An article about being asexual. A small extract:
Coles is a critic of our sex-obsessed culture. "There is a strong pressure in society to be sexual, to be in a sexual relationship, so if you don't conform, you're seen to be defective," he says. "Everywhere you look, on advertising, billboards, movies, soaps, books, magazines, just everywhere you look, there is material, stories, narratives reaffirming and validating people's feelings, if they want that kind of life.
"It really hacks me off. It annoys me, and before I discovered other asexuals, it did make me feel defective. It makes you feel invisible and invalidated because you never see people, you never hear of people, who feel the way you do."
Jackie Bell, 38, of Wellington, says she'd identified as bisexual for 20 years but now considers herself to be a bi-romantic asexual – that is, an asexual person who is romantically attracted to both men and women. She likes to be in a relationship, and she currently has a boyfriend, who is "pretty much" asexual too. "He's leaning that way.
"I can find people physically attractive, like, I think they might look good, but I don't really want to do stuff to them," she says. Unlike asexuals who classify themselves as sex averse, Bell would describe her feelings as indifferent towards sex.
