Vol. 1, Issue 4: Asexuality and Race
The Asexual Vol. 1, Issue 4
Lead Editor: Michael Paramo
Layout Editor: Michael Paramo
Contributors: Sydney Khoo, Julie Mejia, Deepa Prasad, Bella, Nemo Siqueiros, Michael Paramo, Kamy Martinez, Lauren Barbour, Elyse Jones, and Alina Osborn, Victoria Kee, Mandy, Ashley Kleczka, and Dr. Pragati Singh.
Cover Artwork: Photograph by Michael Paramo (@mxparamo.art)
Article Artwork: “Rose Garden” by Julie Mejia, Photograph by Bella, “Hiding Behind the Rainbow” by Nemo Siqueiros, “La Virgen” by Julie Mejia, “IDGAF” web series promotional photograph provided by Victoria Kee, “el ace” by Julie Mejia, and 8 photographs by Michael Paramo.
Date of Publication: February 1st, 2018
On Asexuality and Race
When an examination on the intersections of asexuality and race was announced as the upcoming theme of The Asexual, a minor, yet adverse, reaction to the direction of the issue ensued. One of the central purposes of this journal has always been to exist as a space that amplifies the voices of those who are the most marginalized and invisibilized within the ace community and beyond. In congruence with this objective, a message on the significance of prioritizing the voices of ace people of color and decentering the whiteness of ace spaces was explicitly asserted upon this issue’s announcement. This prompted a minority of responses questioning whether this was a valid stance, amidst a larger reaction of support.
The Asexual maintains the priority of centering ace narratives, perspectives, and activism universally, but especially those voices that so often go unheard. Regarding asexuality and race, as well as ethnicity, a recent community census conducted by the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) concluded that an overwhelming majority of ace people identify as both white and non-Latinx. While this data, garnered through an online survey of thousands of ace people, does not provide a comprehensive perspective on the issue, it indicates the connections between whiteness and asexuality. Although there are numerous reasons why this may be the case, none of any validity should assert that there is simply a lack of ace people of color.
Overall, this issue broadly undertakes an examination of the many intersections of asexuality and race. It has adopted a diversified approach to addressing this theme, incorporating a range of writing and art, from personal narratives by ace people of color, perspectives by professionals and academics in the field of asexual awareness and activism, to projects and platforms that challenge exclusionary and problematic representations in media. The forthcoming pieces in this issue may additionally explore and connect with related themes of asexuality and ethnicity as well as transnational asexualities. The Asexual hopes for this issue to function as a necessary collection that propels these unobserved themes forward.
