Asexuality: Not just for Youth

Details: Category: Asexuality 101; Published on Saturday, 23 July 2011 16:27; Written by Lara Tacita; Hits: 905

A common misconception about Asexuality is that Asexuals are young or that it is a current fad. It is harder to deny that as a relatively new movement, it is more likely to attract younger Asexuals than it is to attract older Asexuals. People do become set in their ways as they get older. Further encouraging the idea are a number of teenage users on Tumblr, AVEN and other forums geared towards Asexuals.

The idea that Asexuals are young is based on the misplaced notion that Asexuality is a fad or people are using Asexuality as a label for themselves to figure themselves out. The first notion is not true. Some people have not been all that interested in the act since humanity began. The second idea receives some encouargement from AVEN and many Asexual communities themselves. AVEN encourages people to come in and figure themselves out.

It is important to remember that Asexuality is a new label for an existing orientation. Because it is a new label, it is not yet well-known. The efforts of AVEN, Sara Beth Brooks and other activists are helping to spread the word beyond the community itself. Those who criticize Asexuality as being a largely online orientation are right, but this is changing slowly.