Contradictions in Experiences of Compulsory Sexuality and Pathways to Asexual Citizenship
Document Type
Article
Keywords
asexuality; citizenship; discourse; qualitative research; culture; social institutions
Identifier Data
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-023-10110-1
Publisher
Springer Nature
Rights Management
CC - BY - NC - ND
Abstract
Compulsory sexuality refers to the ways that social institutions both assume and privilege sexualities while marginalizing asexuality—the relative lack of sexual attraction. However, experiences of compulsory sexuality are not uniform. This paper documents how the institutions of compulsory sexuality can variously impede or facilitate the development of asexual citizenship, sometimes simultaneously. Data come from exploratory, semi-structured interviews with young adults who identify as asexual in the central U.S. Informants talk about their experiences with intimate relationships, religion, media, and LGBTQIA + groups in contradictory ways: each institution figures into discourses of both citizenship and alienation. We argue that there are multiple pathways to sexual citizenship for aces, which depend not only on how compulsory sexuality intersects with other structures, like race and gender, but also according to one’s experiences with the institutions of compulsory sexuality.
