On Being
Asexual
T
Leah Larson ‘15
English (Writing) Major, Printing & Publishing Arts Minor he concept of a per-
man who is heteroromantic but can picture himself with another man sexually. For my ested in sex befuddles fellow asexuals, our romantic attraction solely most people. It’s determines our relationships. completely beyond It has always been obvious to me that I them. Being attracted didn’t quite fit in with the norm. When my to someone of any friends and I were 12 years old and having gender is frequently sleepovers, we would discuss our crushes listed as one of the and which teen celebrity was cuter. I always trademark experiencfelt as though there was something in those es of being human, along with eating. People conversations that I did not fully understand. who are asexual are looked upon with a mix I never had a crush on a boy in the same way of shock and disbelief. They’re treated like my friends would—I never cared about what amoebas or children who haven’t reached their muscles were like or the way that their puberty yet. And I am one of them. hair swooped perfectly over their eyes. I was Asexuals don’t exalways more interestI’d remain quiet ed in people’s personperience sexual attraction. Some of them and my friends alities and the things have libidos, some of they did. While my would typically friends were interestthem don’t, some are repulsed by sex, and assume that I felt the ed in those things as others are all right with well, the topic of consame way as them.” it. Just like with any versation was never sexuality, people fall about how people like on different parts of a spectrum. Personally, Rupert Grint were hilarious in the dorkiest way I am a full-blown asexual; I have never expepossible. They always tended to focus more rienced sexual attraction and I am completeon Ryan Gosling’s abs or Leonardo di Caprio’s ly indifferent to sex as an activity. However, amazing shoulders. They’d discuss them for there is more than one way to be attracted to hours on end. I never quite knew what to say a person. Our society tends to focus almost when we would talk about these things, so I exclusively on sexual attraction. However, rowould simply choose whatever statement was mantic attraction is a huge part of any relasaid the most (i.e. “Ryan Gosling has a totally tionship. People have romantic orientations hot 6-pack”) and repeat it. After that, I’d rein the same way that they have sexual orienmain quiet and my friends would typically astations, but they tend to be less strict about sume that I felt the same way as them. them. It’s more common to find a heterosexPeople have the amazing tendency to ual man who is heteroromantic but can still insert their own feelings into other people’s picture himself in a romantic relationship with silence, and I took advantage of that for the another man than it is to find a heterosexual majority of a decade. This phenomenon is son
who
isn’t
inter-
“
{The Matrix} │ Fall 2013
9