We Should All Care About Asexuality. Here's Why.

Asexuality helps us better understand sexuality, gender, race, disability, family, love, etc.

I’m not on the asexuality spectrum. But as a queer, feminist researcher, I think we should all care about asexuality.

Why? Because asexual perspectives can help us better understand sexuality—and gender, race, disability, family, love, etc. Here’s why:

Asexuality, a spectrum that refers to those who experience low/no sexual attraction, is part of the LGBTQIA+ umbrella. Asexuality is marginalized in the heteronormative world—it defies the assumption that everyone does (and should) experience sexual desire.

But even though asexuality falls under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella, it’s marginalized in the queer world as well. This means that asexuality exists at the margins of both heterosexuality and queerness. That’s a big deal! The margins hold (and produce) so much knowledge.

Black feminist scholars have powerfully shown that when we focus on the margins of society, we can better understand society’s center as well. Since asexuality exists at the margins of heterosexuality AND queerness, that’s a sign we should seek ace folks’ perspectives.

Black feminist scholars have also powerfully shown that various systems of power (like sexuality) don’t operate independently. They shape and are shaped by other systems of power, like gender, race, disability, class, etc.

So this means that focusing on asexuality can teach us a great deal about sexuality. But, if we seek it out, it will also teach a lot about gender, race, disability, class, and other core elements of our social world.

So even if, like me, you’re not on the asexuality spectrum, you should absolutely still care about asexuality. Doing so will benefit all of us.

Canton Winer is a sociology Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Irvine. His research focuses on the relationships between gender and sexuality, with specific focus on the experiences and perspectives of people on the asexuality spectrum. You can follow his research on Substack or on Twitter: @CantonWiner.