I was watching something on National Geographic the other day and something about asexuals came up. I was a bit intrigued, but they did not go into as much detail as I wanted. I figured that sense we have a good group of discussioners (just made that word up), then we could all learn something.
What is Asexuality?
Wikipedia says: Asexuality describes individuals who do not experience sexual attraction and is considered by some to be a sexual orientation.[1] Asexuality as a human sexual orientation has only been recognized and defined in a few academic studies since the late 1970s, and a community of self-identified asexuals has only coalesced since the start of the 21st century, aided by the widening popularity of online communities.[1] One commonly cited study placed the incidence rate of asexuality at 1%.[2] Asexuality is not the same as celibacy, which is the deliberate abstention from sexual activity; many asexuals do have sex,[3] and most celibates are not asexual.
How does this fit into the Kinsey Sexuality Scale?
Alfred Kinsey was aware of an asexual element in the population but did little to investigate it. His Kinsey scale of sexual orientation consisted of a single axis lying between heterosexuality and homosexuality with bisexuality in between, and thus left no place for asexuality. In the Kinsey Reports of 1948 and 1953, subjects were scaled from 0 (completely heterosexual) to 6 (completely homosexual), but a separate category of X was created for those with "no socio-sexual contacts or reactions".[4][5] He labeled 1.5% of the adult male population as "X"
Questions
1. Is asexuality even real? I am skeptical. I don't see how one could be asexual given the hormones we all have.
2. Do you think it is purely sexual or does it involve romantic notions?
3. Given that it is real and does exist, could it be a result of a trauma?
4. Would you classify this as a mental disorder given the fact that their body has the right hormones, etc?
I have never heard of this. It sounds pretty weird to me altho if there have been scientific studies then it must be true. Is it a disorder with the hormones in peoples bodies or do they just choose not to have sex because it doesnt do anything for them?
Are the conservatives also banning asexual marriage?
I would like to see some report, on conditions asexual people commonly have, do they have a higher rate of post-traumatic stress disorder, or learning disabilities?
Necromancer, I would freaking doubt it! That is the quote of the day!
Anyway, it says there is very little research on asexuality. I am skeptical about it. It is almost like a somatoform disorder in my eyes. There is obviously a population of people that consider themselves asexual. Could it be that they just haven't met the right person?
But, I agree. There has to be something that has effected their MENTAL state in the past. This might need to be where I take my thesis.
Ah, to psychoanalyse, or to medicalise...that is the question.
One could do either or even both, seeing as labels are political but also presumably reflective of something else. Here's two examples:
1) A friend of mine called himself asexual because of a reaction to a crisis of sexual identity. I myself, in my latter stages of school, took up the asexual banner as a stand against what I saw to be the stifling heternormative construct that tended to dominate school social dynamics. At the time I said "well I don't appear to have homosexual inclinations" and also "I don't have any interest in this sleazy world of picking up chicks etc." so I said "fine, I'm asexual."
I would, however, note that in many cases (mine included) the 'asexual' label can often be a way of hiding skeletons in the closet.
2) The partner of another friend of mine had a stroke which precipitated alcoholic dementia, after which (as can commonly be the case for this kind of presentation), they completely lost the conception of 'sex' and the ability to be aroused. This would, I suppose, in a medical sense make them 'asexual' but seeing as they were in a same-sex relationship this would differ from the identity-politic domain of previous...perhaps that person considered themselves still homosexual due to their relationship. I wasn't clear on that detail as it didn't appear particularly relevant.
One has to remember that any discussion pertaining to 'sexuality' and various orientations, predilections and 'alternatives' fall under the current rhetoric (which I hold to be unwieldy), and thus confound a whole bunch of domains. We had difficulty making any semblance of a definition of homosexuality. Hell, I bet the same would apply to heterosexuality. And given that the reported sample space is so small here, it'd be even harder to define 'asexuality'.
Also, by psychiatric definition (DSM-IV TR recommendations...which I support in this case), something isn't a pathology unless it causes much distress or maladaptive functioning. From above, the former wasn't pathological (assuming that could even be called 'asexual'...the latter most certainly was. More for the partner of said dementia patient.
Speaking of which, personally I wonder what would happen if we ran a series on the 'araphilias'.
It must either be a hormonal defect or something psychological. It must be either a very rare hormonal defect or a very rare personaluty disorder. The figure of 1% of people being asexual sounds high to me. I mean 1 % of the people i know arent asexual. I would have thought it would be more like 1 person in every 10 thousand so like 0.001% of people.
I would, however, note that in many cases (mine included) the 'asexual' label can often be a way of hiding skeletons in the closet.
I think you are very correct here. It is a great scapegoat. What makes me more curious at this point, is where does this need to hide come from? This makes me think of previous traumatic experiences, etc.
The partner of another friend of mine had a stroke which precipitated alcoholic dementia, after which (as can commonly be the case for this kind of presentation), they completely lost the conception of 'sex' and the ability to be aroused. This would, I suppose, in a medical sense make them 'asexual'...
Okay, so we have a pathology and a true medical condition. Can you explain why alcoholic dementia led to asexuality?
Isnt dementia when you lose your memory? Maybye this person drunk so much and killed so many brain cells that their body literally forgot about sex, both the concept and the way it normally gets aroused.
What makes me more curious at this point, is where does this need to hide come from?
So long as we're talking about psychosocial issues, it can range from traumatic experiences with abusive relationships or the death of a partner, to a fear of revelation due to social stigma and therefore shame. The latter may be more of a 'olitical' thing than the former but I guess it's of little use to deny the label of 'asexuality' until at least a more appropriate appraisal can be given, if it can be.
Okay, so we have a pathology and a true medical condition. Can you explain why alcoholic dementia led to asexuality?
I'm no neurologist, but I'm going to assume that there were multiple lesions that took out various parts of the brain. I was unaware of a single 'sex' part but perhaps it would be related to interruptions in the connections of the limbic system (basically frontal lobe, basal ganglia, amygdala), which are thought to be central to emotional processing.
On that note, frontal lobe lesions can really do things to your personality and behavior. Check out what a stake through the eye did to Phineas Gage, so dubbed the forefather of neuroscience!
Dementia, as easily as I can define it, describes "neurodegenerative processes that are distinct from physiological senescence".
That is to say dementia is a pathological definition because it describes when the brain breaks down differently or faster than we'd normally expect it to. It actually covers a whole range of defects, depending on the type of dementia (Alzheimer's being one example). There are also a range of presentations with a distinct set of symptoms- memory loss is a common one (types of memory loss vary, too) but is by no means the best symptom with which to make a differential diagnosis. Other symptoms include motor disturbances ('cog-wheeling', really tiny handwriting, loss of mobility', depression and changes in emotion, loss of cognition and speech, and sensory disturbances (e.g. sight).
I could actually go into more detail about this but that would require me dragging out my notes as I'm fuzzy on the details!
(I am slightly regretting that the "Your Medical Questions Answered!" thread died!)
Asexuality? Well I have learned about asexuality in animal and plant cells, but never in the human race. This really intrigues me to see really why or how this can actually happen.
I mean, maybe this could be the affect of some sort traumatic occurance, or could it possibly be as specific as our DNA? Some sort of past event such as a broken heart (it must be VERY "broken" could possibly hide that sexual desire. Of course brain damage as Strop described earlier could also be the cause.
I don't understand this whole asexual thing. Okay, so does that mean that they don't have a sexual attraction towards anything? Like they don't get aroused at all, any time...at all? Or does it mean that they do feel the need for relationships with other people? Like just antisocial people who have no friends are asexual? I don't get what being asexual entails. I don't think its possible to not be sexually stimulated in any way possible, unless you have a serious disorder, which could be fixed. And don't you think that they would want it fixed? I would feel bad for them.
