Is Adrian Monk Asexual?

Details: Category: Entertainment; Published on Tuesday, 22 March 2011 08:29; Written by Lara Landis; Hits: 1515

Adrian Monk never consummated the marriage with his wife Trudy. Fans of the show about the defective detective learned this information as the series neared its run on the USA network. He answer “Isn't everything”? when asked if something was better than sex. The writers of the show did not tell viewers whether or not Adrian monk was Asexual. Given the symptoms of his many disorders, many people unfamiliar with what Asexuality actually is would say his lack of interest in sex stems from his personality disorders.

The trend in United States television is to show that characters who are not interested in sex, rather than coming right out and saying "This person is asexual”. The trend occurs in several British shows as well, most notably Doctor Who. In the case of the most prominent US character who might be Asexual, the writers merely hint that Doctor Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang theory is not interested in men or women.

Writers are often reluctant to state actual Asexuality. The rules of writing currently follow a “show, don't tell” philosophy and it is often hard to show someone is Asexual. Writers would be better served by mentioning it explicitly at least once and letting the clues follow the user to that conclusion elsewhere.

A viewer can easily assume Adrian Monk is Asexual. If so, he's the first hetero-romantic Asexual to be prominently displayed on television. A viewer can also assume that the character's personality disorders cause his lack of interest. Unless the show's creators state otherwise, a viewer will never know if Adrian Monk began life as an Asexual person.

Stephanie Silberstein (03.22.2011 (11:11:27))

Yes Monk is Asexual

Monk is definitely Asexual. His non-consummation came up way earlier than the end of the series. In season 2 he is talking to Dr. Kroger about dating and brings up that he is nervous about potential dates wanting to have sex. Kroger says that he must have done something with Trudy. Monk replies, "We held hands" and refuses to answer when Kroger asks him if he did more than that. Whether the writers deliberately meant to make him Asexual is irrelevant to the fact that he is (and his OCD was under control when Trudy was alive so the idea that it stems from his OCD is baseless and usually advocated by people who don't believe asexuality exists or is normal.)

I agree that we need more explicitly asexual characters in media, but I was both thrilled and depressed by Monk because it was awesome to see someone who actually felt like I do but at the time was worried that the only persons like me were fictional. Anyway, that's one of the reasons I made Emily explicitly asexual.

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