Examining the representation of asexuality in select examples of visual culture

Abstract

This study explores the sexual orientation known as asexuality. Asexuality is defined as an identity that encompasses the little or lack of sexual attraction that some individuals experience. Asexuality is not understood to be a disorder, but is contextualised as an identifier that falls under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella. Asexuality remains a marginalised sexual orientation: one that is often stereotyped, pathologised and stigmatised. The purpose of this study is critically to analyse the representation of asexuality in visual culture, such as in television characters and on social media platforms. This study offers a sex-critical (Downing 2013b) reading of asexuality. By means of a sex critical reading, the representations of asexuality are critiqued and analysed using queer theory and asexual theory. In this study I investigate a sample of television series, namely Shortland Street (Hollings, De Nave & Daniel 1992-), Faking It (Goodman & Wolov 2014-2016), The March Family Letters (Shelson 2014-2015), Sex Education (Nunn 2019-), Euphoria (Levinson 2019-) and BoJack Horseman (Bob-Waksberg 2014-2020). The television representations of asexuality are semiotically analysed by looking at both the visual characterisation and storylines of these characters. Further, these television representations are examined according to asexual theory to critique heteronormative perceptions of asexuality. In addition, this study examines alternative depictions of asexuality that differ from stereotyped representations. The analyses of these television characters provide insight into how asexuality is presented in contemporary media. Through the exploration of asexuality’s heterogeneity, this study disallows a fixed one-dimensional characterisation of asexuality. I maintain that through a large assortment of representations of asexuality, an increased visibility of asexuality on the small screen allows for the understanding and acceptance of asexuality as a unique sexual orientation. In this study I also conduct a comprehensive examination of user-generated representations of asexuality that are found on social media platforms. This study investigates visual representations of asexuality found on Twitter and Instagram, namely Yasmin Benoit (@theyasminbenoit on Twitter and Instagram) Venus Envy (on Twitter @VenusEnvyDrag and @venusenvydrag on Instagram), Michelle Lin (on @LGBT’s Instagram page) and Asexual Looks (@thisiswhatasexuallookslike on Instagram). By allowing users to form communities, visualise their asexual experience and create digital representations of asexuality, social media platforms offer asexual individuals the unique opportunity to curate their online representations iii according to their self-identified asexual identities. In addition, this study identifies and examines three recurrent tropes that are reiterated through the online self-representations of asexuality. I argue that these self-representations of asexuality, allow for a more diverse archive of representations of asexuality. Through social media platforms, asexual individuals are able to empower themselves through the establishment of their own personalised representations of asexuality. This enables individuals to find supportive communities, all the while validating their own asexual identities. These user-generated representations explore asexuality’s heterogeneity and seek to give insight into how the public, the asexual community as well as the LGBTQIA+ community perceive asexuality. Thus, these online representations of asexuality establish asexuality as a valid sexual orientation, one that exists amongst heterosexual and LGBTQIA+ orientations.