Department of Psychology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, N9B 3P4, Canada.
Arch Sex Behav. 2011 Aug;40(4):713-23. doi: 10.1007/s10508-011-9757-x. Epub 2011 May 4.
Academic interest in asexual people is new and researchers are beginning to discuss how to proceed methodologically and conceptually with the study of asexuality. This article explores several of the theoretical issues related to the study of asexuality. Researchers have tended to treat asexuality either as a distinct sexual orientation or as a lack of sexual orientation. Difficulties arise when asexual participants are inconsistent in their self-identification as asexual. Distinguishing between sexual and romantic attraction resolves this confusion, while simultaneously calling into question conceptualizations of the asexual population as a single homogenous group. Arguments are considered in favor of exploring diversity within the asexual population, particularly with respect to gender and romantic orientation, proposing that the categorical constructs employed in (a)sexuality research be replaced with continuous ones. Furthermore, given the recently noted bias toward including only self-identified asexuals, as opposed to non-self-identified asexuals or "potential-asexuals," in research about asexuality, the nature and meaning of asexual self-identification are discussed. Particular attention is paid to the theoretical importance of acknowledging asexual self-identification or lack thereof in future research into asexuality. This article discusses what these current theoretical issues mean for the study of asexuality and sexuality more generally, including a brief consideration of ethical implications for research with asexual participants. Finally, directions for future research are suggested.
学术界对无性人的兴趣是新的，研究人员开始讨论如何在研究无性人时在方法论和概念上进行。本文探讨了与无性人研究相关的几个理论问题。研究人员倾向于将无性人视为一种独特的性取向，或缺乏性取向。当无性参与者在自我认同为无性人时不一致时，就会出现困难。区分性吸引力和浪漫吸引力可以解决这种困惑，同时也对将无性人群体概念化为单一同质群体提出了质疑。本文考虑了赞成在无性人群体中探索多样性的论点，特别是在性别和浪漫取向方面，提出在（a）性研究中使用的类别构建应替换为连续构建。此外，鉴于最近有人指出，在研究无性人时，只包括自我认同的无性人，而不包括非自我认同的无性人或“潜在无性人”存在偏见，因此本文讨论了无性自我认同的性质和意义。特别关注在未来的无性人研究中承认无性自我认同或缺乏无性自我认同的理论重要性。本文讨论了这些当前的理论问题对无性人和更广泛的性研究意味着什么，包括对与无性参与者进行研究的伦理影响的简要考虑。最后，提出了未来研究的方向。
