LEA VITTORIA UVA
W
HY AM I ASEXUAL? I was born this way,” said Mark
McClemont from his office in Reading, England.
“It’s not a phase I’m growing
out of, and it’s not a choice,”
the 49-year-old continued, his
voice pinched with agitation.
“For people who say we choose
to be asexual, why would anyone
choose to do that? Why wouldn’t
you choose to be bisexual? Then
you get the best of both worlds. It
doesn’t work that way.”
As asexuals (or “aces”) like
McClemont begin to stake a
claim for a more visible place
in society, the question of why
asexuals are asexual is starting
to form on people’s lips. There
have yet to be any definitive answers, but there hasn’t been a
shortage of theories posited by
researchers, medical professionals and aces themselves.
Sexologist and professor Anthony Bogaert, considered by many
to be the father of asexuality research, says that current data
point to “some intriguing clues
that there may be a biological disposition that pushes [aces] to an
asexual orientation.”
However, he admits “it’s still
very much an open question.”
When we posted a message on
an asexuality subreddit and asked
self-identified aces to explain the
reasons behind their asexuality,
some agreed there may be a biological explanation, but most offered more nebulous responses.
“I’m asexual for the same reason
that straight people are straight,”
one Reddit user wrote in reply.
Other asexuals said that perhaps a sex “switch” wasn’t clicked
on in their brain, while some argued that their asexuality is just
another part of an already complicated spectrum.
Although most aces insist that
asexuality is merely an aspect of
their identity, the conversation
about why asexuals are asexual
“It’s not a
phase I’m
growing out
of, and
it’s not a
choice,” says
49-year-old
asexual Mark
McClemont
(center).