Why I Support Including Asexual People in the LGBTQ Community
Channel: Alex Zorach
Date: 2018-11-07

I often hear people advocating to exclude (cishet) asexual people or other ace-spectrum people from the LGBTQ community. In this video I explain why I think this viewpoint is misguided and can harm numerous people, most of all, LGBTQ people who are not asexual.

Exclusion of any group, especially cishet people, is likely to also exclude closeted gay, trans, or other queer people who are in the earllier stages of questioning. These people often have not yet admitted their identities to themselves, and may be in denial, thinking of themselves as straight and cis. Excluding cishet ace people thus may exclude many other LGBTQ people, most hurting the people who have the greatest internalized homophobia or transphobia and are thus in most need of help.

Another completely different reason to include asexual people in the LGBTQ community and LGBTQ spaces is that they have something unique to offer: because ace spectrum people either do not experience sexual attraction, or do not experience it fully or in ways considered "normal" by society, talking to ace people about sexuality and attraction often requires or demands that you articulate your experience of attraction more explicitly or in more detail. The process of doing this can be immensely illuminating, helping people to learn more about their own sexuality and sometimes gender identity as well, in the process. Ace people also often lack some of the societal assumptions surrounding society, and can have more of a "blank slate" for discussing sexuality, sometimes even lacking assumptions that are common among gay or trans people.

Lastly I talk about the argument that asexual people do not belong in LGBTQ spaces because they are not "oppressed". I talk about how this sort of "oppression politics" often leads to bad places, and typically involves untruthful assumptions and overgeneralizations. I explain how the experiences of oppression can vary widely, both from one ace person to the next, and one gay person to the next.

I conclude by asserting that I am not interested in participating in any LGBTQ spaces that explicitly exclude ace people.

I hope that this video has made a compelling point to argue for the inclusion of asexual and other ace spectrum people in LGBTQ spaces!