"The Asexual Manifesto" and basic information about the asexual spectrum [Something Interesting #81] [Pride Month #4]

Going through my copy of The LGBTQ+ History Book, I was surprised to find that asexuality was a known and labelled identity as far back as the 1970s (I always thought it was more recent, like mid-2010s Tumblr era recent). The entry described a document known as "The Asexual Manifesto," written by Lisa Orlando, and it's a quick read but also very straight-to-the-point, defining asexuality not as anti-sex or celibacy but just saying "um, not really interested" when it comes to sexual desire.

Based on my reading, she seemed to be more focused on de-centering the heavy emphasis on sex from feminist conversation, but apparently, there's some controversy about what this means for the current asexual community (this Reddit thread gives a sense of how some ace folks view it as a problematic artifact). It's worth a read if you might be on the spectrum (I'm not ace myself, but certainly lean towards demi) or as a unique historical document if you're in the larger queer community.

Since asexuality is also kind of unexplored territory for a lot of people, I've also included some more resources to give better context.

https://youtu.be/U4AtPdjnc4g?si=1OzvuHNB9sEbX-nn

https://youtu.be/arn9njF5WgA?si=2st-8uC8ld4l7Csu