20-26 October 2024 is Ace Week - an annual campaign to raise awareness of, and build community within, the asexual community.
Ever wondered what the ’A’ in LGBTQIA+ stands for? A is Asexuality; an asexual person experiences little to no sexual attraction and is not drawn to people sexually or romantically, with no desire to act upon attraction to others in a sexual way. ’Ace’ is a wider term encompassing people who experience little, fluctuating or no sexual attraction. Asexuality differs from celibacy in that it is an intrinsic part of who someone is, rather than a choice.
Although asexuality is recognised and discussed more widely than it used to be, it is still acknowledged very rarely despite a significant proportion of people - perhaps as many as 1% - identifying as asexual. Asexual people are rarely discussed or represented in the media, and there is a great deal of stigma and many misconceptions about asexuality. Ace people generally report lower life satisfaction than other LGBTQIA+ groups, and said that they felt less comfortable, and less inclined to come out or disclose their sexuality, either at home or at work - in large part due to societal misunderstandings and misconceptions (source: Stonewall Ace in the UK report, 2023).
In this spotlight feature in UCL’s Portico magazine , Ace activist and model (and UCL alumna) Yasmin Benoit points out "As with many other sexualities and gender identities, asexuality has long been considered unnatural - as something wrong with you that needs to be fixed. It’s often treated as a side effect of a medical condition, or as a negative choice a person makes. And it’s not covered by the UK Equality Act 2010."
Ace week is about addressing and correcting those misconceptions, and raising awareness of ace people’s experiences. Happy Ace week!
The Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) and Stonewall x Yasmin Benoit Ace Project website both have a wealth of information, FAQs and resources for those wanting to find out more
This 2021 Ace Week blog from UCL’s EDI team goes further into some of the misconceptions surrounding asexual people and offers some great tips for allyship
A conversation between two UCL alumni: asexual activist and model Yasmin Benoit talks to Steph McGovern about what being ace is like
- University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT (0) 20 7679 2000
