Lately the LGBTQ community has been
getting quite a lot of recognition, and I am thrilled that our society is
beginning to accept non-heterosexual relationships. Homosexual and bisexual
people, in particular, are starting to gain the recognition and support that I
believe they should have had all along. However, one type of sexuality that is
still often overlooked is asexuality. The problem here is not that the asexual
community is recognized and intentionally oppressed, rather that the community
is hardly recognized at all.
All human beings are expected to
have an interest in sex, and because of that I find that the feelings of
asexual people are often easily dismissed. A common response to hearing that a
person is asexual is “you just haven’t found the right person yet”. Asexual
people are treated as if the way that they understand themselves is wrong
because, in general, I find that society does not even comprehend the idea of a
person lacking sexual interest. While many people in our society still pressure
others to only have heterosexual interest, those people, in general, still
recognize the possibility of homosexuality and bisexuality. Asexuality is
treated only as a misunderstanding and nothing more.
Ultimately, I want the asexual
community to be accepted by simply getting acknowledged. There is such variety
among human beings in the world. People with heterosexual interest have always
been the most accepted. People with homosexual and bisexual interest are still
not accepted by all places in society, but they have become more recognized and
accepted than before especially in recent years. People without sexual interest
are still mostly overlooked and misunderstood. I would like to see a society
one day in which people are judged only by their actions rather than by their sexuality.
And yes that includes people without sexual interest as well.
I think this blog is really well written. I personally don't have much background knowledge about asexuality so I didn't know that people thought that it was just that the person "hadn't found the one." Talk about ignorant! If bisexuality and homosexuality is so accepting (to most people) these days it should not be hard for people to understand that sometimes people are asexual and that just like being homosexual, or bisexual, or even straight, it is something that needs to be accepted because overall it is that person's life and that is what makes them happiest. I think this post is really well written and gets the point across really well. I agree with you Donkeh Kawng, I think that asexuality is something that needs to be accepted, too.
ReplyDeleteThis was really well written and informative for people whom I'm sure didn't even know that asexaul people existed! There are a lot of sexualities that people are not aware of! Aromantic and asexual are very similar, whereas aromantic people do not find a romantic connection with anyone. If you haven't hear about it, I would totally look it up because its very interesting!
ReplyDeleteAs a white heteronormative cisgendered ageist, I'm not quite sure of what I should be doing differently with respect to asexual or aromantic people...
ReplyDeleteSimple, if a person tells you that they are asexual or aromantic, don't tell them that they're wrong or imply that they don't understand their own sexuality! If no one brings up asexuality to you or if you already acknowledge asexuality, just keep doing what you're doing.
DeleteOh, that's easy enough. I'm not judgmental. (Except with my kids, who are responsible for spawning so as to ensure the survival of my genetic material.)
DeleteWhat my feminist daughters have beaten into me is with respect to gender discrimination is that I need to go out of my way to avoid assuming that the patriarchal way things are now is the natural order of things, merely because I benefit from the way things are now.
I'm glad that you chose to write about asexuality. I completely agree that not enough people understand that it is indeed a real thing. I've only encountered a couple of asexual people in my lifetime, but they were so thankful of me when I didn't make it a big deal or tell them they were wrong about themselves after they told me. We need more people to be informed about this! I think we'll make it there, just like we've made it as far as to have homosexuality and bisexuality mostly accepted, of course we're still working on those as well.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading this. While abroad I took a Gender in Society course and learned all about sexuality and gender discrimination. It made me aware that there are more people out there that are not just homosexual or heterosexual, and they are just as well happy and normal as anyone else. It allowed me to branch out to recognize and understand all the different sexualities. I will never understand why individuals care what someone's sexual preference is, or whether they have a sexual attraction to anyone at all if it is not affecting them. I agree, I hope to one day see acceptance for other individuals and the decisions they choose .
ReplyDelete