality in a way that is not only respectful, but wise and enriching.
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If aces are keeping their experiences to close-knit corners of Tumblr, rather than updating their Facebook statuses, it's because asexuality awareness still has room to grow.
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The only primetime series on one of the big four broadcast networks to address asexuality was a 2012 episode of House, which didn't include any asexual characters.
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This moment may have been the turning point, the moment when, had I known asexuality existed, I would have realized I didn't quite fit into that category.
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Gender and sexual orientation occur along a spectrum, and standard categories used to classify it—heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual—can fall short for identities like asexuality and pansexuality.
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Perhaps the first depiction of asexuality on television came in 2003, in the form of Craig Kilborn's recurring character Sebastian, the Asexual Icon, for CBS's Late Late Show.
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Her discovery of asexuality also led her to the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN)—connecting her to other people with little or no desire to have sex.
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But in turning away from the human world you are invariably turning away from the complications of being a sexed person — it's a new asexuality, an anti-jouissance.
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Asexuality is a sexual orientation in which a person experiences little or no sexual attraction to another person and/or no desire for sexual contact, according to Aces & Aros.
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Aces often identify as LGBTQ+, Aces & Aros notes, possibly because they view asexuality as an LGBTQ+ identity or because they have another identity that falls under the LGBTQ+ umbrella.
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The tickets are free, but they're accepting donations for the SF Mime Troupe and Asexuality SF, the ace meet-up group in the Bay Area, so I donate $20.
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Through their viewpoints, you can read interviews with artists, look through beautifully designed guidebooks, or peruse through personal essays and think pieces about Grindr, top privilege, asexuality, and more.
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And while some have tried to claim that the statement is a win for asexuality, it's not, because the Sesame Street universe isn't one that acknowledges a sexual spectrum.
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AVEN was founded in 2001 with the goal of "creating public acceptance and discussion of asexuality and facilitating the growth of an asexual community," according to the organization's website.
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Aces & Aros notes that this is likely because people of color may be less likely to participate in asexual communities and surveys and have access to online resources about asexuality.
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Alice can't ignore her growing crush, but she has to decide if she's willing to risk her heart again and reveal her asexuality to someone who might not understand it.
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I think something like asexuality is underrepresented, and since we have a character who was asexual before people had the word for it, I'm continuing to write him that way.
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And as much progress as we've made in dismantling the notion of the gender binary and recognizing the full spectrum of sexuality, we still haven't seen quite as much recognition for asexuality.
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That's a good thing for the entire LGBTQIA+ movement, because as young people grow up and influence society and culture, both will be implicitly more accepting of different identities – including shades of asexuality.
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So, to me, everything I can do to amplify the visibility of asexuality and aromanticism—if I can save even one person from having to go through that, then it's effort well spent.
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Asexuality is a spectrum, and while some people fit into that basic definition and feel no sexual attraction at all, others do feel some sexual attraction or feel sexual attraction only in specific circumstances.
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But while we've opened up our minds about the space between "gay" and "straight" labels, it seems that people often forget about another orientation that may not fit as neatly onto that spectrum: asexuality.
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And Todd just, well, does Todd: You can look forward to seeing him run an insane clown posse, operating a drone, walking in a fashion show, and confronting his asexuality, among other disjointed misadventures.
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Because public discourse often overlooks and even outright dismisses asexuality itself, it follows that ace stories of harassment and assault aren't widely heard, let alone accepted or understood, among those who don't identify as ace.
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Asexuality is a sexual orientation For most adolescents and adults, feeling sexually attracted to another person — whether someone of the same sex, opposite sex or outside of the gender binary — is a fact of life.
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David: I think that there are two perspectives on that—the first being that Pride is a place that's about celebrating sexual liberation and sexual freedom, and it's awkward to be celebrating asexuality alongside that.
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The rise of the asexuality movement, despite accounting for the experiences of a minority of people, is also pressing an important conversation for us as a society: What [is] the connection between intimacy and sexual behavior?
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"Historically, we just haven't accepted asexuality as a legitimate sexual orientation, and I think we've been only catching up to that in recent years," says KJ Cerankowski, an Oberlin assistant professor of gender, sexuality, and feminist studies.
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Assaults in situations like Decker's are known as "corrective," in which the attacker seeks to "correct" someone's asexuality by assaulting or raping them out of an abusive belief that they'll magically turn into people who crave sexual contact.
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The report cites Shadowhunters' Raphael Santiago and Degrassi: Next Class's Todd as examples of asexual characters on TV. GLAAD also encouraged The CW to explore Jughead's asexuality on Riverdale, as the character is asexual in the Archie comics.
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"I feel that because asexuality is perceived as an entirely 'nonsexual' identity by many outside the ace community that it's unfortunately easy for ace survivors of sexual harassment and assault to be left out or excluded from the conversation," Paramo said.
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If the lyric, "loving your loved ones like it's never going to end don't let the hand deject you / except the shadow it gives," speaks to your idea of asexuality or wellbeing, this may be the singer you've been searching for.
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Defying the early skepticism on the topic, authors Lori A. Brotto and Morag Yule concluded that asexuality is a unique sexual orientation, one that applies to up to 3 percent of adults, and not a sexual dysfunction or psychiatric disorder.
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Still, the study showed that sexual orientation "is not a single dimension and same-sex attraction is not inversely related to opposite-sex attraction, arguing for a more nuanced social understanding of sexual orientation that also includes bisexuality and asexuality," said Neely.
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BoJack also goes where no other show has, bringing in the asexual community at large: Todd joins an asexual meetup group and agrees to a date with another asexual, Yolanda Buenaventura (Natalie Morales), indicating the series plans to continue exploring asexuality beyond Todd.
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The asexuality one is particularly disheartening; After introducing the rare destigmatized asexual character, Sex Education feeds us a cursory explainer and then sends her on her merry way, magically immune to peer pressure, further confusion, or the pros and cons of coming out.
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" Dia Tucker, a 27-year-old writer in Tallahassee, Florida, describes the flawed reasoning around trauma that leads some to write off asexuality entirely: the idea that "you have to work through that event to become a sexual person or become a healed person.
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The internet has certainly shed more light on what some call their "invisible orientation" in recent years, but asexuality is almost entirely left off of most traditional sexual education curriculums — that is, of course, in places where sex ed is even offered to begin with.
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" Edward Vargo, an entomology professor at Texas A&M University who was not involved in the study, added that determining how and why certain colonies evolved asexuality might yield insight on the big question of "what is the purpose of sex and sexual reproduction.
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"A lot of discussions about asexuality with those who don't understand it or dislike it end up at the same place many bisexual conversations went a few years ago, with people saying, 'You just haven't found the right person,' or, 'It's just a phase,'" Aaron says.
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As is the case with Speechless, some newer shows are finally lending disabled characters, like Superstore's Garrett (Colton Dunn) and Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) in Game of Thrones, the freedom to be both sexually desirable and desirous without devolving into "on-message" pity or the assumption of asexuality.
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While a complete understanding of asexuality might not be quite as simple as the conversation between Teddy, Eliza, and Amer, it's still possible to introduce the idea and help others understand that not experiencing sexual desire is completely normal, and doesn't mean a person is broken or weird.
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To better understand this group, a trio of University of British Columbia researchers, Morag Yule, Lori Brotto, and Boris Gorzalka, conducted a survey in which they asked 739 people, 351 of them asexual (as defined by an inventory of questions designed to capture asexuality), about their sexual experiences and fantasies.
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Episode 3 of season 5, which contains a classic farce where Todd has to hide his asexuality from his girlfriend's parents, while alternately being seduced by her mother and identical twin sister, manages the balance of having an emotional core and the zany antics that are the signature of all of Todd's plots.
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" The author is particularly interested in (and good at describing) the varieties of sexual identities available to women on shows created by women, from the "frumpy and absolutely fine with that" asexuality of Tina Fey's character, Liz Lemon, on "30 Rock" to the skewed, joyous affection between the characters of Abbi and Ilana on "Broad City," who "delight in each other like voracious lovers, with each going to absurd extremes to help the other.
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When I joined the newly created Health team two years ago and we began crafting our approach to sex, we knew we wanted to move from the prescriptive and aspirational (this is what you should want, what you should do, how you should be) to the descriptive and celebratory of people's identities and choices — whether they are in sexless relationships or open ones or fantasizing about kink or discovering their asexuality — and to suggest tools for communicating about their sexualities if and when they choose.
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