There’s a word for if you like the same sex (homosexual), the opposite sex (heterosexual), and everything in between (pansexual). But what about if you check off the box “none of the above”? That’s what this week is all about celebrating: asexuals, the sexuality that often jokes they’d rather just eat cake than have sex.
While not as world-renowned as Pride Month, Asexual Awareness Week marks a special occasion for a sexuality that doesn’t receive much coverage in the media or even at LGBTQIA+ specific events. It’s an international campaign to spread visibility for and educate on asexuality, having a lack of sexual attraction to other people.
Not to be confused with celibacy, a lifestyle choice, asexuality is an orientation that manifests in a spectrum of personal experiences. Some asexuals are repulsed by all things sexual, others experience a libido, but it’s a general and often confusing feeling, undirected at any particular person. Even still, others enjoy sensual acts or engage in sex for a variety of reasons, like to have a child or because they enjoy pleasing a partner.
Asexual Awareness Week also aims to cover sexualities under the same umbrella as well, such as demisexuality (only experiencing sexual attraction to people you’ve formed a deep emotional connection with) and aromantic (experiencing little or no romantic attraction to other individuals). So this year, artists online are creating work—from comics to character reinterpretations—to showcase the variety of experiences on the ace spectrum.
Read more here.