In 1948, the American sexologist Kinsey proposed the Kinsey scale in his book "Men's Sexuality" to measure a person's sexual orientation, and asexuality was one of them. But do you know what asexuality is?
It is said that it is human instinct, so is it abnormal for me to not like sex?
This may be a question shared by asexual people.
After people are no longer unfamiliar with the words homosexuality and bisexuality, and after recognizing the sentient beings outside the binary opposition, asexuality has gradually entered people's field of vision, and in film and television works, we can gradually see the addition of asexual elements.
So, what exactly is asexuality?
What is asexuality?
Asexuality is sometimes called ace (from the English pinyin of asexuality), which is used to describe sexual orientation and identity that is not sexually attractive to any gender, or that lacks interest in sexual behavior. Some asexual people interpret themselves as: lack or rare, sexual attraction, sexuality, and only enjoyment of romantic relationships.
Canadian psychology professor Anthony Bogaert estimates in his paper "Asexual Populations: A National Sample Survey of the Distribution of Asexual People and Related Factors" that asexuality accounts for approximately 1% of the world's population.
As early as 1948, American sexology expert Kinsey used the Kinsey scale in his book "Men's Sexuality" to open the possibility of sexual orientation wandering and reveal the existence of asexuality.
It is worth noting that although asexuals generally do not feel sexually attracted and only want to invest in romantic relationships that are purely physical movements such as hugging, kissing, and holding hands, there are still some asexuals who say they will feel sexually attractive, and asexual people have different ideas about sexuality.
Photo by Mahrael Boutros on Pexels
Some people may have sex with their partners, but they are cold about sex; Others strongly discourage having sex; Some use masturbation to vent sexual desire, but they generally call the need or desire for masturbation sexual impulse, rather than the behavior caused by sexual attraction.
In general, although we have a definition of asexuals, we do not yet have a one-size-fits-all interpretation that can encompass every situation.
After all, human sexuality is always fluid, and every asexual being should be regarded as an individual, not a group that can be generalized. Therefore, while getting to know them better, we should also cultivate the consciousness that asexuality is a combination of flesh-and-blood individuals.
Now that you have a preliminary understanding of asexuality, if you want to understand the way of asexual people faster, it is probably drama.
The women's fan editor selects two film and television works for this, and seeing the asexuality that appears may bring you closer to them.
Image|"Love Course" stills
Love course: Asexual me, will eventually be liberated from society's expectations of sex and romantic love
Netflix's hit movie "Love Lessons" is adapted from the original webtoon "Heartstopper" by British cartoonist Alice Oseman, and the course is homophonic shock, which actually coincides with the original title of the series "Heartstopper The Man Who Makes My Heart Stop".
The story is set in Chu Han's all-male college, and begins with Charlie, a high-life who has publicly come out, meets Nick, a popular senior on campus, to show the audience those pure love, shy, and unrequited campus love scenes after the overlap of life.
After "Love Course 2" was launched earlier this month, in addition to the challenges Nick encountered after coming out publicly, Charlie's struggle with mental health, another highlight was that the two's friend Issac, who began to detect and develop his asexual identity, which is an asexual issue rarely seen on the small screen.
(Guess what you want to see: people who don't fall in love can also have happiness - Takahashi's life "Two People Who Can't Love Each Other": Asexuality also has such a way of living together and being happy)
Image|"Love Course" stills
After a failed kiss with a new friend, Issac wanted to know how to know if he had desires, emotions, and even whether he was "normal", Issac also curiously watched dozens of couples kissing, just to confirm whether intimate contact was desirable for him.
After asking close friends around him, he found that the answers he got didn't apply to him, so he participated in a queer art exhibition featuring works by asexual artists, which celebrates asexual identity and attempts to liberate asexual people from society's expectations of sex and romance through self-recognition.
It was here that Issac found its niche position.
In fact, it's not surprising that the second season will have an asexual plot, because Alice Oseman herself is part of asexuality, and in his other books "Loveless", there are also attempts to use asexuality as the protagonist, and readers who love the narrative technique of "Heartstopper" may wish to put "Loveless" on the waiting list.
In a world where it's hard to see asexuals, the power of being a closeted individual is enormous. You may be the only asexual person someone else has ever met, or the first person to explain an asexual experience to someone. ——〈I Am Ace: Advice on Living Your Best Asexual Life〉
Image|"Love Course" stills
Sex Study Room: Sex is like a good wonton in front of my eyes, but I'm not hungry for it
Another Netflix series, Sex Study Room, also features asexual characters.
Florence, who loves acting, was chosen as the protagonist of the musical Romeo and Juliet. During rehearsals, classmates point out Florence's interaction with the male lead on stage as lacking chemistry and feeling no love, and are asked that she should take the tone of a romantic film - as exuberant as possible.
However, this was not easy for Florence.
In fact, Florence felt out of place as early as when her peers began to have sex and became interested in sex, because for her, sex was not attractive at all, it felt nothing.
In her eyes, sex to her, it felt like being surrounded by a big meal, but she was not hungry for it, and she felt broken because of it.
Sex to me is like a good wonton in front of my eyes, but I'm not hungry for it - "Sex Study Room"
(Same scene plus screening: "The focus of sex is feeling, not perfect" five things the youth comedy "Sex Study Room" taught us)
Image|"Sex Study Room" stills
Jean, a sex therapist, then asked Florence, "Sex doesn't make us whole, so why are you broken?" Not wanting to sleep with someone is a reasonable choice, even if there is no interest in sex, asexuality will never rule out that someone is in a romantic relationship, that is, Florence who does not want to have sex but still wants to fall in love is absolutely normal.
Jean and Florence's dialogue not only shows the truth that sex and love are not always together, but also exposes the public's ideas and prejudices against asexual people, and leads Florence to understand her own diversity.
In the next (9) month, "Sex Study Room" is about to usher in the final season, and with the launch of the fourth season, I believe we can see more interpretations of sex, love, and relationships.
Image|"Sex Study Room" stills
There is no such thing as a litmus test paper in this world that can directly determine whether you are asexual, same-sexual, bisexual and other sexual orientations, and in the past, whether in the LGBTQ+ community or in the media, there has always been a lack of representation of the asexual community, so that many asexual people lack a reference object when exploring their sexuality, leaving confusion in vain.
Nowadays, with the reproduction of asexuality in film and television works such as "Love Course" and "Sex Study Room", not only can the audience three-dimensional understanding of asexuality, but also allow asexuality to see their own image on the screen, and answer the confusion about their sexual orientation from these characters, resonating from similar confusion.