Asexuals

A rising phenomenon, asexuality is gaining ground in our sex-driven society, with websites and groups dedicated to abstinence, especially in the US. However, the absence of sexual desire only occurs in exceptional cases. Some want to shout it from the rooftops that they just don’t like making love. Here's all about this new form of abstinence.

Who are asexuals?
Asexuals are people who voluntarily abstain from sex: men and woman who aren't excluded from society or fanatics, but who have simply never felt any sexual attraction towards anyone, and accept it. It’s difficult, for obvious reasons, to know how many asexuals there are out there, but some studies claim that around 1% of the world’s population are asexual!

The origins of asexuality
Many factors initiated the asexual movement: overexposure to porn, the Freudian tendency to relate everything to sex which was popular in the Nineties, a refusal to be dictated to about pleasure, and the profanation of sex from being something private to being exhibitionist. As a result of all this, abstinence is no longer something to be ashamed of but rather a right, and something to be proud of. A 24-year-old man in the USA has even started a movement called A Pride and his site, Aven, is getting more and more hits every day.

Psychological causes
It seems that this absence of sexual desire stems from childhood, between the age of 6 and 10 years old, during what is known as the latency period. At this age, children stop being interested in sex (after having been very curious). This disinterest usually ends at the beginning of adolescence. But for some people who refuse to grow up or who are subject to strong moral pressure are afraid of their fantasies and prefer to suppress them.

Living with asexuality
Asexuals don’t make love but they can masturbate (especially men), not in response to stimulation, but only because of their physical need for it. In general, asexuality is lifelong. People who unconsciously repress their sexual desires can awaken them through therapy.