Editing Asexuality (section)

== Research ==
=== Prevalence ===
[[File:Kinsey Scale.svg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Kinsey scale]] of sexual responses, indicating degrees of [[sexual orientation]]. The original scale included a designation of "X", indicating a lack of sexual behavior.<ref name="Lehmiller">{{cite book|author=Justin J. Lehmiller|title=The Psychology of Human Sexuality|publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]]|isbn=978-1119164708|page=250|date=2017|access-date=November 29, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ytk5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT250|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320135007/https://books.google.com/books?id=ytk5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT250|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

Asexuality is rare, with around 1% of the population identifying as asexual.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Etaugh|first1=Claire A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_SA6DwAAQBAJ|title=Women's Lives: A Psychological Exploration, Fourth Edition|last2=Bridges|first2=Judith S.|date=2017-10-16|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-315-44938-8|language=en|access-date=June 25, 2021|archive-date=March 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309223641/https://books.google.com/books?id=_SA6DwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rothblum |first1=Esther D. |last2=Krueger |first2=Evan A. |last3=Kittle |first3=Krystal R. |last4=Meyer |first4=Ilan H. |date=2019-06-18 |title=Asexual and Non-Asexual Respondents from a U.S. Population-Based Study of Sexual Minorities |journal=[[Archives of Sexual Behavior]] |language=en |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=757–767 |doi=10.1007/s10508-019-01485-0 |issn=0004-0002 |pmc=7059692 |pmid=31214906}}</ref> It is not a new aspect of human sexuality, but it is relatively new to public discourse.<ref name="Sesmith">{{Cite news |first=S.&nbsp;E. |last=Smith |title=Asexuality always existed, you just didn't notice it |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=August 21, 2012 |access-date=March 11, 2013 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/21/asexuality-always-existed-asexual |archive-date=April 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408115642/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/21/asexuality-always-existed-asexual |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is an opinion piece ([[WP:NEWSOPED]]).|date=April 2025}} In comparison to other sexualities, asexuality has received little attention from the scientific community, and there is relatively little quantitative data available about the prevalence of asexuality.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=LeBreton|first=Marianne E.|year=2014|editor-last=Bogaert|editor-first=Anthony F.|title=Understanding Asexuality|journal=QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking|volume=1|issue=3|pages=175–177|doi=10.14321/qed.1.3.0175|jstor=10.14321/qed.1.3.0175|issn=2327-1574}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Poston|first1=Dudley L.|last2=Baumle|first2=Amanda K.|year=2010|title=Patterns of asexuality in the United States|journal=Demographic Research|volume=23|pages=509–530|doi=10.4054/DemRes.2010.23.18|jstor=26349603|issn=1435-9871|doi-access=free}}</ref> In his creation of the [[Kinsey scale]], which he used to rate individuals' sexual activity from 0 (exclusively heterosexual) to 6 (exclusively homosexual), [[Alfred Kinsey]] included an additional category, "X", for individuals with "no socio-sexual contacts or reactions."<ref name="Kinsey-male">{{Cite book|first=Alfred C.|last=Kinsey|year=1948|title=Sexual Behavior in the Human Male|publisher=W.B. Saunders|isbn=978-0-253-33412-1}}</ref><ref name="Kinsey-female">{{Cite book|first=Alfred C.|last=Kinsey|year=1953|title=Sexual Behavior in the Human Female|publisher=W.B. Saunders|isbn=978-0-253-33411-4}}</ref> Although in modern times, this category has been interpreted as representing asexual people,<ref name="Stange">{{cite book|author1=Mary Zeiss Stange|author2=Carol K. Oyster|author3=Jane E. Sloan|title=Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bOkPjFQoBj8C&pg=PA158|access-date=July 27, 2013|date=February 23, 2011|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-4129-7685-5|page=158|archive-date=September 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914220425/https://books.google.com/books?id=bOkPjFQoBj8C&pg=PA158|url-status=live}}</ref> scholar [[Justin J. Lehmiller]] has noted that "the Kinsey X classification emphasized a lack of sexual behavior, whereas the modern definition of asexuality emphasizes a lack of sexual attraction. As such, the Kinsey Scale may not be sufficient for accurate classification of asexuality."<ref name="Lehmiller"/> Kinsey labeled 1.5% of the adult male population as ''X''.<ref name="Kinsey-male"/><ref name="Kinsey-female"/> In his second book, ''Sexual Behavior in the Human Female'', Kinsey reported a breakdown of individuals who fall under the ''X'' category: unmarried females = 14–19%, married females = 1–3%, previously married females = 5–8%, unmarried males = 3–4%, married males = 0%, and previously married males = 1–2%.<ref name="Kinsey-female" />

Further empirical data about an asexual demographic appeared in 1994 when a research team in the United Kingdom carried out a comprehensive survey of 18,876 British residents, spurred by the need for sexual information in the wake of the [[Epidemiology of HIV/AIDS|AIDS pandemic]]. The survey included a question on sexual attraction, to which 1.05% of the respondents replied that they had "never felt sexually attracted to anyone at all."<ref>Wellings, K. (1994). ''Sexual Behaviour in Britain: The National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles.'' [[Penguin Books]].</ref> The study of this phenomenon was continued by Canadian sexuality researcher [[Anthony Bogaert]] in 2004, who explored the asexual demographic in a series of studies. Bogaert's research indicated that 1% of the British population does not experience sexual attraction, but he believed that the 1% figure was not an accurate reflection of the likely much larger percentage of the population that could be identified as asexual, noting that 30% of people contacted for the initial survey chose not to participate in the survey. Since less sexually experienced people are more likely to refuse to participate in studies about sexuality, and asexuals tend to be less sexually experienced than allosexuals, asexuals were likely under-represented in the responding participants. The same study found the number of homosexuals and bisexuals combined to be about 1.1% of the population, which is much smaller than other studies indicate.<ref name="Bogaert2006" /><ref name = Bogaert2004>{{cite journal|last=Bogaert|first=Anthony F. |s2cid=41057104 |year=2004 |title=Asexuality: prevalence and associated factors in a national probability sample |journal=[[Journal of Sex Research]] |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=279–87|pmid=15497056 |doi=10.1080/00224490409552235}}</ref>

Contrasting Bogaert's 1% figure, a study by Aicken et al., published in 2013, suggests that, based on Natsal-2 data from 2000 to 2001, the prevalence of asexuality in Britain is only 0.4% for the age range 16–44.<ref name="Fischer"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|title = Who reports absence of sexual attraction in Britain? Evidence from national probability surveys|journal = Psychology & Sexuality|date = 2013-05-01|issn = 1941-9899|pages = 121–135|volume = 4|issue = 2|doi = 10.1080/19419899.2013.774161|first1 = Catherine R. H.|last1 = Aicken|first2 = Catherine H.|last2 = Mercer|first3 = Jackie A.|last3 = Cassell|s2cid = 62275856|url = http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1301794/|access-date = October 14, 2018|archive-date = September 23, 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190923043744/http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1301794/|url-status = live|doi-access = free}}</ref> This percentage indicates a decrease from the 0.9% figure determined from the Natsal-1 data collected on the same age-range a decade earlier.<ref name=":0" /> A 2015 analysis by Bogaert also found a similar decline between the Natsal-1 and Natsal-2 data.<ref name="bogaert2015" /> Aicken, Mercer, and Cassell found some evidence of ethnic differences among respondents who had not experienced sexual attraction; both men and women of Indian and Pakistani origin had a higher likelihood of reporting a lack of sexual attraction.<ref name=":0" />

In a survey conducted by [[YouGov]] in 2015, 1,632 British adults were asked to try to place themselves on the Kinsey scale. 1% of participants answered "No sexuality". The breakdown of participants was 0% men, 2% women, and 1% across all age ranges.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://yougov.co.uk/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2015/08/16/half-young-not-heterosexual |title=1 in 2 young people say they are not 100% heterosexual |at=See the full poll results |date=2015-08-16 |format=PDF |access-date=2018-12-31 |archive-date=April 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210409173050/https://yougov.co.uk/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2015/08/16/half-young-not-heterosexual |url-status=live }}</ref>

In a nationwide survey conducted in [[Japan]] in 2023 by the [[National Institute of Population and Social Security Research]], 49 respondents (0.9%) out of 5,339 valid responses identified their sexual orientation as asexual.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |last=National Institute of Population and Social Security Research |title=家族と性と多様性にかんする全国アンケート結果概要 |trans-title=Summary Report of the National Survey of Family, Gender/Sexuality, and Diversity |url=https://www.ipss.go.jp/projects/j/SOGI2/ZenkokuSOGISummary20231027.pdf |language=ja |publication-date=2023-10-27}}</ref> In the same survey, 0.4% identified as gay, lesbian, or homosexual, and 1.8% identified as bisexual.<ref name=":13" />

In a separate survey conducted in 2019 by the [[National Institute of Population and Social Security Research]] in [[Osaka City]], Japan, among 4,285 valid responses in a randomized survey on sexual minorities, 33 respondents (0.8%) identified their sexual orientation as asexual. When categorized by sex assigned at birth, 0.3% of male respondents and 1.1% of female respondents identified as asexual.<ref>{{Cite web |last=National Institute of Population and Social Security Research |title=大阪市民の働き方と暮らしの多様性と共生にかんするアンケート報告書 |trans-title=Survey on diversity of work and life, and coexistence among the residents of Osaka City |url=https://www.ipss.go.jp/projects/j/SOGI/%EF%BC%8A20191108%E5%A4%A7%E9%98%AA%E5%B8%82%E6%B0%91%E8%AA%BF%E6%9F%BB%E5%A0%B1%E5%91%8A%E6%9B%B8%EF%BC%88%E4%BF%AE%E6%AD%A3%EF%BC%92%EF%BC%89.pdf |language=ja |publication-date=2019-11-08}}</ref> The survey also investigated not only self-identification but also experiences of sexual and romantic attraction. According to the results, 1.6% of respondents (0.9% of males and 2.1% of females) reported having never experienced either sexual or romantic attraction. Additionally, 1.3% (0.6% of males and 1.8% of females) reported experiencing only romantic attraction, and 0.8% (1.0% of males and 0.7% of females) reported experiencing only sexual attraction.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Matsuura |first=Yuu |title=Asekushuaru aromantikku nyumon: seiteki hikare ya renai kanjo wo motanai hitotachi |publisher=Shueisha |year=2025 |isbn=978-4-08-721352-2 |pages=73–75 |language=ja |trans-title=Introduction to Asexuality and Aromanticism: People Who Do Not Experience Sexual Attraction or Romantic Feelings}}</ref>

=== Sexual orientation, mental health and cause ===
There is significant debate over whether or not asexuality is a sexual orientation.<ref name="Sex and society"/><ref name="Bogaert 2015"/> It has been compared and equated with [[hypoactive sexual desire disorder]] (HSDD), a diagnosis which was in the [[DSM-4]], in that both imply a general lack of sexual attraction to anyone; HSDD has been used to [[medicalize]] asexuality, but asexuality is generally not considered a disorder or a [[sexual dysfunction]] (such as [[anorgasmia]], [[anhedonia]], etc.), because it does not necessarily define someone as having a medical problem or problems relating to others socially.<ref name="DePaulo"/><ref name="Richards and Barker"/><ref name="Reconsidering Asexuality">{{cite journal|last=Chasin|first=CJ DeLuzio|title=Reconsidering Asexuality and Its Radical Potential|journal=Feminist Studies|year=2013|volume=39|issue=2|page=405|doi=10.1353/fem.2013.0054|s2cid=147025548|url=http://cj.chasin.ca/Chasin_Reconsidering.Asexuality_FS.Vol39.2_2013.pdf|access-date=April 29, 2014|archive-date=March 3, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303164252/http://cj.chasin.ca/Chasin_Reconsidering.Asexuality_FS.Vol39.2_2013.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Unlike people with HSDD, asexual people normally<!--NOTE: "Normally" is used because, as the source a little lower shows, some people who identify as asexual experience these disorders. --> do not experience "marked distress" and "interpersonal difficulty" concerning feelings about their sexuality,<!--NOTE: "Concerning feelings about their sexuality" is used because a person may experience one of these disorders regardless of their sexuality.--> or generally a lack of [[sexual arousal]]; asexuality is considered the lack or absence of sexual attraction as a life-enduring characteristic.<ref name="Bogaert2006"/><ref name="Richards and Barker"/> One study found that, compared to HSDD subjects, asexuals reported lower levels of [[sexual desire]], sexual experience, sex-related distress, and [[Depression (mood)|depressive]] symptoms.<ref name="brotto2015">{{cite journal | author1 = Brotto, L. A. |author2=Yule, M. A. |author3=Gorzalka, B..B. |s2cid=30504509 | year = 2015 | title = Asexuality: An Extreme Variant of Sexual Desire Disorder? | journal = The Journal of Sexual Medicine | doi=10.1111/jsm.12806 |pmid=25545124 | volume=12 | issue = 3 | pages=646–660}}</ref> Researchers Richards and Barker report that asexuals do not have disproportionate rates of [[alexithymia]], depression, or [[personality disorder]]s.<!--NOTE: The "social withdrawal" part is left out because of conflicting information on that matter, as was discussed in the "Mental health" section on the Asexuality talk page. --><ref name="Richards and Barker"/> Some people, however, may identify as asexual even if their non-sexual state is explained by one or more of the aforementioned disorders.<ref name="Cerankowski and Milks 2">{{cite book|author=Karli June Cerankowski|author2=Megan Milks|title=Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives|isbn=978-1-134-69253-8|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2014|page=246|access-date=July 3, 2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XbgTAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT246|archive-date=September 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912115307/https://books.google.com/books?id=XbgTAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT246|url-status=live}}</ref> Academic Angela Chen has argued that this distinction is illogical since discrimination and bigotry faced by asexual people can cause distress. She believes that when low sexual desire is inherently seen as a problem, people will want to cure it, but that people should not have to feel like they have a "moral obligation" to increase their sexual desire.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chen |first1=Angela |title=Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex |date=2020 |publisher=Beacon Press|pages=90–91}}</ref>

Since the release of the [[DSM-5]] in 2013, which split HSDD into diagnoses for [[female sexual arousal disorder]] and male hypoactive sexual desire disorder, both disorders have been criticised for similar issues to HSDD.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Conley-Fonda |first1=Brenna |last2=Leisher |first2=Taylor |date=2018-01-02 |title=Asexuality: Sexual Health Does Not Require Sex |journal=Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity |volume=25 |issue=1 |pages=6–11 |doi=10.1080/10720162.2018.1475699 |s2cid=149652679 |issn=1072-0162|doi-access=free }}</ref> Although the DSM-5 mentions asexuality as an exclusion criterion for these two disorders, individuals must self-identify as asexual to meet the differential diagnosis and this requirement has been criticised for imposing a diagnosis on people who are possibly asexual but do not yet identify as such.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Van Houdenhove |first1=Ellen |last2=Enzlin |first2=Paul |last3=Gijs |first3=Luk |date=2017-04-01 |title=A Positive Approach Toward Asexuality: Some First Steps, But Still a Long Way to Go |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0921-1 |journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior |language=en |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=647–651 |doi=10.1007/s10508-016-0921-1 |pmid=28091869 |s2cid=20911875 |issn=1573-2800}}</ref> {{As of|2021}}, HSDD continues to be used to describe transgender women.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cocchetti |first1=Carlotta |last2=Ristori |first2=Jiska |last3=Mazzoli |first3=Francesca |last4=Vignozzi |first4=Linda |last5=Maggi |first5=Mario |last6=Fisher |first6=Alessandra Daphne |date=November 2021 |title=Management of hypoactive sexual desire disorder in transgender women: a guide for clinicians |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41443-021-00409-8 |journal=International Journal of Impotence Research |language=en |volume=33 |issue=7 |pages=703–709 |doi=10.1038/s41443-021-00409-8 |pmid=33558671 |s2cid=231850308 |issn=1476-5489}}</ref>

The first study that gave empirical data about asexuals was published in 1983 by Paula Nurius concerning the relationship between sexual orientation and mental health.<ref name="Ruspini">{{cite book|author=Elisabetta Ruspini|author2=Megan Milks|title=Diversity in family life|isbn=978-1447300939|publisher=[[Policy Press]]|year=2013|pages=35–36|access-date=January 4, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AjMbAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA35|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726100946/https://books.google.com/books?id=AjMbAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA35|url-status=live}}</ref> 689 subjects—most of whom were students at various universities in the United States taking psychology or sociology classes—were given several surveys, including four clinical well-being scales. Results showed that asexuals were more likely to have low self-esteem and more likely to be depressed than members of other sexual orientations: 25.88% of heterosexuals, 26.54% of bisexuals (called "ambisexuals"), 29.88% of homosexuals, and 33.57% of asexuals were reported to have problems with self-esteem. A similar trend existed for depression. For various reasons, Nurius did not believe that firm conclusions could be drawn from this.<ref name="Ruspini"/><ref name="Nurius">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1080/00224498309551174 | last1 = Nurius | first1 = Paula | year = 1983| title = Mental Health Implications of Sexual Orientation | journal = The Journal of Sex Research | volume = 19 | issue = 2| pages = 119–136 }}</ref>

In a 2013 study, Yule et al. looked into mental health variances between Caucasian heterosexuals, homosexuals, bisexuals, and asexuals. The results of 203 male and 603 female participants were included in the findings. Yule et al. found that asexual male participants were more likely to report having a mood disorder than other males, particularly in comparison to heterosexual participants. The same was found for female asexual participants over their heterosexual counterparts; however, non-asexual, non-heterosexual females had the highest rates. Asexual participants of both sexes were more likely to have anxiety disorders than heterosexual and non-heterosexual participants, as were they more likely than heterosexual participants to report having had recent suicidal feelings. Yule et al. hypothesized that some of these differences may be due to discrimination and other societal factors.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal | last1 = Yule | first1 = Morag A. | last2 = Brotto | first2 = Lori A. | last3 = Gorzalka | first3 = Boris B. | s2cid = 147120909 | year = 2013 | title = Mental Health and Interpersonal Functioning in Self-Identified Asexual Men and Women | journal = Psychology & Sexuality | volume = 4 | issue = 2| pages = 136–151 | doi = 10.1080/19419899.2013.774162 }}</ref>

With regard to sexual orientation categories, asexuality may be argued as not being a meaningful category to add to the continuum and instead argued as the lack of sexual orientation or sexuality.<ref name="Bogaert 2015"/> Other arguments propose that asexuality is the denial of one's natural sexuality and that it is a disorder caused by shame of sexuality, anxiety, or [[sexual abuse]], sometimes basing this belief on asexuals who masturbate or occasionally engage in sexual activity to please a romantic partner.<ref name="Bogaert 2015"/><ref name="Bridgeman"/><ref name="More to life"/> Within the context of sexual orientation identity politics, asexuality may pragmatically fulfill the political function of a sexual orientation identity category.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

The suggestion that asexuality is a sexual dysfunction is controversial among the asexual community. Those who identify as asexual usually prefer it to be recognized as a sexual orientation.<ref name="Sex and society"/> Scholars who argue that asexuality is a sexual orientation may point to the existence of different sexual preferences.<ref name="Bogaert 2015"/><ref name="Halter"/><ref name="More to life"/> They and many asexual people believe that the lack of sexual attraction is valid enough to be categorized as a sexual orientation.<ref name="Decker">{{cite book|last1=Decker|first1=Julie Sondra|title=The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality|date=2015|publisher=Skyhorse Publishing|location=New York City, New York|isbn=978-1-5107-0064-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PQYQCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT162|access-date=January 10, 2018|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726100704/https://books.google.com/books?id=PQYQCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT162|url-status=live}}</ref> The researchers argue that asexuals do not choose to have no sexual desire and generally start to find out their differences in sexual behaviors around adolescence. Because of these facts coming to light, it is reasoned that asexuality is more than a behavioral choice and is not something that can be cured like a disorder.<ref name="More to life"/><ref name="Koukounas">{{cite journal | last1= Over | first1= Ray | last2= Koukounas | first2= Eric | year= 1995 | title= Habituation of Sexual Arousal: Product and Process | journal= Annual Review of Sex Research | volume= 6 | issue= 1 | pages= 187–223 | doi= 10.1016/S0301-0511(01)00096-5 | pmid= 11473795 | s2cid= 35865728 | url= http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10532528.1995.10559905 | access-date= January 20, 2013 | archive-date= September 23, 2019 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190923043739/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10532528.1995.10559905 | url-status= live }}<br />Cited from: {{cite book |last= Kelly |first= Gary F. |title=Sexuality Today: The Human Perspective |edition= 7th |year=2004 |publisher=[[McGraw-Hill]] |isbn=978-0-07-255835-7 |page=401}}</ref> There is also analysis on whether identifying as asexual is becoming more popular.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Meyer|first=Doug|s2cid=151482192|title=The Disregarding of Heteronormativity: Emphasizing a Happy Queer Adulthood and Localizing Anti-Queer Violence to Adolescent Schools|journal=Sexuality Research & Social Policy|volume=14|issue=3|pages=331–344|doi=10.1007/s13178-016-0272-7|year=2017}}</ref>

Research on the etiology of sexual orientation when applied to asexuality has the definitional problem of sexual orientation not consistently being defined by researchers as including asexuality.<ref>{{Cite journal | pmid = 19955753 | doi=10.1159/000262525 | volume=17 | title=Sexual hormones and the brain: an essential alliance for sexual identity and sexual orientation | year=2010 | pages=22–35 | last1 = Garcia-Falgueras | first1 = A | last2 = Swaab | first2 = DF| journal=Endocrine Development | isbn=978-3-8055-9302-1 }}</ref> While heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality are usually, but not always, determined during the early years of preadolescent life, it is not known when asexuality is determined. "It is unclear whether these characteristics [''viz.'', "lacking interest in or desire for sex"] are thought to be lifelong, or if they may be acquired."<ref name="Prause"/>

One criterion usually taken to define a sexual orientation is that it is stable over time. In a 2016 analysis in the ''[[Archives of Sexual Behavior]]'', Brotto et al. found "only weak support" for this criterion being met among asexual individuals.<ref name="Brotto-2016">{{cite journal|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|year=2016|title=Asexuality: Sexual Orientation, Paraphilia, Sexual Dysfunction, or None of the Above?|last1=Brotto|first1=L. A.|last2=Yule|first2=M.|volume=46|issue=3|pages=619–627|doi=10.1007/s10508-016-0802-7|pmid=27542079|s2cid=207092428}}</ref> An analysis of data from the [[National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health]] by Stephen Cranney found that, of 14{{efn|This denominator is mistakenly given as 25 in the abstract of Cranney's initial study. The number of individuals who reported no sexual attraction in wave III was 14, according to Table 2, the first paragraph of the section "Multivariate Analysis", and the following quote from Cranney's subsequent commentary: "Specifically, of the 14 people who indicated 'no sexual attraction' in Wave III, only three went on to do so in Wave IV (Table 2)."<ref name="Cranney-2"/>}} individuals who reported no sexual attraction in the study's third wave (when subjects ranged in age from 18 to 26), only 3 continued to identify in this way at the fourth wave, six years later.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Temporal Stability of Lack of Sexual Attraction across Young Adulthood|last=Cranney|first=Stephen|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|year=2016|volume=45|issue=3|pages=743–749|doi=10.1007/s10508-015-0583-4|pmid=26228992|pmc=5443108}}</ref> However, Cranney notes that asexual identification in the third wave was still significant as a predictor of asexual identification in the subsequent wave. In a subsequent commentary, Cranney stated that the interpretation of this data was complicated by the absence of any "set quantitative standard for how long a sexual desire must last before it is considered stable or intrinsic enough to be considered an orientation".<ref name="Cranney-2">{{cite journal|last=Cranney|first=Stephen|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior|year=2016|title=Does Asexuality Meet the Stability Criterion for a Sexual Orientation?|volume=46|issue=3|pages=637–638|doi=10.1007/s10508-016-0887-z|pmid=27815642|s2cid=40119928}}</ref>

=== Sexual activity and sexuality ===
While some asexuals masturbate as a solitary form of release or have sex for the benefit of a romantic partner, others do not ([[#Definition, identity and relationships|see above]]).<ref name="Prause"/><ref name="Cerankowski and Milks"/><ref name="New Scientist"/> Fischer et al. reported that "scholars who study the physiology of asexuality suggest that people who are asexual are capable of genital arousal but may experience difficulty with so-called subjective arousal." This means that "while the body becomes aroused, subjectively – at the level of the mind and emotions – one does not experience arousal."<ref name="Fischer"/>

The [[Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction|Kinsey Institute]] sponsored another small survey on the topic in 2007, which found that self-identified asexuals "reported significantly less desire for sex with a partner, lower sexual arousability, and lower sexual excitation but did not differ consistently from non-asexuals in their sexual inhibition scores or their desire to masturbate."<ref name="Prause" />

A 1977 paper titled ''Asexual and Autoerotic Women: Two Invisible Groups'', by Myra T. Johnson, is explicitly devoted to asexuality in humans.<ref name="Cerankowski and Milks 3">{{cite book|author=Karli June Cerankowski|author2=Megan Milks|title=Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives|isbn=978-1-134-69253-8|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2014|page=244|access-date=January 4, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XbgTAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT244|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726124753/https://books.google.com/books?id=XbgTAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT244|url-status=live}}</ref> Johnson defines asexuals as those men and women "who, regardless of physical or emotional condition, actual sexual history, and marital status or ideological orientation, seem to ''prefer'' not to engage in sexual activity." She contrasts [[Autoeroticism|autoerotic]] women with asexual women: "The asexual woman&nbsp;... has no sexual desires at all [but] the autoerotic woman&nbsp;... recognizes such desires but prefers to satisfy them alone." Johnson's evidence is mostly letters to the editor found in women's magazines written by asexual/autoerotic women. She portrays them as invisible, "oppressed by a consensus that they are non-existent," and left behind by both the sexual revolution and the feminist movement. Johnson argued that society either ignores or denies their existence or insists they must be ascetic for religious reasons, neurotic, or asexual for political reasons.<ref name="Cerankowski and Milks 3"/><ref>"Asexual and Autoerotic Women: Two Invisible Groups" found in ed. Gochros, H.&nbsp;L.; J.&nbsp;S. Gochros (1977). ''The Sexually Oppressed''. Associated Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8096-1915-3}}</ref>

In a study published in 1979 in volume five of ''Advances in the Study of Affect'', as well as in another article using the same data and published in 1980 in the ''[[Journal of Personality and Social Psychology]]'', Michael D. Storms of the [[University of Kansas]] outlined his own reimagining of the Kinsey scale. Whereas Kinsey measured sexual orientation based on a combination of actual sexual behavior and fantasizing and eroticism, Storms used only fantasizing and eroticism. Storms, however, placed hetero-eroticism and homo-eroticism on separate axes rather than at two ends of a single scale; this allows for a distinction between bisexuality (exhibiting both hetero- and homo-eroticism in degrees comparable to hetero- or homosexuals, respectively) and asexuality (exhibiting a level of homo-eroticism comparable to a heterosexual and a level of hetero-eroticism comparable to a homosexual, namely, little to none). This type of scale accounted for asexuality for the first time.<ref name="Cerankowski and Milks 4">{{cite book|author=Karli June Cerankowski|author2=Megan Milks|title=Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives|isbn=978-1-134-69253-8|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2014|page=113|access-date=January 4, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XbgTAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT113|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726100210/https://books.google.com/books?id=XbgTAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT113|url-status=live}}</ref> Storms conjectured that many researchers following Kinsey's model could be mis-categorizing asexual subjects as bisexual, because both were simply defined by a lack of preference for gender in sexual partners.<ref name = Storms1980>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1037/0022-3514.38.5.783 | last1 = Storms | first1 = Michael D. | year = 1980 | title = Theories of Sexual Orientation | journal = [[Journal of Personality and Social Psychology]] | volume = 38 | issue = 5 | pages = 783–792 | url = http://www.williamapercy.com/wiki/images/Theories_of_sexual_orientation.pdf | access-date = February 2, 2013 | archive-date = September 23, 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190923043737/http://www.williamapercy.com/wiki/images/Theories_of_sexual_orientation.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name = Storms1979>Storms, M.&nbsp;D. (1979). Sexual orientation and self-perception. ed. Pliner, Patricia et al. ''Advances in the Study of Communication and Affect. Volume 5: Perception of Emotion in Self and Others'' Plenum Press</ref>

In a 1983 study by Paula Nurius, which included 689 subjects (most of whom were students at various universities in the United States taking psychology or sociology classes), the two-dimensional fantasizing and eroticism scale was used to measure sexual orientation. Based on the results, respondents were given a score ranging from 0 to 100 for hetero-eroticism and from 0 to 100 for homo-eroticism. Respondents who scored lower than 10 on both were labeled "asexual". This consisted of 5% of the males and 10% of the females. Results showed that asexuals reported much lower frequency and desired frequency of a variety of sexual activities, including having multiple partners, anal sexual activities, having sexual encounters in a variety of locations, and autoerotic activities.<ref name="Ruspini"/><ref name="Nurius"/>

=== Feminist research ===
The field of asexuality studies is still emerging as a subset of the broader field of [[gender and sexuality studies]]. Notable researchers who have produced significant works in asexuality studies include [[KJ Cerankowski]], Ela Przybylo, and CJ DeLuzio Chasin.

A 2010 paper written by KJ Cerankowski and Megan Milks, titled ''New Orientations: Asexuality and Its Implications for Theory and Practice'', suggests that asexuality may be somewhat of a question in itself for the studies of gender and sexuality.<ref name="Hultquist">{{cite book|author1=Aleksondra Hultquist|author2=Elizabeth J. Mathews|title=New Perspectives on Delarivier Manley and Eighteenth Century Literature: Power, Sex, and Text|isbn=978-1317196921|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2016|page=123|access-date=January 4, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lDGTDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT123|archive-date=September 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923043758/https://books.google.com/books?id=lDGTDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT123|url-status=live}}</ref> Cerankowski and Milks have suggested that asexuality raises many more questions than it resolves, such as how a person could abstain from having sex, which is generally accepted by society to be the most basic of instincts.<ref name="Cerankowski and Milks 5">{{cite book|author=Karli June Cerankowski|author2=Megan Milks|title=Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives|isbn=978-1-134-69253-8|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2014|pages=1–410|access-date=January 4, 2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XbgTAwAAQBAJ|archive-date=July 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726101807/https://books.google.com/books?id=XbgTAwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> Their ''New Orientations'' paper states that society has deemed "[LGBT and] female sexuality as empowered or repressed. The asexual movement challenges that assumption by challenging many of the basic tenets of [[pro-sex feminism]] [in which it is] already defined as repressive or anti-sex sexualities." In addition to accepting self-identification as asexual, the Asexual Visibility and Education Network has formulated asexuality as a biologically determined orientation. This formula, if dissected scientifically and proven, would support researcher [[Simon LeVay]]'s blind study of the [[hypothalamus]] in gay men, women, and straight men, which indicates that there is a biological difference between straight men and gay men.<ref>{{cite book|last=Myers|first=David G.|title=Psychology|year=2010|publisher=Worth Publishers|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4292-1597-8|page=474|edition=9th}}</ref>

In 2014, Cerankowski and Milks edited and published ''Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives'', a collection of essays intended to explore the politics of asexuality from a feminist and queer perspective.<ref name="Cerankowski and Milks 5"/> It is broken into the introduction and then six parts: Theorizing Asexuality: New Orientations; The Politics of Asexuality; Visualizing Asexuality in Media Culture; Asexuality and Masculinity; Health, Disability, and Medicalization; and Reading Asexually: Asexual Literary Theory. Each part contains two to three papers on a given aspect of asexuality research. One such paper is written by Ela Przybylo, another name becoming common in asexual scholarly literature. Her article about the Cerankowski and Milks anthology focuses on accounts of self-identified male asexuals, with a particular focus on the pressures men experience towards having sex in dominant Western discourse and media. Three men living in Southern Ontario, Canada, were interviewed in 2011, and Przybylo admits that the small sample size means that her findings cannot be generalized to a greater population in terms of representation and that they are "exploratory and provisional", especially in a field that is still lacking in theorizations.<ref name=":1">Przybylo, Ela. "Masculine Doubt and Sexual Wonder: Asexually-Identified Men Talk About Their (A)sexualities" from Karli June Cerankowski and Megan Milks, eds., ''Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives'' (Routledge, 2014), 225-246.</ref> All three interviewees addressed being affected by the stereotype that men have to enjoy and want sex in order to be "real men".<ref name=":1" />

Another of Przybylo's works, ''Asexuality and the Feminist Politics of "Not Doing It"'', published in 2011, takes a feminist lens to scientific writings on asexuality. Pryzyblo argues that asexuality is made possible only through the Western context of "sexual, coital, and heterosexual imperatives".<ref name=":2">{{cite thesis |last=Przybylo |first=Ela |year=2011 |title=Asexuality and the Feminist Politics of 'Not Doing It' |degree=MA |location=Edmonton, Alberta |publisher=University of Alberta |doi=10.7939/R3RB04 |doi-access=free}}</ref> She addresses earlier works by Dana Densmore, Valerie Solanas, and Breanne Fahs, who argued for "asexuality and celibacy" as radical feminist political strategies against patriarchy.<ref name=":2" /> While Przybylo does make some distinctions between asexuality and celibacy, she considers blurring the lines between the two to be productive for a feminist understanding of the topic.<ref name=":2" /> In her 2013 article, "Producing Facts: Empirical Asexuality and the Scientific Study of Sex", Przybylo distinguishes between two different stages of asexual research: that of the late 1970s to the early 1990s, which often included a very limited understanding of asexuality, and the more recent revisiting of the subject which she says began with Bogaert's 2004 study and has popularized the subject and made it more "culturally visible". In this article, Przybylo once again asserts the understanding of asexuality as a cultural phenomenon, and continues to be critical of its scientific study.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Przybylo | first1 = Ela | s2cid = 144394132 | year = 2013 | title = Producing Facts: Empirical Asexuality and the Scientific Study of Sex | journal = Feminism & Psychology | volume = 23 | issue = 2| pages = 224–242 | doi = 10.1177/0959353512443668 }}</ref> Pryzblo published a book, ''Asexual Erotics,'' in 2019. In this book, she argued that asexuality poses a "paradox" in that is a sexual orientation that is defined by the absence of sexual activity entirely. She distinguishes between a sociological understanding of asexuality and a cultural understanding, which she said could include "the open mesh of possibilities, gaps, overlaps, dissonances and resonances".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Przybylo|first=Ela|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1096288008|title=Asexual erotics : intimate readings of compulsory sexuality|publisher=[[Ohio State University]]|year=2019|isbn=978-0-8142-1404-6|location=Columbus|pages=1–32|oclc=1096288008|access-date=December 9, 2020|archive-date=March 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309223644/https://www.worldcat.org/title/asexual-erotics-intimate-readings-of-compulsory-sexuality/oclc/1096288008|url-status=live}}</ref>

CJ DeLuzio Chasin states in ''Reconsidering Asexuality and Its Radical Potential'' that academic research on asexuality "has positioned asexuality in line with [[Essentialism|essentialist]] discourses of sexual orientation" which is troublesome as it creates a [[Binary opposition|binary]] between asexuals and persons who have been subjected to psychiatric intervention for disorders such as Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder.<ref name="Reconsidering Asexuality" /> Chasin says that this binary implies that all asexuals experience a lifelong (hence, enduring) lack of sexual attraction, that all non-asexuals who experience a lack of sexual desire experience distress over it, and that it pathologizes asexuals who do experience such distress.<ref name="Reconsidering Asexuality" /> As Chasin says such diagnoses as HSDD act to medicalize and govern women's sexuality, the article aims to "unpack" problematic definitions of asexuality that are harmful to both asexuals and women alike. Chasin states that asexuality has the power to challenge commonplace discourse of the naturalness of sexuality, but that the unquestioned acceptance of its current definition does not allow for this. Chasin also argues there and elsewhere in ''Making Sense in and of the Asexual Community: Navigating Relationships and Identities in a Context of Resistance'' that it is important to interrogate why someone might be distressed about low sexual desire. Chasin further argues that clinicians have an ethical obligation to avoid treating low sexual desire per se as pathological, and to discuss asexuality as a viable possibility (where relevant) with clients presenting clinically with low sexual desire.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

=== Intersections with race and disability ===
Scholar Ianna Hawkins Owen writes, "Studies of race have revealed the deployment of asexuality in the dominant discourse as an ideal sexual behavior to justify both the empowerment of whites and the subordination of blacks to uphold a racialized social and political system."<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|last=Hawkins Owen|first=Ianna|chapter=On the racialization of asexuality|title=Asexualities: feminist and queer perspectives|editor=Cerankowski, Karli June|editor2= Milks, Megan|year=2014|isbn=978-0-415-71442-6|location=New York|publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group|oclc=863044056}}</ref> This is partly due to the simultaneous [[sexualization]] and de-sexualization of black women in the [[Mammy archetype in the United States|Mammy archetype]], as well as by how society de-sexualizes certain racial minorities, as part of a bid to claim superiority by Whites.<ref name=":6" /> This is co-existent with the sexualization of black female bodies in the [[Jezebel]] archetype, both utilized to justify slavery and enable further control.<ref name=":6" /> Owen also criticizes the "...investment in constructing asexuality upon a white racial rubric (who else can claim access to being just like everyone else?)".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Owen|first=Ianna Hawkins|s2cid=149999756|date=November 2018|title=Still, nothing: Mammy and black asexual possibility|journal=Feminist Review|language=en|volume=120|issue=1|pages=70–84|doi=10.1057/s41305-018-0140-9|issn=0141-7789|doi-access=free}}</ref> Ben Brandley and Angela Labrador argue that asexual identity may be more accessible to white people than people of color because of how people of color are [[sexualized]].<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last1=Brandley |first1=ben |last2=Labador |first2=Angela |date=2022-11-22 |title=Towards an asexual-affirming communication pedagogy |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03634523.2022.2151638 |journal=Communication Education |language=en |volume=72 |issue=4 |pages=335 |doi=10.1080/03634523.2022.2151638 |s2cid=254354072 |issn=0363-4523 |quote=...when we presume that aceness is a feature of whiteness, by and for white folks, it creates a “cyclical perception” that can influence white aces “to feel more accepted in ace spaces in comparison with people of color” which concomitantly excludes and invisibilizes ace people of color (Paramo, 2017, para. 3).}}</ref> [[Michael Paramo]] argues in an article for [[Aze (magazine)|''Aze'']] that this can create a "cyclical perception" that the asexual community is dominated by white people which can make people of color continue to feel excluded from it.<ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Paramo |first=Michael |date=2017-10-25 |title=Interrogating the Whiteness of the Asexual Community |url=https://azejournal.com/article/2017/10/25/interrogating-the-whiteness-of-the-asexual-community |access-date=2023-08-24 |website=AZE |language=en-US}}</ref>

Karen Cuthbert comments on "providing the first empirically grounded discussion of this intersection of asexuality and disability (and to a lesser extent gender and 'race')."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cuthbert |first=Karen |date=2017 |title=You Have to be Normal to be Abnormal: An Empirically Grounded Exploration of the Intersection of Asexuality and Disability |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0038038515587639 |url-status=live |journal=Sociology |language=en |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=241–257 |doi=10.1177/0038038515587639 |issn=0038-0385 |s2cid=141976966 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307225006/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0038038515587639 |archive-date=March 7, 2022 |access-date=March 7, 2022 |via=SAGE Publications}}</ref> Eunjung Kim comments on the intersections between disability or [[crip theory]] and asexuality, saying disabled people are more frequently de-sexualized.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Kim|first=Eunjung|chapter=Asexualities and disabilities in constructing sexual normalcy|title=Asexualities: feminist and queer perspectives|editor=Cerankowski, Karli June|editor2= Milks, Megan|year=2014|isbn=978-0-415-71442-6|location=New York|publisher=Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group|oclc=863044056}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kim |first=Eunjung |date=2011 |title=Asexuality in disability narratives |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1363460711406463 |journal=Sexualities |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=479–493 |doi=10.1177/1363460711406463 |s2cid=55747579 |via=Sage Journals |access-date=March 7, 2022 |archive-date=March 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307220258/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1363460711406463 |url-status=live }}</ref> Disabled people who are also asexual have stated that they can feel invisible because of this since they must navigate these assumptions both within the asexual and disabled communities and outside of them.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Paramo |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tzLPEAAAQBAJ |title=Ending the Pursuit: Asexuality, Aromanticism and Agender Identity |date=2024-02-08 |publisher=Unbound Publishing |isbn=978-1-80018-286-8 |pages=30–31 |language=en}}</ref> Anna Kurowicka notes that asexual people may sometimes reject the notion that their asexuality is related to disability in an effort to avoid unwanted medical intervention. At the same time, disabled people may reject the assumption that they are inherently asexual.<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last=Kurowicka |first=Anna |date=2023-05-04 |title=Contested intersections: Asexuality and disability, illness, or trauma |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/13634607231170781 |journal=Sexualities |volume=28 |issue=1–2 |language=en |pages=180–201 |doi=10.1177/13634607231170781 |s2cid=258524276 |issn=1363-4607}}</ref> Kurowicka argues that contemporary discourses should trouble the desire to separate asexuality and disability that is rooted in [[Compulsory heterosexuality|compulsory sexuality]].<ref name=":9" />

=== Bogaert's psychological work and theories ===
Bogaert argues that understanding asexuality is of key importance to understanding sexuality in general.<ref name="bogaert2015">{{cite journal | last1 = Bogaert |first1=A. F. |s2cid=23720993 | year = 2015 | title = Asexuality: What It Is and Why It Matters | journal = Journal of Sex Research | volume = 52 | issue = 4 | pages = 362–379 | doi = 10.1080/00224499.2015.1015713|pmid=25897566 }}</ref> For his work, Bogaert defines asexuality as "a lack of lustful inclinations/feelings directed toward others," a definition that he argues is relatively new in light of recent theory and empirical work on sexual orientation. This definition of ''asexuality'' also makes clear this distinction between behavior and desire, for both asexuality and celibacy, although Bogaert also notes that there is some evidence of reduced sexual activity for those who fit this definition. He further distinguishes between desire for others and desire for sexual stimulation, the latter of which is not always absent for those who identify as asexual, although he acknowledges that other theorists define asexuality differently and that further research needs to be done on the "complex relationship between attraction and desire".<ref name="bogaert2015" /> Another distinction is made between romantic and sexual attraction, and he draws on work from [[developmental psychology]], which suggests that romantic systems derive from [[attachment theory]] while sexual systems "primarily reside in different brain structures".<ref name="bogaert2015" />

Concurrent with Bogaert's suggestion that understanding asexuality will lead to a better understanding of sexuality overall, he discusses the topic of asexual masturbation to theorize on asexuals and "'target-oriented' [[paraphilia]], in which there is an inversion, reversal, or disconnection between the self and the typical target/object of sexual interest/attraction" (such as attraction to oneself, labelled "automonosexualism").<ref name="bogaert2015" />

In an earlier 2006 article, Bogaert acknowledges that a distinction between behavior and attraction has been accepted into recent conceptualizations of sexual orientation, which aids in positioning asexuality as such.<ref name=":4">{{cite journal | last1 = Bogaert | first1 = Anthony F | s2cid = 143968129 | year = 2006 | title = Toward a Conceptual Understanding of Asexuality | journal = Review of General Psychology | volume = 10 | issue = 3| pages = 241–250 | doi = 10.1037/1089-2680.10.3.241}}</ref> He adds that, by this framework, "(subjective) sexual attraction is the psychological core of sexual orientation", and also addresses that there may be "some skepticism in [both] the academic and clinical communities" about classifying asexuality as a sexual orientation, and that it raises two objections to such a classification: First, he suggests that there could be an issue with self-reporting (i.e., "a 'perceived' or 'reported' lack of attraction", particularly for definitions of sexual orientation that consider physical arousal over subjective attraction), and, second, he raises the issue of overlap between absent and ''very'' ''low'' sexual desire, as those with an extremely low desire may still have an "underlying sexual orientation" despite potentially identifying as asexual.<ref name=":4" />