Asexuality: A Mixed-Methods Approach

“In the same study (Brotto et al., 2010), the authors revealed that during their interviews some asexual participants spontaneously reported that many asexuals on the largest online Web community of asexual individuals, namely the Asexuality Visibility and Education Network (henceforth AVEN), might fit the criteria for…”

“DeLuzio Chasin (2011) noted that in Brotto et al.’s (2010) study on asexuality, when forced to define themselves as either male or female, over 10% of the respondents opted to end their participation in the study rather than specify their sex.”

“Herelackofsexualattractionis approached categorically, but‘‘this is strictly instrumental, and [the] results must therefore be interpreted provisionally’’(Chasin, 2011, p. 718).”

“Consistent with previous research, the asexual individuals in this study were less likely to be in a romantic relationship (Bogaert, 2013; Brotto et al., 2010), though over a third were in such a relationship.”

“As most men with asexual status were married or had a prior active sexual life, the asexuality status here is distinct from permanent asexual condition which is abstention from sexual activity and celibacy resulted from individual’s personal or religious beliefs or/and sexual orientation [39].”

“Interestingly, there was a positive relationship between sexual distress and sexual desire suggesting that sexual desire might be negatively appraised (Brotto et al., 2010). In the same research vein, Yule, Brotto, and Gorzalka (2013) found that asexual people presented significant psychological disturbance when compa…”

“Furthermore, many asexuals express the desire to engage in romantic relationships without sexual commitment (Brotto et al., 2010; Van Houdenhove et al., 2015).”

“An alternative explanation for these findings is that mas-turbation might function as a reliable form of self-soothing behavior during times of stress (Brotto et al., 2010; Frohlich & Meston, 2002; Maatouk et al., 2022; Rowland et al., 2020).”

“This definition, however, serves as an umbrella term, containing within it significant heterogeneity (Brotto et al., 2010; Carrigan, 2011; Mollet, 2020; Zheng & Su, 2018).”

“Beyond these studies looking at “who” uses these labels, it has been suggested that they may be adopted for practical and political reasons, and that they may not represent any distinct underlying pattern of attractions (Callis, 2013; Morandini et al., 2017).”

“Although previous studies showed a high prevalence of gender diversity in asexual people (Antonsen et al., 2020; Brotto et al., 2010; Gazzola & Morrison, 2012; Rothblum et al., 2020), the current study did not find a significant association between changes in gender and sexual orientation identities over time.”

“However, some studies did not find significant differences in mental health between asexual and allosexual individuals (Brotto et al., 2010; Greaves et al., 2017; Liss & Wilson, 2021; Rothblum et al., 2020).”

“Research on asexuality by Prause and Graham (2007); Brotto et al. (2010); Brotto and Yule (2011); and Bogaert (2004, 2006) all seem to recognise that asexuality is not a sexual dysfunction, but not without certain reservations.”

“Research also has evolved to highlight that asexual individuals do not experience abnormal biological functioning (Brotto et al., 2010; Brunning & McKeever, 2021) argued “asexuality is clearly different from celibacy or disorders of desire” (p.”

“Qualitative research reveals that many asexual people report “always feeling this way”, whereas those with acquired low desire describe a period of satisfying sexual desire before the onset of low or absent sexual interest [14].”

“…about sexual orientation (see Participants section above) and romantic orientation and gender that included a free-response option, given asexual individuals respond differently to forced choice versus free response formats in answering these questions (Brotto et al., 2010; Prause & Graham, 2007).”

“Additionally research suggests that many romantic asexual individuals experience same-gender romantic attraction (Brotto et al., 2010).”

“, 2015b), but some asexual adults have been in or desire to be in a romantic partner relationship (Brotto et al., 2010; Carrigan, 2011; Dawson et al., 2016).”

“Asexual people may also experience some sexual desire or pleasure, or they may engage in some sexual acts, whether that is with themselves or with others (Brotto & Yule, 2011; Brotto et al., 2010).”

“A significant portion of asexual individuals identify with gender-neutral labels over traditional male/female binary categories (Brotto et al., 2010); here, we quantify PERSON and SIGOTHER variable use in subreddits r/asexual and r/asexuality and compare it to the greater LGBT+ as well as…”

“For example, while aromantic participants sought companionship without an element of sexual or romantic attraction (Brotto et al., 2010; Maxwell, 2017; Scherrer, 2008; Van Houdenhove et al., 2015), heteroromantic and biromantic participants desired emotionally intimate relationships and were…”

“Among romantic asexuals, diverse romantic attractions, including heteroromantic, homoromantic, and bi- and pan-romantic, are reported (Antonsen et al., 2020; Brotto et al., 2010; Scherrer, 2008; Zheng & Su, 2018).”

“Research indicates that asexual minority stress could be positively associated with negative impacts on several health and relational factors (Brotto et al., 2010; Parent & Ferriter, 2018; Chan & Leung, 2023).”

“Furthermore, asexual individuals may encounter difficulties in romantic relationships, including finding a partner who fully understands their asexual identity and negotiating expectations regarding sex within the relationship (Brotto et al., 2010; Gupta, 2017a; Van Houdenhove et al., 2015).”

“…among gender and sexual minorities contributes to a lack of isolation, even if the identified community is solely online (Brotto & Yule, 2009; Brotto et al., 2010; FredriksenGoldsen et al., 2013; Gonzalez et al., 2012; Gupta, 2018; Riggle et al., 2008, 2011; Rostosky et al., 2010; Trujillo…”

“This finding aligns with previous literature on asexuality (Bogaert, 2004; Brotto et al., 2010; Hermann et al., 2020; Weis et al., 2019), which showed that the most common gender identity among asexual communities was female (59%), with 13% identifying as male, and 27% reporting non-binary…”

“Researchers tend to use a sexual lens to explore an ace identity, which is typically equated to asexuality and defined as the absence of sexual attraction to others (Bogaert, 2006; Brotto et al., 2010).”

“Most asexual people seek companionship in romantic relationships that do not involve sexual activity (Brotto et al., 2010, p. 610), but they often have difficulty finding such relationships.”

“My findings may also further contextualize Chasin’s (2011) observation that 27 of 214 participants (12.6 percent) refused to identify as “male” or “female” (the only gender options given) in Brotto et al.’s (2010) highly cited study of asexuality.”

“Because asexual people do not fit into the sex-normative society that is dominated by certain forms of sexuality [68,69], they may suffer stigma.”

“In comparison to other published research on asexuality (e.g. Bogaert, 2004; Brotto et al., 2010; Greaves et al., 2017; Höglund, Jern, Sandnabba, & Santtila, 2014; Scherrer, 2008), the demographics for this sample were generally unremarkable except this study had a notably higher percentage of male…”

“…individuals differ from those of allosexual individuals, those that do experience sexual attraction, regardless of who it is directed towards (Bogaert, 2015a; Brotto et al., 2010; Brozowski et al., 2022; Carvalho & Rodrigues, 2022; Clark & Zimmerman, 2022; DeLuzio Chasin, 2011; Edge et al., 2022).”

“Research on asexuality is still limited; however, there seems to be general consensus among experts that asexuality is best conceptualized as a sexual orientation (Bogaert, 2015; Brotto & Yule, 2017; Brotto et al., 2010; Pagan Westfall, 2004).”

“Further, our sample reported elevated rates of nonbinary (13%) or self-described (10%) gender identities, which is largely consistent with previous research on asexual individuals (Bogaert, 2015; Brotto et al., 2010; Hundhammer & Mussweiler, 2012).”

“Although asexuality varies greatly with respect to the experience of sexual response and behavior, it can be best conceptualized as a lack of sexual attraction (Bogaert, 2006; Brotto et al., 2010).”

“Schizoid PD was also associated with an increased risk of perpetrated sexual violence (Koch et al., 2011), and with a lack of desire or interest toward sexual activities (Brotto et al., 2010).”

“Despite some attempts to create objective measures of asexuality and establish it as a sexual orientation (Brotto and Yule, 2017; Brotto et al., 2010; Yule et al. 2015), the complexity and diversity of asexual experiences does not allow it to fi t this model comfortably (Chasin, 2019; Scherrer and…”

“Asexuality is typically defined as a unique sexual orientation (Van Houdenhove et al., 2015) or sexual identity (Brotto et al., 2010; Greaves et al., 2017; Scherrer, 2008), in which an individual lacks sexual attraction towards others (Catri, 2021; Van Houdenhove et al., 2015) and self-identifies…”

“Asexuality is best described as an enduring lack of sexual attraction and desire toward others but does not necessarily include a lack of romantic attraction for others (Bogaert, 2004, 2015; Brotto et al., 2010).”

“In addition, qualitative approaches criticize the view of asexuality as an abnormality, illness, or deficit, with some research describing asexual people as emotionally cold or having “atypical social functioning’ (Brotto et al., 2010; Scott & Dawson, 2015).”

“Demisexual people do not experience sexual attraction until after a strong emotional bond has been established, and gray asexual people have either experienced sexual attraction in the past but not currently or experience sexual attraction extremely rarely (Brotto et al., 2010; Pinto, 2014).”

“Literature often defines asexuality simply as referring to those who do not experience sexual attraction (e.g. Brotto et al., 2010; Jones et al., 2017; Van Houdenhove et al., 2015a).”

“It is important to notice that people with asexual trait may have significantly lower sexual desire than non- asexuals, including those with sexual interest/desire dysfunction, but no distress unlike those presenting with sexual dysfunction (Brotto et al., 2010).”

“…from their allosexual counterparts e.g. interpersonal functioning (Yule et al., 2013), interpretation of social cues as sexual beliefs (Prause & Graham, 2007), sexual fantasies (Yule et al., 2014), and the finding that women are more likely to be asexual (A. F. Bogaert, 2004; Brotto et al., 2010).”

“They often desire romantic relationships that prioritize intimacy, companionship, and emotional connection, while excluding sexual involvement (Brotto et al., 2010; Van Houdenhove et al., 2015).”

“…demonstrated in other studies with paranoid (Fisher et al., 2017), schizotypical (Jahangir et al., 2024; Okuda et al., 2015) and schizoid subjects (Brotto et al., 2010) who also commonly present sexual dysfunctions, personalities which in our study have a worse prognosis with respect to the…”

“The pathophysiology of HSDD is complex, involving neuro-biological, hormonal, psychological and relational factors 16,17 .”

“…to be explained by unobserved confounding, it is in line with asexual individuals having been shown to be less extraverted (Bogaert et al., 2018; Greaves et al., 2021), more socially withdrawn (Brotto et al., 2010), and showing less approach motivation in relationships (Greaves et al., 2021).”

“However, asexual individuals did not find their low sexual attraction towards others to be troublesome for their personal lives (Brotto et al., 2010).”

“Brotto (2008) found through quantitative research on AVEN participants that they reported low levels of sexual arousal and desire, with most not engaging in sexual intercourse.”

“Though less likely to be in a romantic relationship (Bogaert, 2013; Brotto et al., 2010), it is common for asexual individuals to report some romantic attraction and to desire a romantic (yet nonsexual) relationship (Ginoza et al., 2014; Gupta, 2017).”

“They used interviews to explore ‘some of the more puzzling [survey] fi ndings,’ such as participants who listed their sexual orientation as ‘other’ rather than ‘asexual’ (Brotto et al., 2010, p. 608).”

“Past research data characterise asexuals as a highly heterogeneous group (Brotto et al., 2010), presenting significant fluctuation regarding relational status, sexual experiences, sexual identity, and masturbation (Brotto & Yule, 2011; Brotto et al., 2010).”