Why Asexuality Matters... Even If You Aren't Asexual

I’m not asexual, but I think the world would benefit from knowing more about asexuality.

As a researcher who stumbled into asexuality studies, I’ve seen this firsthand. I’ve written a bit about this on Substack and on Twitter, but today I want to restate the case that asexuality matters for all us… even if we aren’t asexual.

Some might feel skeptical about the need to study asexuality. After all, studies tend to estimate that about 1% of the population is asexual, though research on this is thin and some estimates range as high as 5.5%.

But it’s precisely the marginality of asexuality that makes it so important to study. Often, when we want to understand the world we live in, we actually learn more by centering the margins instead of focusing on “typical” experiences.

The Value of the Margins

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from Black feminist thinkers is this: When we focus on the margins, we learn about the margins and about dominant experiences of the world. This is because people at the margins have to understand both in a way folks closer to the center do not.

When Black feminist scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the concept of intersectionality in 1989, she was pointing to this idea of centering the margins. Crenshaw argues that centering the margins unlocks avenues to liberation for all. Various other Black feminist thinkers, including bell hooks and countless others, have made similar arguments about the immense value of focusing on society’s margins.

I think the pathbreaking Black activist and sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois points us in a similar direction with his concept of double consciousness. We gain a fuller perspective of our social world when we center the margins.

Asexual Margins

Asexual people exist at the margins of both heteronormative and queer worlds.

Sadly, even though asexuality is (or at least can be) queer—and is, in fact, one of the ‘A’s in LGBTQIA+—asexuality is still often marginalized even in queer spaces. This is because both heteronormative and queer worlds usually operate under the assumption of compulsory sexuality, or the idea that everyone does—and should—experience sexual attraction.

The widespread assumption of compulsory sexuality situates asexuality as “impossible,” “wrong,” “broken,” and ultimately as a remarkably marginalized identity. Asexuality’s marginality in both heternormative and queer worlds situates asexual perspectives as especially helpful in building a better understanding of ourselves and the world we live in.

As an allosexual (i.e. non-asexual) queer person who researches asexuality, I’ve grappled with this firsthand. Studying asexuality has shaken up how I think about sexuality, sex, intimacy, relationship, attraction, desire, consent, gender, sex positivity, purity culture, and more. In other words, studying asexuality isn’t important simply because it’s an equity issue, but also because all of us stand to benefit from listening to asexual perspectives.

I’ll be writing more about the lessons I’ve learned from studying asexuality both here and on my Twitter. Stay tuned, and please consider subscribing below.

Canton Winer is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Northern Illinois University. 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.

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