BSW Registration Pending with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers
Asexuality
Affirming, Empowering, Consent-Based Care
Throughout our lives women receive a bombardment of information about sex, about who is having it and when! How we're supposed to look, feel, how to attract men and women. How to be sexual. For many women, particularly Neurodivergent women these ideas, images and societal dictates have very little to do with our lives. A large percentage of younger Autistic women identify as Asexual. Likely, many more older Autistic women are as well, but we simply don't have the language for it. If you've experienced a lack of desire, if you're more interested in the make up or the lighting in sexual scenes in movies, if you buy romance novels but skip the sex scenes you may be interested in exploring the concept of asexuality and how it might, or might not relate to you. I work with asexual and aromantic people to give them space to clarify their desires, rather than imposed ideas about sexual and romantic relationships.
Gray Sexual
And That's Okay!
Gray sexual folks experience attraction to other people, but experience it with less intensity. Some Gray sexual folks experience attraction rarely, and with less intensity as well. This attraction is not necessarily tied to deep feelings (like in demi sexuality).
Aromantic
Some of these folks do have sexual desire and relationships, but they are not interested in the romantic part of relationships. Others, are not interested in romance and do not experience sexual desire.
Demi Sexual
Demi Sexual people do have some sexual attraction. This sexual attraction develops after strong feelings are formed for a partner. So an attraction might be felt for a long term partner, but not to someone passing on the street, or a character in a movie or television. If you're reading this, and you think that all people experience attraction this way, gently, they do not. Part of my work with clients in this demographic is sorting out the sometimes complex feelings that can occur with this realization.
Questioning
It may be that you know something is different about the way you experience sexuality, but you don't have the language to understand how you feel. It may be that you know somewhere in your self that you are an asexual person, but you don't quite know what to do with that. When you're not quite sure where you are on the spectrum, you may be a person who is questioning. Questioning gives you space to sort out where you are on the sexual spectrum and what you are comfortable with.
