Asexual bigotry and discrimination often result because of invisibility
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- Category: Cake Recipes
- Published on Monday, 11 April 2011 21:44
- Written by Lara Landis
- Hits: 958
Note: Readers are encouraged to add their own opinions. The author is both left-handed and Asexual.
Bigotry against Asexuals is not, as with many issues related to Asexuality, a hot-button topic. Sadly, the reasons for this is often because Asexuals fight for visibility for their orientation. It is not that it could not spark serious debate about the nature of bigotry and the subtle forms of discrimination that many groups face. When such items are discussed, it often brings people out of the woodwork and a game known as the Oppression Olympics starts.
Games in the oppression Olympics can be fun to watch from an outsider perspective, but Asexuals, who are mostly invisible are not often removed from their homes or places of employment because of their actual orientation. They may, as in the case of Asexual bullying, face problems because of their perceived orientation and Asexual bigotry often occurs at the hands of well-meaning professionals. If a person believes someone else to be gay, lesbian, or transgender – whether they are or not – the person who is perceived this way will suffer from the prejudice of others. Complicating the issue is that there are homoromantic Asexuals and transgendered Asexuals who face the same issues.
The reader may think at this point that discrimination does not apply to Asexuals. Such an attitude is clearly wrong. Invisible minorities suffer at the hands of the majority. If the reader does not believe this, he only has to consider what left-handed people have to put up with. A left-handed person may be subjected to right-handed scissors, right-handed school desks and a writing system that does not work well for him by the time he gets out of school. As an adult, he will face dreaded things like stick shift. No one who designed these items hates left-handed people, the systems were designed with the convenience of the majority in mind.
The situation Asexuals face regarding discrimination against them is similar to what the left-handed person faces, if not always that blatant. Well-meaning relatives will ask about dates. Psychologists, with equal-good intentions will try to fix us. A person who does not suffer from any disorder may be labeled with HSDD or the equivalent that will replace it in the DSM-V. The medical community and most sexual adults pity us, thinking our lives our sad. It is impossible, in the minds of many, to live without sex. While it is a ridiculous fallacy, Asexuals are unlikely to change this attitude.
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You know, it's funny, because while I was in high school, trying to figure out why I didn't really want anything to do with sex, despite the fact that I found it natural. Then I figured out I was asexual and the whole time, everyone in the high school thought I was a lesbian and I had no idea. I got a little pissed because my father thought I was too.