Afterword: some thoughts on asexuality as an interdisciplinary method

Przybyło, Ela

doi:10.1080/19419899.2013.774167

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…For example, Milks and Cerankowski (2014) argue asexuality has the potential to question a ‘mainstream culture, with its “make it sexy” imperative and “hot or not” hierarchy’ and to ‘radically rethink sexuality, queerness, desire, and intimacy in terms of not desiring sex, not having sex, or not experiencing sexual attraction’ (p. 314). Similar radical claims for asexuality include the problematising of ‘sex’ as an essential act (Flore, 2014; Pryzbolo, 2011), questioning a form of neoliberal ‘liberal humanism’ in which a productive (in all sense of the term) individual is valued (Gressgård, 2013; Pryzbolo, 2013), the ‘desexualisation’ of identity in favour of notions of difference (Gupta, 2017), and suggesting a ‘healthy’ lifestyle which does not require sex (Kim, 2010). A particularly confident version of this argument comes from Fahs (2010) who, in equating asexuality with a choice made by women, frames asexual people as ‘radical refusals’.…”

Section: The Politics Of Asexualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

‘“Asexual” Isn’t Who I Am’: The Politics of Asexuality

Dawson

Scott

McDonnell

2018

Sociological Research Online

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Some literature on asexuality has claimed that it is inherently radical and contains the potential for resistance. Unfortunately this literature has tended to be unempirical, has imagined asexuality as a disembodied entity and marginalised the multiple identities held by asexual people. This paper, inspired by Plummer's critical humanist approach, seeks to explore how individuals understand their asexuality to encourage forms of political action in the areas of: identity, activism, online spaces and LGBT politics. What we found was a plurality of experiences and attitudes with most adopting a pragmatic position in response to their social situation which saw large scale political action as irrelevant. We conclude by reflecting on what these results mean for those who see asexuality as potentially radical.Keywords: Asexuality, critical humanism, identity, LGBT, sexualityThe emergence of asexuality has led scholars to make strong political claims. These writers have suggested that asexuality has the potential to: redefine the nature of intimate relationships; overcome the dominance of 'sexusociety'; resist neoliberal conceptions of citizenship; and aid anarchist politics. Unfortunately, the strength of these claims has run inverse to the evidence used to substantiate them. Instead they have largely concerned what asexuality ought to be and, ipso facto, how asexual people ought to behave rather than exploring the beliefs and actions of asexual people. This has been part of a wider trend where 'asexuality' comes to be treated as a disembodied entity which 'challenges' contemporary society. Unfortunately, this overlooks how asexuality exists as a sexual orientation held by a diverse set of people, resulting in differing forms of action. 2To counter this trend, this paper outlines the political views held by asexual people. We will discuss: the salience of asexual identity; our participants' activism; and their interaction withLGBTQ groups/politics 1 . In doing so, we are in agreement with two arguments concerning the nature of sociological research. Firstly, we share Plummer's advocacy of a 'critical humanist' perspective which, with its use of 'documents of life' seeks to pay special attention to the 'concrete human experiences' of social life in which individuals 'respond to social constraints and actively assemble social worlds' (Plummer 2001:14). This does not, as indicated, involve marginalising forms of oppression and injustice, but rather, in understanding how these are experienced and interpreted, abides by 'the humanistic commitment of the qualitative researcher to study the world always from the perspective of the interacting individual' (Lincoln and Denzin 1994:575). It is this commitment which often has been lacking in the literature to date. Secondly, we echo Duncan's (2011) claim that when discussing processes of social change, in his case individualization, sociologists have tended to place individuals either into a 'vanguard' or 'traditionalist' camps. Instead, asDuncan demonstrates, these g...

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Section: The Politics Of Asexualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

‘“Asexual” Isn’t Who I Am’: The Politics of Asexuality

Dawson

Scott

McDonnell

2018

Sociological Research Online

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“…Different relationships, most notably friendships and romantic relationships, become less distinct and their similarities throw any distinction into question. Importantly, as the above quotation suggests, these asexual practices are then seen to be indicative of more; for these authors, they are (hopefully) the harbinger of further social transformation (Pryzbolo, 2013; Kahn, 2014). Interestingly, from a different political and intellectual perspective, here we have a claim similar to Giddens' suggestion that same-sex couples were the pioneers of ‘plastic sexuality’ (Giddens, 1992: 28), which is ‘decentred’ and ‘freed from the needs of reproduction’ (Giddens, 1992: 2).…”

Section: Asexual Studies and Intimacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Negotiating the Boundaries of Intimacy: The Personal Lives of Asexual People

Dawson

McDonnell

Scott

2016

The Sociological Review

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This paper uses findings from research diaries to explore the use of practices of intimacy among asexual people. While much of the literature to date has focused on the supposedly transformative and political nature of uniquely asexual practices of intimacy, our findings suggest something different. Rather than seeking to transform the nature of intimate relationships, asexual people make pragmatic adjustments and engage in negotiations to achieve the forms of physical and emotional intimacy they seek. We discuss this in relation to three areas: friendships, sex as a practice of intimacy, and exclusion from intimacy. Our findings suggest the importance of not only considering the social context in which asexual people practice intimacy, but also how the practices in which they engage may be shared with non-asexual people.

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“…My aim here is not to debate the differences in these theoretical approaches, nor deny disciplinary and theoretical positions, but to pick up on Ela Przybylo’s suggestion that there are consistent features in asexual research in ‘an otherwise diverse interdisciplinary field’ (Przybylo, 2013: 193) and that attention to these could potentially contribute to asexuality studies, that is, asexuality as an interdisciplinary method. As a sociologist, feminist and poststructuralist, my own research attends to the lived experiences of participants, their perspectives and their social relationships/interactions, as does that of Dawson et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While being aware of our different epistemological positions, I suggest that my article addresses a research gap in asexuality research (in particular, empirical feminist poststructural research on the dating practices of romantic asexuals) and also builds on consistencies in/across existing asexuality research on intimacy and relationships, rather than cross-disciplinary critique. My hope is that it encourages us to think more about the interdisciplinarity of approaches to asexuality (Przybylo, 2013: 193).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘My [asexuality] is playing hell with my dating life’: Romantic identified asexuals negotiate the dating game

Vares

2017

Sexualities

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While academic attention to asexuality has increased in recent years, there is still relatively little research into the relational lives of romantic identified asexuals, and less still on the gendered dimensions of these. This article aims to address these research gaps by examining the ways in which 13 self-identified romantic asexuals living in New Zealand experience and navigate dating practices/finding somebody. I employ a feminist poststructuralist approach to explore the ways in which the pervasiveness of hook up culture and gendered discourses of sexuality both constrain and enable possibilities for developing partnered relationships with non-asexuals.

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Afterword: some thoughts on asexuality as an interdisciplinary method

Cited by 17 publications

References 6 publications

‘“Asexual” Isn’t Who I Am’: The Politics of Asexuality

‘“Asexual” Isn’t Who I Am’: The Politics of Asexuality

Negotiating the Boundaries of Intimacy: The Personal Lives of Asexual People

‘My [asexuality] is playing hell with my dating life’: Romantic identified asexuals negotiate the dating game

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