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Asexuality
Asexuality describes a spectrum of sexual orientations in which human beings do not experience sexual attraction, or they experience it situationally or at low levels. Asexual people are estimated to represent 1% of the population yet are relatively unrepresented in discussions of issues related to sexual and gender diversity. Researchers have shown their experiences are unique and cannot be lumped in with other queer identities. Thus, professional counselors must intentionally cultivate competence about this group. This entry discusses terminology, prevalence, and definitions of asexuality, asexual people’s experiences in society, and recommendations for ethical and competent counseling interventions.
Terminology
Due to the varied and spectrum nature of asexual identities, it is not uncommon to hear the plural asexualities to describe a diverse group of experiences. Frequently seen sub-identifiers include demi-sexual, describing those who must create an intimate emotional bond prior to feeling sexual attraction, and gray-asexual, describing those who sit somewhere on the asexual spectrum but cannot specifically define where. Modifiers may be used to describe whether a person experiences romance or with whom (i.e., a-romantic, hetero-romantic, bi-romantic) and their level of aversion to sex and sexual material (i.e., repulsed, neutral, positive).
Human asexuality should not be confused with asexuality in other species, which may refer to a method of single-celled reproduction. In fact, the term amoeba, a single-celled organism that can reproduce by making a copy of itself, is often used in derogatory ways against asexual people.
Prevalence
Estimates for the prevalence of human asexuality range from 0.6% to 4% of the total population, but the most accepted number is 1%, based on the 2004 analysis of a census of 18,000 U.K. residents, which sparked modern research on the topic. However, absence of attraction as a common uniting characteristic makes it difficult to fully pinpoint how many in the population are asexual. The phrase sexual orientation refers to a person’s place in relation to an object of desire (e.g., someone who identifies as a woman and is attracted to or desires only other women has a lesbian orientation), and, by definition, an asexual orientation has no other against which to be situated. Thus, many researchers have pondered how to measure a construct based on the absence of something. Some have argued that asexuality is not an orientation but a lack of one altogether.
Lack of representations in education, media, and culture leave many asexual people not knowing there are names for their experiences, adding to difficulties in collecting demographic data. Orientation labels partially serve to publicly identify possible partners, so some asexual people never find reason to identify their orientation at all. Finally, people who are asexual may not be primed to volunteer as participants in sexuality studies.
Defining Asexuality
Over the years, there have been many attempts to define asexuality. The worldwide online community Asexuality Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) had the following definition on the home page of its website as of early 2021: “An asexual person is a person who does not experience sexual attraction.” While all experiences of asexual people are personal and can differ from others’ experiences, the AVEN definition is the one most commonly used in scholarly research.
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