Understanding Asexuality by Anthony F. Bogaert

Author:Anthony F. Bogaert [Bogaert, Anthony F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Non-Fiction, Medical, Human Sexuality, Gender Identity
ISBN: 9781442200999
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Published: 2012-03-16T04:00:00+00:00

Summary

Identities allow us to know who we are and to stake our claim as unique and worthy of recognition. They also allow us to seek solace and comfort with, and forge ties to, those with whom we share commonalities. Identities also often emerge out of and serve social and political ends, allowing us to rally our group in defense of our interests.

Sexual identities are especially powerful components of the broader human identity process. That many asexual people still want, or are compelled, to forge a sexual identity (i.e., as an asexual) attests to the relevance and power of sex in our society. They are, like the potoroo, seemingly alone in a very large and different (sexual) world. Sexuality is also likely to be, at least for some, a very relevant personal construct, even if they do not engage in sex at all. It is as if these asexuals know that, on some very deep level, sex really matters in society, and therefore their own identities must also be defined by it, even if that identification takes on meaning because it is the polar opposite of sex. An asexual identity is also clearly relevant from a political standpoint, providing the ground support and a rallying point needed to change public perceptions and institutions that claim (or at least imply) that asexual people are ill or broken. That (public) identities are often political, and can serve as a way of gaining or defending psychic and other territory, is illustrated by the fact that groups often tend to lose their (unique) identity when the “war” is over and won (Associated Press, 2007; Scarr, 1987). For example, some recent stories on the gay and lesbian community illustrate how traditional elements of a gay/lesbian identity are being lost in the wake of increasing public acceptance. For asexual people, however, their war—and their need for a common identity to help fight it—has probably just begun.

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