April 6 is International Asexuality Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness of the full asexual spectrum, which includes demisexual, greysexual, asexual and other ace-spectrum identities, and to making them more visible.
A day for defending the human rights of asexual individuals as people with a diversity of sexual orientations, and for denouncing the unequal treatment they suffer all over the world.
To mark the day, the Barcelona LGBTI Centre will be sharing resources and materials to help you gain a more in-depth understanding of this often overlooked group within the LGBTIQIA+ community.
Audiovisual resources.
We’ll be bringing back the round table discussion “Let’s talk about Asexuality” where Olivia Ávila, Clara Morató-Aragonés and Alba Leiva, who are members of the Catalan Asexuality Association, will dispel myths and prejudices.
You’ll be able to listen to the full discussion here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_uNdVndiTI&t=17s
Books.
At the Armand de Casal Lambda Documentation Centre you’ll find a range of books available for reference:
–La revolución (a)sexual. Celia Gutiérrez (Egales, 2022)
An introductory guide to better understand asexuality. Although asexuality is a sexual orientation like any other, it is rarely taken seriously. It’s surrounded by a gaping lack of knowledge: many people do not know what asexuality is, and there are widespread prejudices and misconceptions about it.
For this reason, Celia Gutiérrez has written this manual with the aim of providing information that is both accessible and useful, together with personal reflections that help to make it visible and encourage people to rethink certain questions related to sexuality – things that may seem obvious, but that perhaps are less so than we might think.
–The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality. Julie Sondra Decker (New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing, 2015). Next Generation Indie Book awards winner.
A key point of reference in the study of asexuality, it explains existing definitions, refutes the most frequent erroneous assumptions, and offers advice on how to come out of the closet and face the incomprehension of both heterosexual and LGBTI people. The author also explains her experience as a person and militant asexual.
–Understanding Asexuality. Anthony F. Bogaert. (Lanham, etc.: Rowan & Littlefield, 2015)
Anthony F. Bogaert has conducted numerous studies on asexuality, and is an expert in this field of research into affective-sexual orientations. The book defines what asexuality is and what it is not; whether there are biological factors, how it has been understood throughout history, and the prejudices asexual people face.
–Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives. Karli June Cerankowski and Megan Milks (eds.) (New York and London: Routledge, 2014)
This is the first compilation of scientific studies on asexuality. Still completely valid, the book offers an extensive review of the state of research on the lack of sexual attraction. It positions it within the framework of gender identities and sexualities, feminist and LGBTI policies, racism and ableism, and the mass media.
-Asexuality: A Brief Introduction
A small volume that brings together some of the posts from the AsexualityArchive.com, a community portal that provides information resources and a meeting place for the collective, and for people interested in the subject. It provides answers to the most frequently asked questions and dispels misunderstandings about asexuality.
Associations.
The Catalan Asexuality Association works to supportasexuality and people who are asexual, and to be able to identify all the forms of discrimination that they suffer from. The oganisation’s aim is also to defend the LGBTIQA+ community, collaborating with all identity diversities.