What is Asexuality?
There is a limited social science literature on asexuality. This is due in part to the
presumed low levels of asexuality in human and nonhuman populations. Asexuality is thought by
some to be low because according to evolutionary models of behavior, “one would expect strong
selection pressures against such nonreproductive tendencies” (Bogaert, 2004: 279). But the fact
that a behavior has “nonreproductive tendencies” does not necessarily mean that it will have a
low prevalence. Indeed Bogaert notes that “same-sex attraction ... is clearly a nonreproductive
orientation; ... [but] its prevalence over time and across societies continues to challenge
evolutionary theorists” (Bogaert, 2004: 279).
The Oxford English Dictionary (2000, Volume 1: 682) defines asexuality as “an asexual
condition; the absence of sex; without sexuality.” The OED also gives the three earliest known
uses of the term “asexual” as follows:
1) “The high estimation of virgin purity ... was advocated by the leaders of thought
...and...the asexual existence...was extolled as virtue in itself” (Eckenstein, 1896: 307);
2) “All doctors will tell you that, athletic or not, women are more asexual than men” (The
Daily Mail, 1903: 2/7);
3) “I feel I’ve shot it (i.e., the book) like a bomb against all their false sex and hypocrisy,
as my Florentine doctor said, against all their asexual sexuality” (Lawrence, [1928], 1962: 1077).
The OED definition of “asexuality” and the three OED provided earliest uses of the term
“asexual” all represent a behavioral definition. An asexual is one who does not engage in sexual
behavior.
The limited social science literature on asexuality presents a slightly more inclusive range
of definitions, as follows: An asexual is a person “who has engaged in few or no sexual
behaviors” (Rothblum and Brehomy, 1993); or who “has low sexual desire” (Prause, Weinberg
and Graham, 2002); or “has both little sexual experience and low sexual desire, or as has no
‘attraction’ to men or women (Jay, 2003; Nurius, 1983; Bogaert, 2003). And in a study examining
the more general issue of sexual orientation in various adolescent health surveys conducted in the
United States and Canada, Saewyc and her associates argue that the “three dimensions of sexual
orientation should be assessed where possible,” namely, the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral
dimensions (Saewyc et al. 2004:345 e1-2). The above examples include a behavioral dimension,
and one based on desire or attraction. The research of Saewyc and colleagues notes the
importance as well of a “cognitive” or self-identification dimension.
In deciding which definition or definitions of asexuality to use in our research, we have
relied on and have been guided by an extensive literature on homosexuality. Most of this
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Convention