Asexual Community

‘Asexual’ is a term used to describe individuals who experience little to no sexual attraction to other people. The scientific community acknowledges that asexuality is not a sexual or mental disorder, but rather is a variation in human sexuality (1). However, the asexual community still has a variety of unique physical and mental health needs - asexuality is often pathologized and therefore asexuals may face misdiagnoses/improper treatment in physical healthcare or have key parts of their identity ignored in therapy and mental healthcare. Previous research has also indicated that asexual individuals experience higher prevalence of depression, anxiety, suicidality, and interpersonal problems compared to their heterosexual counterparts (2). As such, our team is beginning deeper collaborations with asexual communities to develop more research in this area.