What Does Asexuality Teach Us About Sexual Disinterest? Recommendations for Health Professionals Based on a Qualitative Study With Asexually Identified People

Abstract

This article draws on qualitative in-depth interviews with 30 asexually identified individuals living in the United States in order to contribute to our understanding of when low sexual desire should be treated as a medical or mental health issue and when it should be treated as a benign sexual variation. The article discusses five findings of relevance to health professionals: (1) the line between a desire disorder and asexuality is not clear-cut; (2) asexually identified individuals may experience distress, so distress alone does not separate a desire disorder from asexuality; (3) asexually identified individuals may face sexual pressure from a partner or may have difficulty negotiating sexual activity with a partner; (4) asexuality does not need to be distressing, rather it can be experienced as a fulfilling form of sexuality; and (5) many asexually identified individuals believe in the usefulness of low sexual desire as a diagnostic category and support medical and mental health professionals in their efforts to develop treatments for sexual desire disorders. Based on these five findings, this article offers four concrete suggestions for health professionals working with clients with low sexual desire, whether or not those clients identify as asexual.

Notes

¹The report is not public. I was given access to a redacted version of the report by one of its authors. For more, see writings on this subject by one of the report's authors, Andrew Hinderliter (Hinderliter, 2009, 2013).

²As the sample was limited to people living in the United States and to people 18 years of age or older, the sample is certainly not representative of worldwide online asexual communities. In 2011, a demographic survey of asexual communities was conducted that received 3,430 responses. Approximately 62% of respondents reported residing in the U.S., while an additional 30% reported residing in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, or Western Europe. At least 13% of respondents were under 18 years of age (2011 AAW [Asexual Awareness Week] Community Census, n.d.). The sample here differed from the sample of the 2011 survey in several other key respects. There were proportionally more men in my sample than in the online sample. A smaller proportion of people identified as “other” in terms of gender identity in my sample than in the online sample (6% vs. 23%). Finally, the sample here included more asexual-identified individuals (90% vs. 56%), fewer gray-asexual individuals (3% vs. 21%), and fewer demisexual individuals (7% vs. 21%) (Miller, 2012).

³AVEN distinguishes between sexual attraction (the desire to have sex with other people) and sexual desire, drive, and libido (undirected sexual arousal or interest in engaging in masturbation). Some of the interviewees made this distinction while others did not.

⁴Many were willing to consider engaging in sexual activity if desired by a partner.

⁵Other interviewees mentioned their sexuality to medical or mental health professionals without the intent of seeking a medical or psychological explanation or treatment for their asexuality. The reactions ranged from positive/supportive, to neutral, to negative.

⁶Five interviewees (four female, one transgender) described nonconsensual activity or instances of sexual assault.