ACE ERASURE
WHAT DO GENDER NORMS HAVE TO DO WITH SEXUALITY?
ACE
Ace is an umbrella term used specifically to describe a lack of, varying, or occasional experiences of sexual attraction. This encompasses asexual people as well as those who identify as demisexual, grey ace, and other ace-spec identities.
Asexual people who experience romantic attraction might also use terms such as gay, bi, lesbian, straight and queer in conjunction with asexual to describe the direction of their romantic attraction.
Stonewall
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‘A' Is For Asexual: Erasing The Asexual Orientation
HuffPost
”Ace people have always been part of the LGBTQ+ community, but are often erased and ignored.”
Stonewall
89% of asexual respondents to a survey said they have avoided being open about their sexual orientation.
GOV.UK, Feb 2019
❓QUESTION❓
Gender norms and stereotypes often include ideas about sexuality (e.g. assuming that a cisgender man will be straight and want to have lots of sex with lots of women).
How might these gender norms play a part in the erasure* of Ace identities?
*Erasure can mean many things including dismissing it as ‘not real’, assuming it’s a phase or illness, rarely seeing this identity represented in pop culture
📣SPOTLIGHT📣
Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) hosts the world's largest online asexual community as well as a large archive of resources on asexuality. AVEN strives to create open, honest discussion about asexuality among sexual and asexual people alike.
📣SPOTLIGHT📣
Yasmin Benoit is an award-winning Asexual activist and model, she is also on the board of AVEN. Most recently, Yasmin has worked with Stonewall UK to publish the Ace in the UK Report 2023.