Happy International Asexuality Day!
April 6th 2021 marks the first International Asexuality Day in history. To celebrate, we’ve decided to clear up some myths about asexuality and people who belong to the ACE community.
What is asexuality or ACE?
Like another type of sexuality, asexuality is a spectrum. And, as with any spectrum, there are a couple of terms you need to know:
An asexual person does not experience a sexual attraction with anyone
A grey-asexual person may only experience sexual attraction very rarely or under certain circumstances
A demisexual person only experiences sexual attraction after a strong emotional bond is formed with another person
An aromantic person does not experience a romantic attraction with anyone
A grey-aromantic person may only experience romantic attraction very rarely or under certain circumstances
A demiromantic person only experiences sexual attraction after a strong emotional bond is formed with another person
ACE is an umbrella term used to describe anyone on the asexual spectrum
Aren’t asexual people and celibate people the same?
No. Asexual people don’t experience sexual attraction, whereas celibate people chose to abstain from sex and sexual experiences.
ACE people just have intimacy problems.
Incorrect. Some ACE people might choose to have close emotional or romantic bonds and others won’t. Neither options mean that ACE people have inherent problems relating to intimacy.
Asexuality? It’s just a phase!
Ah - this old chestnut! Like being a lesbian, gay, or bi, being ACE is about orientation, not about behaviour. While how people identify may change as they find out more about themselves, it does not indicate that asexuality is a phase. One of the biggest myths about ace people is that they ‘just haven’t met the right person yet’, which can be particularly damaging to hear.