Asexuality is a sexual orientation. Asexual individuals – sometimes called “aces” – experience a lack of a sexual attraction for other people and/or have a lack of interest or low interest in sexual relationships or behavior. Many still pursue romantic or intimate emotional relationships.
It is a mistaken belief that if someone engages in any form of sexual behavior, they are not asexual. Sex research has found that humans engage in sexual behavior for a variety of reasons: because of sexual desire or attraction, but also for comfort, for human contact, to make a romantic partner happy, in exchange for security or safety, or to reproduce, among many more.
Recent research has also identified “solitary desire” among some asexuals – desire that is not directed at another person – which can be expressed in solitary sexual activity or fantasies (Yule 2014).
Asexuality is not abstinence or celibacy or another form of choosing not to be sexually active despite having desire for partnered sex. Nor is it experiencing a lack of sex because of circumstances like having no current partner or losing your libido due to age or illness.
Asexuality is sometimes compared with aromanticism. Aromantics are individuals who experience little or no romantic attraction to others and/or have a lack of interest in romantic relationships or behavior. They may be content with friendships or sexual relationships without a romantic component.
Asexuality is not as widely understood as other sexual orientations, and research over the past several decades has provided different estimates of how many people are asexual. A study conducted by Dr. Anthony Bogaert in 2012 “concluded that 1% may be a reasonable ‘working figure’ for the prevalence rate of asexuality, but at this point we cannot be sure of an exact figure for a number of reasons” (Bogaert 2012). These reasons include differing assessments of asexuality, no overarching consensus on its classification, and sampling and recruitment issues in previous studies.
You can read more about asexuality in Dr. Justin Lehmiller’s blog post or at the resources below.
Resources:
AVEN: The Asexual Visibility and Education Network
https://www.asexuality.org/
The Trevor Project info page on asexuality
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/trvr_support_center/asexual/
Research:
(2015) Asexuality: What it is and why it matters, The Journal of Sex Research, 52:4, 362-379, DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2015.1015713
Yule, M. A., Brotto, L. A., & Gorzalka, B. B. (2014). Sexual fantasy and masturbation among asexual individuals. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 23(2), 89-95. pdf
Bogaert, A. F. (2012). Understanding asexuality. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Prause, N., & Graham, C. A.(2007). Asexuality: Classification and categorization. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36, 341–356. doi:10.1007/s10508-006-9142-3