A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #373 - Antipatriarchy - Asexuality and Aromanticism: Towards an Asexual, LGBTI, and Feminist Activism (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Asexuality refers to the absence or low experience of sexual desire. 
Conceived as a minority sexual orientation, this concept emerged in the 
early 2000s and was championed in particular by AVEN[1]in the United 
States. How do the issues raised by asexuality fit into LGBTI and 
feminist struggles? --- This new category arrived in France during the 
2010s, initially online. Asexual activists then sought to publicize the 
definition of asexuality, given the personal relief that this 
self-identification provided. The assertion that there are people who 
experience little or no sexual desire and that every relationship to 
sexuality deserves to be recognized and respected thus aligns with LGBTI 
discourse. Asexuality is then championed by LGBTI activists who identify 
as asexual. This integration within LGBTI associations and collectives 
has led to the creation of monthly support groups and self-help 
sessions, modeled on existing trans community spaces. Asexual and 
aromantic marches[2]are organized at Pride events (such as in Paris and 
Lyon) with the aim of linking asexuality with critiques of patriarchy 
and psychiatry, which construct heterosexuality as healthy and obligatory.

A fresh perspective on sexuality
This surge in activism, as well as the fact that a large majority of 
people who identify as asexual are not men[3], can be analyzed by the 
fact that asexuality provides a space where counter-discourses on 
obligatory sexuality emerge. However, women often have a much more 
altruistic relationship to sexuality than men[4], focused on nurturing 
the relationship, which makes them particularly vulnerable to guilt or 
to forcing themselves when they do not desire enough.

This gendered dimension is also found in medical constructions of 
non-desire. Sexology naturalizes differentiated relationships to 
sexuality between men and women by asserting that the female body is 
inherently less desirous[5]. Consequently, it becomes pathological when 
this jeopardizes the possibility of a harmonious heterosexual relationship.

Conversely, male sexual dysfunctions are not perceived as a fundamental 
threat to the heterosexual couple, on the understanding that the woman 
would not invest in the relationship solely for sexual purposes. In the 
past, asexuals have challenged the validity of desire disorders by using 
asexual self-identification as a contraindication to the diagnosis of 
hypoactive sexual desire disorder, but without conceptualizing their 
struggle as feminist. However, viewing these medical constructs as 
oppressive towards asexuals on the one hand, and as processes stemming 
from male domination on the other, would allow us to break down the 
barriers between asexual struggles and imagine strategic alliances, 
beyond an identity-based paradigm of asexuality.

Louison (Kreiz Breizh Supporter)

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[1]Asexuality and Visibility Education Network is an online community.

[2]Aromanticism refers to the fact of rarely or never falling in love.

[3]16% of asexuals are men, according to the 2022 Ace Survey, a 
community survey linked to AVEN.

[4]See Michel Bozon, Sociology of Sexuality, Armand Colin, 2025.

[5]See Desjardins' sex-corporeal model, or Basson's idea of spontaneous 
or reactive desire.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Asexualite-et-aromantisme-Pour-un-militantisme-asexuel-LGBTI-et-feministe
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