Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to others, or low or absent interest in or desire for sexual activity. It may be considered a sexual orientation, or the lack thereof. It may also be categorized more widely as a range of asexual sub-identities called the ace spectrum. The term ace is often used colloquially to describe those who are asexual or part of the ace spectrum.
Asexuality is distinct from sexual abstinence and from celibacy, which are behavioral and generally motivated by factors such as an individual's personal, social, or religious beliefs.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (3d ed. 1992), entries for celibacy and thence abstinence. Sexual orientation, unlike sexual behavior, is believed to be "enduring". Some asexual people engage in sexual activity despite lacking sexual attraction or a desire for sex, for a number of reasons, such as a desire to physically please themselves or romantic partners, or a desire to have children.
Acceptance of asexuality as a sexual orientation and field of scientific research is still relatively new, as a growing body of research from both sociological and psychological perspectives has begun to develop. While some researchers assert that asexuality is a sexual orientation, other researchers disagree. Asexual individuals may represent about one percent of the population.
Various asexual communities have started to form since the impact of the Internet and social media in the mid-1990s. The most prolific and well-known of these communities is the Asexual Visibility and Education Network, which was founded in 2001 by David Jay.
Definition, identity and relationships Because there is significant variation among those who identify as asexual, the term asexuality can encompass broad definitions. Researchers generally define asexuality as the lack of sexual attraction or the lack of interest in sexual activity, though specific definitions vary—the term may be used to refer to individuals with low or absent sexual behavior or exclusively romantic non-sexual partnerships in addition to low or absent sexual desire or attraction.
Asexuality is often abbreviated as ace, a phonetic shortening of asexual, and the community as a whole is likewise referred to as the ace community.
Relationships
Despite lacking sexual attraction, some asexuals might engage in purely romantic relationships, while others may not. Some who identify as asexual report that they experience sexual attraction, though lack the inclination to act on it, citing no desire to engage in sexual activity—some asexuals also lack the desire to engage in non-sexual physical activity such as cuddling or hand-holding, while others choose to do so. Asexual people may seek relationships without romantic or sexual activity, known as "queerplatonic relationships". A squish is a term used by the asexual community to describe a platonic crush.
Certain asexuals may participate in sexual activity out of curiosity. Some may also masturbate as a form of solitary release, while others may not feel a need to do so. The desire for masturbation or other sexual activity is often referred to as sex drive by asexuals, who disassociate it from sexual attraction and being asexual; asexuals who masturbate generally consider it to be a normal product of the human body rather than a sign of latent sexuality, and others do not find it pleasurable. Some asexual men are unable to get an erection and are unable to attempt penetration. Asexuals also differ in their views on performing sexual acts: some are indifferent and may engage in sexual activity for the benefit of a romantic partner, while others are more strongly averse to the idea, though they are not typically against sex as a whole so as to condemn other people for engaging in any form of sexual activity.
Many who identify as asexual may identify with diverse gender identities or classifications of romantic orientation. These are often integrated with a person's asexual identity, and asexuals may still identify as heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual or pansexual regarding romantic or emotional aspects of sexual orientation or sexual identity in addition to identifying as asexual. The romantic aspects of sexual orientations may also be indicated by a variety of romantic identities, including biromantic, heteroromantic, homoromantic, or panromantic, and those who do not experience romantic attraction may identify as aromantic. This split between romantic and sexual orientation is commonly explained as the split attraction model, which states that romantic and sexual attraction are not strictly linked for all people. Individuals who are both aromantic and asexual are sometimes known as aro-ace or aroace.
Romantic and interpersonal relationships
Asexual people can have vast differences in matters related to romantic attraction, intimacy and relationship building. Although asexuals experience little to no sexual attraction, most asexual individuals are romantically attracted. A 2020 study found 74% of asexual participants reported experiencing romantic attraction, with 38.3% being biromantic, 26.4% heteroromantic, 4.9% homoromantic, and 5.1% reporting another romantic orientation. The study also found that the percentage of the romantic asexuals who identified as heteroromantic was less than half that of the romantic allosexuals (those experiencing sexual attraction).
Studies in 2011 and 2017 concluded that asexual people have various relationship formats such as long-term romantic relationships, queerplatonic relationships, and mixed-orientation relationships between an asexual person and an allosexual person.Carrigan, M. (2011). "There’s more to life than sex? Difference and commonality within the asexual community." Sexualities, 14(4), 462–478. Emotional intimacy, understanding of each other, and boundary and expectation communication are strongly related to relationship satisfaction among asexual people.Brotto, L. A., & Yule, M. (2017). "Asexuality: A mixed-methods approach." Journal of Sex Research, 54(3), 364–378. These studies also concluded that successful partnerships often involve clear negotiation of physical affection, respect for differing needs, and flexibility in defining what intimacy means for each partner. In mixed-orientation relationships especially, couples may develop tailored arrangements that accommodate both partners’ comfort levels while preserving trust and mutual support.
A 2012 study concluded that asexual people also might have difficulties in dealing with social stigma, their compulsion to have sex, or their partners not understanding them. These experiences may add to minority stress but are usually alleviated by positive social networks and communities.MacInnis, C., & Hodson, G. (2012). “Intergroup bias toward asexuals.” Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 15(3), 1–14.
Gray asexuality
The term gray asexuality refers to the spectrum between asexuality and non-asexuality (also referred to as ). Individuals who identify as gray asexual may occasionally experience sexual attraction, or only experience sexual attraction as a secondary component once a reasonably stable or large emotional connection has been formed with the target, known as demisexuality.
Research Prevalence
Asexuality is rare, with around 1% of the population identifying as asexual. It is not a new aspect of human sexuality, but it is relatively new to public discourse. In comparison to other sexualities, asexuality has received little attention from the scientific community, and there is relatively little quantitative data available about the prevalence of asexuality. In his creation of the Kinsey scale, which he used to rate individuals' sexual activity from 0 (exclusively heterosexual) to 6 (exclusively homosexual), Alfred Kinsey included an additional category, "X", for individuals with "no socio-sexual contacts or reactions". Although in modern times, this category has been interpreted as representing asexual people, scholar Justin J. Lehmiller has noted that "the Kinsey X classification emphasized a lack of sexual behavior, whereas the modern definition of asexuality emphasizes a lack of sexual attraction. As such, the Kinsey Scale may not be sufficient for accurate classification of asexuality". Kinsey labeled 1.5% of the adult male population as X. In his second book, Sexual Behavior in the Human Female, Kinsey reported a breakdown of individuals who fall under the X category: unmarried females = 14–19%, married females = 1–3%, previously married females = 5–8%, unmarried males = 3–4%, married males = 0%, and previously married males = 1–2%.
Further empirical data about an asexual demographic appeared in 1994 when a research team in the United Kingdom carried out a comprehensive survey of 18,876 British residents, spurred by the need for sexual information in the wake of the AIDS pandemic. The survey included a question on sexual attraction, to which 1.05% of the respondents replied that they had "never felt sexually attracted to anyone at all".Wellings, K. (1994). Sexual Behaviour in Britain: The National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles. Penguin Books. The study of this phenomenon was continued by Canadian sexuality researcher Anthony Bogaert in 2004, who explored the asexual demographic in a series of studies. Bogaert's research indicated that 1% of the British population does not experience sexual attraction, but he believed that the 1% figure was not an accurate reflection of the likely much larger percentage of the population that could be identified as asexual, noting that 30% of people contacted for the initial survey chose not to participate in the survey. Since less sexually experienced people are more likely to refuse to participate in studies about sexuality, and asexuals tend to be less sexually experienced than allosexuals, asexuals were likely under-represented in the responding participants. The same study found the number of homosexuals and bisexuals combined to be about 1.1% of the population, which is much smaller than other studies indicate.
Contrasting Bogaert's 1% figure, a study by Aicken et al., published in 2013, suggests that, based on Natsal-2 data from 2000 to 2001, the prevalence of asexuality in Britain is only 0.4% for the age range 16–44. This percentage indicates a decrease from the 0.9% figure determined from the Natsal-1 data collected on the same age-range a decade earlier. A 2015 analysis by Bogaert also found a similar decline between the Natsal-1 and Natsal-2 data. Aicken, Mercer, and Cassell found some evidence of ethnic differences among respondents who had not experienced sexual attraction; both men and women of Indian and Pakistani origin had a higher likelihood of reporting a lack of sexual attraction.
In a survey conducted by YouGov in 2015, 1,632 British adults were asked to try to place themselves on the Kinsey scale. 1% of participants answered "No sexuality". The breakdown of participants was 0% men, 2% women, and 1% across all age ranges.
In a nationwide survey conducted in Japan in 2023 by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, 49 respondents (0.9%) out of 5,339 valid responses identified their sexual orientation as asexual. In the same survey, 0.4% identified as gay, lesbian, or homosexual, and 1.8% identified as bisexual. This survey "reports that 1.3% of cisgender women and 0.3% of cisgender men identify as asexual, 1.6% (86 people) of all respondents may be classified as aromantic asexual, 1.5% (81 people) of all respondents may be classified as romantic asexual, and 1.1% (58 people) of all respondents may be classified as aromantic sexual".