DAVID JAY
A COMMUNITY IS BORN
as an organization that works to
raise public awareness of asexuality, AVEN has been a crucial resource and online gathering place
for the asexual community.
“We know that asexual people
have been looking for each other
for a long time, but it wasn’t until
the Internet that we found each
other,” Jay said.
For many, the asexual coming-ofage narrative is a shared one with
common themes, one that begins
with isolation and leads to the unexpected discovery of an identity
HUFFINGTON
08.25.13
and a much-needed community.
We spoke with numerous asexuals (or “aces,” as they colloquially
refer to themselves) who said they
felt confusion and frustration in
their early teen years, when their
friends, as one asexual put it, began to go “gaga over sex.” Some
said this confusion was coupled
with shame and self-doubt. Almost
none had ever heard of asexuality
before their late teens, and almost
all remember asking themselves
whether something was fundamentally wrong with them.
Eric P., a 22-year-old line cook
who lives in Florida, compared his
discovery of the asexual commu-
Members
of AVEN
march at San
Francisco
Pride 2013.