Asexuality: A Mixed-Methods Approach

Abstract

Current definitions of asexuality focus on sexual attraction, sexual behavior, and lack of sexual orientation or sexual excitation; however, the extent to which these definitions are accepted by self-identified asexuals is unknown. The goal of Study 1 was to examine relationship characteristics, frequency of sexual behaviors, sexual difficulties and distress, psychopathology, interpersonal functioning, and alexithymia in 187 asexuals recruited from the Asexuality Visibility and Education Network (AVEN). Asexual men (n = 54) and women (n = 133) completed validated questionnaires online. Sexual response was lower than normative data and was not experienced as distressing, and masturbation frequency in males was similar to available data for sexual men. Social withdrawal was the most elevated personality subscale; however, interpersonal functioning was in the normal range. Alexithymia was elevated in 12%. Social desirability was also in the normal range. Study 2 was designed to expand upon these quantitative findings with 15 asexuals from Study 1 through in-depth telephone interviews. The findings suggest that asexuality is best conceptualized as a lack of sexual attraction; however, asexuals varied greatly in their experience of sexual response and behavior. Asexuals partnered with sexuals acknowledged having to "negotiate" sexual activity. There were not higher rates of psychopathology among asexuals; however, a subset might fit the criteria for Schizoid Personality Disorder. There was also strong opposition to viewing asexuality as an extreme case of sexual desire disorder. Finally, asexuals were very motivated to liaise with sex researchers to further the scientific study of asexuality.

Implicit and Explicit Attitudes Toward Sex and Romance in Asexuals

“…There remain inconsistent operational definitions of asexuality within research, as will be discussed below, though it is commonly defined as a lack of sexual attraction toward others (Bogaert, 2004;Bogaert, 2006;Brotto, Knudson, Inskip, Rhodes, & Erskine, 2010). Studies have reported that a sizeable minority of the population lacks sexual attraction toward others.…”

“…Previous studies have considered asexuality to be a lack of sexual activity (Rothblum & Brehony, 1993), a lack of sexual attraction (Bogaert, 2004;Brotto et al, 2010), a lack of sexual desire (Prause & Graham, 2007), having little to no sexual attraction and/or self-identifying as asexual (Chasin, 2011), the opposite of bisexuality (Carrigan, 2011;Storms, 1980), or have combined measures of behaviour, desire, and self-identification (Poston Jr & Baumle, 2010).…”

“…Sexual experience also appears to vary considerably within the asexual community. Some studies report similar levels of sexual experience in asexuals as in the general population (Prause & Graham, 2007), while others report lower levels of sexual experience or activity (Bogaert, 2004;Brotto et al, 2010). In a large scale survey of asexuals conducted online, 45% reported a willingness to compromise with partners and engage in either regular or occasional sex while only 25% reported an unwillingness to have sex (Miller, 2011).…”

“…A significant portion of previous research was qualitative (Carrigan, 2011;Dawson et al, 2016;Gupta, 2016;Robbins et al, 2016) or examined only self-reported attitudes (Bogaert, 2004;Brotto et al, 2010;Poston Jr & Baumle, 2010;Prause & Graham, 2007;Van Houdenhove et al, 2015b), with little research quantitatively examining differences in specific attitudes between asexuals and the general population.…”

Rethinking asexuality: A Symbolic Interactionist account

“…The only shared demographic point of note across these studies is that women are more likely both to selfidentify as asexual and to be defined as such. A further methodological problem with these studies is that they have tended to use measures that reflect dominant sexualised approaches (Hinderliter 2009 Brotto et al 2010). This reflects a wider lack of methodological plurality in research on asexuality (Carrigan, Gupta and Morrison 2013:116-117).…”