Asexual

**Asexual** (often shortened to **ace**) is a sexual orientation defined by a lack of sexual attraction. Asexual experiences may also include: not wanting to have sex, not being interested in sex, not experiencing a sex drive/libido, or being repulsed by sex. Sexual attraction is defined as the desire to have sex with, or otherwise perform sexual acts with, another specific individual. For non-asexual individuals (allosexuals), sexual attraction is involuntary, and even occurs when someone doesn't know the other individual (though one might not act on it). Asexual individuals do not have an innate desire to have sex with anyone. They might also feel disconnected from the idea of sex.

It is important to note the difference between asexuality and celibacy/abstinence. Those who are abstinent or celibate are not necessarily asexual; they may still experience sexual attraction but they choose not to act on it, typically for moral or religious reasons. Asexuals do not experience sexual attraction, and they may or may not participate in sexual activities. Although some asexuals do not have sex, there are also many asexuals who do partake in sexual activities or are in sexual relationships. This could be for many reasons, such as their own pleasure, the pleasure of a partner, or to have children.

Being asexual does not mean that one is unable to experience romantic attraction. An asexual individual can have any romantic orientation and some asexuals identify with a romantic orientation to specify who they're interested in romantically, if anyone. They often use prefixes like hetero-, homo-, bi-, pan-, etc. in front of the word romantic to describe who they experience romantic attraction to. For example, an individual who is asexual heteroromantic is romantically attracted to individuals of a different gender, but is not sexually attracted to them. Some asexuals are also aromantic, meaning that they also do not feel romantic attraction. Individuals who are both asexual and aromantic may identify as aroace.

Sexual dispositions among asexual individuals can vary. Some asexuals may still have a sex drive despite not feeling sexual attraction to anyone. They may still masturbate, watch porn, or participate in sexual activities. Other asexuals lack a sex drive, and some may be repulsed by the concept of sex. Terms like sex-repulsed, sex-averse, sex-indifferent, sex-favorable, or sex-ambivalent are commonly used to describe these feelings.

The term "asexual" may also be used as an umbrella term, referring to anyone on the asexual spectrum.

In the summer of 2010 AVEN and several other asexual websites held a contest to design an asexual flag. The current asexual flag was designed by the AVEN user Standup and was uploaded on June 30th, 2010. The gradient of black, grey, and white was based on the AVEN triangle and symbolizes the concept of the asexual spectrum. the black is for asexuals, grey for greyasexuals, demisexuals, and other ace-spec individuals, and white represents allosexuals. Purple represents the community and was likely chosen because AVEN has a purple color scheme.

An alternative symbol for asexuality is an ace playing card, due to the fact that asexual is often shortened to ace. Generally the ace of hearts is used to represent asexuals who feel romantic attraction. The ace of spades can be used to represent aromantic asexuals, or is sometimes used as an umbrella symbol for all asexuals and ace-spec individuals. The ace of diamonds and the ace of clubs are less commonly seen. The ace of diamonds is most commonly associated with demisexuals and sometimes greyasexuals as well. The ace of clubs is commonly associated with greyasexuals, but also sometimes is used for individuals who are questioning where they fall on the asexual spectrum.

Wearing black ring on the middle finger, typically of the right hand, known as an "ace ring" has become a way to subtly identify the wearer as being asexual. The origin of the black ring began in a thread from 2005. The material and exact design of the ring are not important as long as it is primarily black.

Cake has been an informal symbol of asexuality since 2004, originating from the AVEN forums cake emote and the joke that asexuals "prefer eating cake to having sex". Dragons have also been used to symbolize asexuality, stemming from a joke that "asexual individuals are way more interested in dragons than in sex" it is also a reference to Charlie Weasley from *Harry Potter*, who was described as being "...more interested in dragons than relationships and all that stuff" causing may individuals to headcanon him as asexual. Asexuals are also associated with plants, since certain plants have the ability to reproduce asexually through mitosis.

An older asexual symbol is the AVEN triangle, which used a black-to-white gradient to represent the asexual spectrum, with white representing allosexuality and black representing asexuality. This gradient is what inspired the white, grey, and black stripes of the asexual flag.

## Etymology

The term "asexual" uses the Greek prefix "a-" which means "not" or "a lack of."