Sex.
Okay, now that I have your attention, I wanted to talk about this article that was mysteriously sent to me yesterday (and whoever sent it, thanks). There is apparently a larger than previously thought population of people out there who consider themselves asexual. Not non-sexual, but asexual. As in not at all interested in or have a desire to engage in sex with another person. There are parts of this article that I find interesting and yet strange, among them:
1) an asexual as someone who "does not experience sexual attraction."
2) asexuals might have sexual urges and even masturbate, but they do not want to have sex with other people
3) asexuals often feel romantic attraction for other people, it just doesn't involve sex
4) some asexuals have spent - or will spend - some time being sexual (actually enjoying sex for a time)
One of the other things the article said is that supplemental hormones can actually increase an asexual's sex drive and desire for sex. So the question becomes, is it causal or an effect... did the brain structures develop that way naturally or did some other external factors contribute to this?
Sexuality is never an easy thing. And almost always, we have no control over who (or what in some cases) we are attracted to. So is it possible that being attracted to no one is meant to be? Is this one of those Darwinian cases of culling the gene pool?
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3 comments:
Not sure I buy the whole "culling out of the gene pool" thing. The same argument could be made for homosexuals - and they're on a rise (or perhaps more visible?), if anything, with the relaxation of social stimgas over the last several centuries.
The core of the issue comes down to this: Is any deviation from what is called the "sexual norm", aka an active M/F sex life, considered to be a medical abberation, or an indication of a choice, even if it's a subconscious one?
I remember someone from high school calling himself asexual, because he had zero drive to pursue anyone for relations. The only way to really evaluate the scenario, I think, is to track their hormonal development from adolescence onward, and see what's arisen from it. I know they've done similar studies on the issue of homosexuality; can any of that data be applied to asexuality?
the article came from me, you funny person. that's my nonexistent hotmail address that i use for pesky news websites that make you register to read.
Ah, well that makes sense!
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