ABSTRACT
What can we learn about asexualities from representations in the media? And what can a complex understanding of asexualities teach us about cultural representations of sex and sexuality? Wait – what do we even mean by asexualities? The Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN), the largest and most visible online community for asexual-identified people and their allies, defines an asexual person as someone who experiences little or no sexual attraction to other people. Although many asexual-identified people agree on this common definition, there is significant diversity in terms of how asexual-identified people experience and even define their asexuality. For example, there is variance in levels of sexual attraction, types of interpersonal relationships sought and interest in different types of intimacy, physical and otherwise. Some people experience asexuality as a lifelong sexual orientation while others may inhabit their asexuality on a temporary basis, for a variety of reasons. Given this diversity of the ‘asexual spectrum’, we refer to asexualities in the plural sense to encompass all the different ways in which people identify with asexuality.
