Believe it or not, sometimes I check the "Asexuality" page on Wikipedia to see if there's anything new there. This is a very slow day, so I did exactly that. And there's a LOT more information on research now, including more things I've never heard of before. This intrigued me the most:
A 1977 paper entitled Asexual and Autoerotic Women: Two Invisible Groups, by Myra T. Johnson, may be the first explicitely devoted to asexuality in humans. Johnson defines asexuals as those men and women "who, regardless of physical or emotional condition, actual sexual history, and marital status or ideological orientation, seem to prefer not to engage in sexual activity." She contrasts autoerotic women with asexual women: "The asexual woman...has no sexual desires at all [but] the autoerotic woman...recognizes such desires but prefers to satisfy them alone." Johnson's evidence is mostly letters to the editor found in women's magazines written by asexual/autoerotic women. She portrays them as invisible, "oppressed by a consensus that they are nonexistent," and left behind by both the sexual revolution and feminist movement. Society either ignores or denies their existence, or insists they must be ascetic for religious reasons, neurotic, or asexual for political reasons.
Cool, huh? It's in a book called "The Sexually Oppressed", which I'm actually buying off Amazon.com right now. The book's only $6.50 with shipping, which seems like a fairly good deal for an out-of-print volume from 1977. A small price to pay for our edification, don't you think?
3 comments:
There are lots of reasons why women (and men) could "prefer" one thing over another. Over the years, I have personally known dozens of girls and women who did not enjoy sexual activity with partners because they were "better at it" by themselves.
A 1977 book will likely be steeped in the social views of its time, which is not to say that it's not worth a read, but it's also worth remembering the publication date and what the world was like back then versus what the world is like today. There are some differences.
Obviously the solution to all this lack of knowledge is to keep reading and keep thinking about and keep studying these things, without the ingrained assumption that asexuality doesn't exist.
Hey maymay! I appreciate all your comments. I definitely get excited when the word "asexual" pops up anywhere. It's like finding someone else with your name, when you have an unusual name :-) I think it's also important to discover that the word "asexual" existed with its current definition as early as 1977, as some might say that AVEN just invented it a few years ago.
I think it's also important to discover that the word "asexual" existed with its current definition as early as 1977, as some might say that AVEN just invented it a few years ago.
Seconded! Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
Post a Comment