Asexuality Among the Old and Young (Video 4:55)

                                                                      

Asexuality is a medically approved sexual orientation including about 1% of people who represent millions worldwide. Because you may have contact with them in any area of your life including your workplace, it's important to understand their concerns in adjusting to a predominantly heterosexual, sex-oriented society. While the behaviors of asexual people vary, they have the same emotional needs as everyone else. They may feel embarrassed, isolated or confused because they are different from the standard society conveys as normal sexuality. They are a diverse community with people experiencing relationships in various ways. This includes loving relationships in which they have no sexual attraction and are not trying to be abstinent or celibate. Emotional and romantic attractions are not the same as sexual attractions.

People often wrongly stereotype many older adults as being asexual simply because they are old. The reality is that older adult asexuals have never had any interest in sex or sexual attraction towards others. Because the media focus on asexuality emphasizes younger adults, older asexuals have more difficulty finding resources and supportive groups to share their concerns in an environment of acceptance. Fortunately, the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) hosts the world's largest online asexual community and a large archive of resources that can benefit anyone interested in this topic. 

What were the probable concerns of older adults when they were young? In the following video titled "5 Asexual People Explain What "Asexual" Means to Them," young asexual people share their experiences and provide better understanding of asexual life in general.

                     

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and ebook editions in America and other countries at online and  offline booksellers. Visit my website at http://www.francesshaniparker.com/.    

Asexuality Matters (Research, Video 3:42)

I have written about asexuality several times on this blog as part of my efforts to feature people who are marginalized in society and in need of more support and understanding. For those who are not familiar with the term, asexuality refers to people who intrinsically have never had any interest in sex or sexual attraction to others. Asexuality, particularly regarding older adults, has only become scientifically researched as a sexual orientation in recent years. Research on asexuality concludes asexuality meets conditions for a sexual orientation. 

Like many in the LGBT population, asexuals  have unique issues adjusting to a predominantly heterosexual and sex-oriented society. Some have the need to “come out of the closet” and explain their identity in order for others to understand them better. Others may feel ashamed, isolated, or confused because they are different from the standard that society conveys as normal sexuality. They are a diverse community with people experiencing relationships in various ways. For example, some may have close relationships with sexual or asexual partners, although the asexual partners have no sexual attraction. Emotional and romantic attractions are not the same as sexual attraction.

Asexual older adults have more difficulty finding resources and supportive groups where they can share their concerns in an accepting environment. Fortunately, the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) hosts the world's largest online asexual community and a large archive of resources on asexuality that can benefit anyone interested in this topic. 

Asexuals make up 1% of the adult population on earth. That's over seven billion people. The Asexuality Identification Scale (AIS) is a brief online questionnaire devised with the intention of "diagnosing" if a person is asexual or not. 

In following video, Dr. Jeff Daly, a psychologist explains what asexuality is and isn’t.

You can view another blog post of mine on asexuality that includes research on biological markers of asexuals and a video featuring Dan Savage, sex columnist, with asexuals sharing their experiences here.

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers.
Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog

Asexuality: Biological Markers and Older Adults (Research, Video 2:16)

Asexuality has only become scientifically researched as a sexual orientation in recent years. For those who are not familiar with the term, it refers to people who intrinsically have never had any interest in sex or sexual attraction to others. Several biological markers of asexuality have been determined through an Internet research study investigating the relationship between self-identification as asexual and specific biological markers. This study is important because it is one of the first studies to test and provide preliminary empirical support for an underlying neurodevelopmental basis to account for the lack of sexual attraction characteristic of asexuality.

A total of 325 asexuals (60 men and 265 women), 690 heterosexuals (190 men and 500 women), and 268 non-heterosexuals (homosexual and bisexual; 64 men and 204 women) completed online questionnaires with these results:

1)   Asexual men and women were 2.4 and 2.5 times more likely to be non-right-handed than their heterosexual counterparts.

2)   Asexual and non-heterosexual men were more likely to be later-born than heterosexual men.

3)   Asexual women were more likely to be earlier-born than non-heterosexual women.

Regarding older adult asexuals, the media focus is predominantly on younger asexuals. These older adults have a more difficult time finding support and resources they need. They have unique issues adjusting to a predominantly heterosexual sex-oriented society. Some have the need to “come out of the closet” and explain their identity in order for others to understand them better. Others may feel ashamed, isolated, or confused because they are different from what society conveys as normal sexuality. They are a diverse community with people experiencing relationships in various ways. For example, some may experience close relationships with sexual or asexual partners, although the asexual partners have no sexual attraction. Emotional or romantic attraction is not the same as sexual attraction.

Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) hosts the world's largest online asexual community and a large archive of resources on asexuality. This video features asexuals sharing their experiences:

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers.

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog

Asexual Older Adults (Research, Asexuality Video 8:01)

Clara Meadmore, an asexual older adult, was Britain’s oldest virgin at 105 years old. According to an article by Luke Salkeld in Mail Online, Clara credited not having sex as the secret of her longevity. Proud of her innate celibacy, she said she just wasn’t interested in all the “hassle” of having sex. Ironically, while many people wrongly stereotype older adults as being asexual simply because they are old, people like Clara intrinsically have never had any interest in sex or sexual attraction to others.

I became interested in learning more about asexuality in older adults after attending an informative Area Agency on Aging workshop about healthcare and other life issues of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) older adults. As we discussed misunderstanding and intolerance regarding sexual orientation, one participant reminded us that asexuality is frequently excluded in these conversations. Later while researching this topic on my own, I discovered that asexuality, particularly regarding older adults, has only become scientifically researched as a sexual orientation in recent years.

Like many in the LGBT population, asexuals  have unique issues adjusting to a predominantly heterosexual and sex-oriented society. Some have the need to “come out of the closet” and explain their identity in order for others to understand them better. Others may feel ashamed, isolated, or confused because they are different from the standard society conveys as normal sexuality. They are a diverse community with people experiencing relationships in various ways. For example, some may have close relationships with sexual or asexual partners, although the asexual partners have no sexual attraction. Emotional and romantic attractions are not the same as sexual attraction.

I noticed that the media focus on asexuals emphasizes younger adults. In one asexual group forum I visited on the Internet, an older adult woman asked several times for help in finding other older asexual adults with whom she could communicate. Asexual older adults have more difficulty finding resources and supportive groups where they can share their concerns in an accepting environment. Fortunately, the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) hosts the world's largest online asexual community and a large archive of resources on asexuality that can benefit anyone interested in this topic. The Asexual News is another helpful resource. You can read a more recent blog post of mine on asexuality here.

The following video titled Asexuality: The Making Of A Movement Trailer focuses on the emergence of the asexual community and the lives of several asexual people. The completed full-length film documentary directed by Angela Tucker premiered at the Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco's Roxie Theatre on June 18, 2011.

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers.

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog