1. Out of the Shadow and Into the Light: New Data Comparing Asexual and Sexual Undergraduates
- Author
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Scott Hall, David Knox, and I. Joyce Chang
- Abstract
Drawing from a large dataset of over 13,000 college students, this research compared 75 self-identified asexual individuals with heterosexual, bisexual, and gay/lesbian undergraduates. The results revealed that asexual individuals were less likely to have engaged in sexual behaviors (oral sex, anal sex, friends with benefits, sexual intercourse, hooking up) than heterosexual, bisexual, and gay or lesbian individuals. Asexual and heterosexual individuals were similar in endorsing absolutist sexual values, having a lower willingness to cohabit, and reporting less likelihood of having masturbated. Asexual individuals were similar to other sexual minorities in being less religious and having more positive attitudes toward LGB issues. A multinomial logistic regression analysis using all the variables with significant differences at the bivariate level revealed similar findings, though asexual individuals differed most dramatically in their lower levels of sexual experience when compared to gay/lesbian individuals. Future researchers are encouraged to consider reframing asexuality as more sex positive so as to recognize diversity and empower asexual individuals.
- Published
- 2021
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