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Asexualities: Socio-Cultural Perspectives

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Handbook of the Sociology of Sexualities

Part of the book series: Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research ((HSSR))

Abstract

We explore the multi-layered concept of asexuality. After giving a brief history of the use of the term asexual, we explain and debunk some of the myths associated with the term, while offering a brief summary of some current literature. We clarify how asexual differs from celibacy and illuminate the particulars of asexuality compared to several Diagnostic and Statistical Manual diagnoses. By situating asexuality within a historical and current socio-cultural context, we examine the gap between self-identified asexuals’ experiences and cultural misunderstandings of asexualities. After briefly addressing diversity within the asexual community, we argue for several avenues of future research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Sofia University, Palo Alto, CA, 94303, USA

    Carol Haefner

  2. Department of Sociology, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA

    Rebecca F. Plante

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  1. Carol Haefner
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  2. Rebecca F. Plante
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Correspondence to Carol Haefner .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    John DeLamater

  2. Department of Sociology, Ithaca College, Ithaca, New York, USA

    Rebecca F. Plante

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Haefner, C., Plante, R. (2015). Asexualities: Socio-Cultural Perspectives. In: DeLamater, J., Plante, R. (eds) Handbook of the Sociology of Sexualities. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17341-2_16

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