Asexual gay
LGBTQIA Resource Center Glossary
GLOSSARY
The terms and definitions below are always evolving, modifying and often mean unlike things to different people. They are provided below as a starting direct for discussion and knowledge. This Glossary has been collectively built and created by the staff members of the LGBTQIA Resource Center since the initial 2000s.
These are not universal definitions. This glossary is provided to help grant others a more thorough but not entirely comprehensive understanding of the significance of these terms. You may even consider asking someone what they denote when they use a term, especially when they use it to depict their identity. Ultimately it is most important that each individual define themselves for themselves and therefore also define a designation for themselves.
“If I didn't define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people's fantasies for me and eaten alive.” -Audre Lorde
This glossary contains terms, such as ableism and disability, that may not be considered directly related to identities of sexuality or gender. These terms are significant to acknowledge as part of our mission to challenge all forms of oppress
What does asexuality/asexual mean?
In the simplest of terms someone who is asexual is someone who does not experience sexual attraction.
This means that they don’t encounter that feeling of looking at a person and thinking ‘I’d like to own sex with them.’
It’s important to observe that a sudden loss in sexual drive if you’ve previously felt sexual attraction could be a reaction to medication, a modify in your mental health or something else. This can happen to anyone and if this does happen, you can chat to your doctor about what’s going on and figure things out.
Does that mean asexual people don’t desire anyone else?
Some asexual people experience attraction, but don’t perceive that they wish to act on that attraction sexually. This is recognizable as romantic attraction, where they yearn to get to know somebody and do romantic things. What those affectionate things are depends on each person – it could include going on dates, holding hands or cuddling.
Asexual people can also recognize as gay, womxn loving womxn, bisexual or direct depending on who they feel attraction to.
Other asexual people don’t experience any sexual or idealistic attraction to
I spend a lot of period in both asexual and same-sex attracted communities. Specifically, I’ve participated in queer college student groups and have lots of gay male friends in their 20s/30s on the U.S. west coast. Based on these experiences, as limited as they are, I aspire to share a few noticeable differences. This is not an attempt to critique either asexual or gay communities but an attempt to understand ourselves.
1. One asexual community, many gay communities
One time someone asked me, “Where is the main bisexual website?” They expected there would be a bisexual equivalent of AVEN! Nope.
In the past, people possess complained when I’ve referred to the asexual community in the singular rather than the plural. I think whether you contact it “the community” or “communities” is arbitrary. But there is definitely a sense in which the asexual community is more unified than the gay male community. With gay men, they have their circles of friends, and they might participate in local community events. Some participate in national activist organizations and dating websites, but these don’t really provide a unified community.
But since asexu
Why aromantic and asexual people belong in LGBTQIA+ community
Jennifer Pollitt is an assistant professor and assistant director of the Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Program. In addition to teaching, she lectures and facilitates workshops for both academic and professional audiences, including co-founding Empathy A Perform, LLC, and organizing the Men & #MeToo Conference in Philadelphia. She has developed comprehensive sexuality curricula used by the American Medical Association and other universities. She also belongs to the nation’s oldest and largest legal activism group that fights for the civil rights of LGBTQIA+ individuals and those who live with HIV. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, she is a powerful ally of asexuals and aromantics and we asked her to share her knowledge of these lesser-known identities that fall under the queer umbrella.
We spoke with Pollitt about what asexuals and aromantics can educate others about connection, why they fit in the LGBTQIA+ community, and why they are so often left behind in LGBTQIA+ discourse.
Temple Now: Two of the more recently recognized identities within the LGBTQIA+ acronym are asexual and aromantic. Can you des