asexuality

Hi guys, if you haven't seen this yet:

Asexuality: The 'X' In A Sexual World

It's an article by Dominique Mosbergen published in the Gay Voices section of The Huffington Post, discussing asexuality. It is coming out over the next week in six installments. The first was posted today. I was an interviewee and none of my content is in Part 1 but it will be later in the week. I'm really glad that someone thought it was a good idea to do a somewhat comprehensive article on this subject because usually articles about us are something like "Guess what, this exists, this is what it is, neat and weird, eh?"

Enjoy and keep checking back each day for a new installment through Saturday!

Hi everyone,

My name is Karen and I’m a sociology postgraduate student at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. For my Masters dissertation, I am conducting research on the topic of asexuality and disability: specifically exploring the experiences of people who self-identify as asexual and have a disability, and looking at the ways in which asexuality and disability might ‘intersect’. I’m recruiting people to take part in an online (individual) interview with myself – and I was hoping that some of you might be interested in taking part! (I have already posted this message on AVEN - apologies if some of you have already seen this).

I am interesting in hearing from folks all along the asexuality spectrum, and of all genders, relationship orientations, nationalities etc. I am also working with a broad definition of ‘disability’ – what is important is that you consider yourself to be a disabled person, or that you consider yourself to be disabled in some way.

It’s also really really important that you are over the age of 18!

If you think you might be interested, you can send me an email at 0705067c@student.gla.ac.uk and I’ll then send you a plain language information sheet which will give you a lot more details about the study (as well as my full name, contact details for my supervisor and University ethics committee). Once you have read that you can decide whether or not you want to take part. By contacting me you are in no way committing yourself to taking part - and if after reading the information sheet and decide that it is not for you, then that’s absolutely fine too! I’m also more than happy to address any questions or concerns that you might have.

Thanks very much for reading this – and I hope to speak to some of you soon!

Best wishes,

Karen

Hi guys, cross-posting this from my personal journal:

Today I accepted an offer of representation for my asexuality book, So You Think You're Asexual: An Introduction to the Invisible Orientation.

::throws glitter::

I've just signed with Andrea Somberg of Harvey Klinger for my nonfiction project. She's been in the biz for more than a decade, really knows her way around nonfiction, and already had plans for where my book is going to be submitted when she called me the other day to offer representation. I was impressed with how she rattled off the editors' names and publishing houses, and she said such nice things about my writing. I was ESPECIALLY flattered by the fact that she said my proposal would only need very minor edits, because Andrea actually teaches a workshop on pitching nonfiction. I never envisioned myself as a nonfiction writer so I'm actually really surprised I did a decent enough job on the proposal for her to think it needs very little help. (I guess writers never get over being told they're good at this writing thing.)

I have a couple modifications I need to make to the proposal and then it's over to her for revisions, and then next stop is submission to publishers. There could be an actual book in bookstores on the topic of asexuality relatively soon, and that makes me happy. :)

::dances::

Dear all,

My name is Andrew Hinderliter, and I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign. My dissertation is about online asexual discourse, with particular interest in its development over time. I ran one survey last January, and I am now conducting a survey on asexuality-related concepts and terminology.

To participate, you must be at least 18 years of age or older, be proficient in English, and identify as asexual, gray-A, or demisexual. The survey has a number of language-related questions, and it is asked that you do not look things up while taking the survey.

Click here to participate

Thanks!

I'm curious as to what people think of it. I have an ASD, which gives me a lot of trouble when it comes to relationships and connecting emotionally to people, and as a result of that that I am rarely physically attracted to someone else, and even if I am issues with physical intimacy mean that I rarely actually do anything about it. So, functionally, I am asexual. And since I've come to terms with this I've discovered that there is a LOT of hostility towards asexuality, from both gay and straight people. I'd like to know what your attitude is, and why.


THANS!

Just in case there are any freelance writers here - I just noticed that Elance has a job posting from a guy who wants someone who can write asexual erotica.

Figured I'd pass it on.

https://www.elance.com/j/ghostwriting-asexual-erotica-kink/40903905/

Hi everyone.

I have only discovered asexuality in the last 12 months and wish I had discovered it earlier as I am a thirtysomething woman who feels that her relationships would have been a lot better. I still have several questions though:

1. Where can I find more information on sexual attraction vs sexual arousal? Even though I strongly identify at this point as a / demisexual, I would still like to know more about this.

2. More often than not asexuality is described as: asexuals have no sexual desires with any gender and do not engage in sexual activity.

I don't experience sexual attraction and don't enjoy sex but I engage in sex for the sake of my partner. Does this affect my sexual orientation?

3. Are there any other Australians in this community? Just curious. Would also like to hear your dating adventures. I am at the point where I try to actively seek out homosexual men to spend time with as I can't get a decent conversation out of the heterosexual ones as all they want to do is talk about sex!

Many thanks for your time and tolerance.

CNN had an article today called Youth: Straight, LGBT or 'other'?

It summarized a recent Gallop poll about sexuality.

About half-way down, it goes into people who don't identify with "straight" or "GLBT" and quotes a sex therapist using the term "Gender and sexual diversity." Then it says, simply,

"That term could also include the 1% of people who identify as asexual, which means they aren't sexually attracted to anyone."

And that's it. No debate on legitimacy, no bringing in the "other side," just a neutral mention of asexualty with an accurate definition, and a (so far as I know) accurate statistic.

I don't think I've ever seen that in the media before. Either asexuality doesn't get mentioned at all or it becomes the whole point of the article, a 101 awareness bit, and often with a legitimacy debate attached.