By Amelia Scarponi ’23
Staff Writer
Erasure and underrepresentation in mainstream media are nothing new to the asexual and aromantic communities. Asexuality is a spectrum encompassing those who never or rarely experience sexual attraction or interest in sexual activity. Aromanticism is an orientation in which a person does not experience romantic attraction. While the publishing industry continues to seek out underrepresented and diverse voices, asexual identities remain nearly invisible in mainstream popular culture.
In the 21st century, sex and romance are often synonymous or used interchangeably. Movies, television and especially books rely heavily on the friends-to-lovers trope and the satisfaction of sexual encounters, often while dismissing platonic relationships.
In Suzanne Collins’ trilogy “The Hunger Games,” there are hints that Katniss Everdeen’s identity falls within the asexual spectrum. Katniss is a strategist focused on self-preservation. The stress that arises from impending death would make anyone close themselves off from romantic relationships. However, this heroine might simply not be interested in sex or romance. According to Victoria McNally from MTV News, “Since the books first became popular, many members of the asexual and demisexual communities have embraced Katniss as a relatable hero for them to rally behind.”
Despite Katniss’ fan-theorized asexuality, the epilogue is puzzling. It candidly shows a married Katniss discussing the Hunger Games with her husband Peeta and their daughter. How is it possible to marry and have children without romantic or sexual attraction? According to Kayla Gehringer from the feminist geek-culture publication The Mary Sue, “In the overwhelming majority of instances, marriage and having children are presumed to require romantic and sexual attraction, which creates a sterile version of ‘normal’ and brands the opposite (platonic relationships) as abnormal.”
When ace characters are represented in fiction, they are often written by individuals who experience both sexual and romantic attraction. This leads to inaccurate and disparaging portrayals of people who are already marginalized and erased from society. There are many tropes and assumptions that non-ace authors base their characters on. For example, asexuality is often seen as a temporary problem that is only experienced by white, attractive, cisgender women. The 2012 film “The Olivia Experiment,” directed by Sonja Schenk, focuses on a 27-year-old woman whose friends try to convince her that she is not asexual; she’s just shy.
Lauren Jankowski, a writer at Bitch Media, states, “Not welcoming asexuals to participate in shaping the portrayals of asexuality in mainstream media has resulted in grossly inaccurate and damaging depictions of this orientation. Most allosexual people [people who experience any kind of sexual attraction] can name a fictional character who can be interpreted as asexual, but very few can name a single real-life asexual writer, director, actor or other artist.”
Rebecca Glines ’22, who is asexual, isn't surprised about this lack of concrete representation. “There's a lot of shame rooted in not feeling sexual desire. It sometimes feels like we don’t exist,” she said.
However, more recently, asexual and aromantic writers have begun to enter center stage. In July of 2020, critically acclaimed author Alice Oseman released her fourth OwnVoices novel, “Loveless.” The book tells the story of Georgia Warr, who is 18 years old and romance-obsessed. However, she's never had a crush, so when she travels across the country to start her first year of college, she makes a plan to fall in love and finally experience quintessential teenage romance. But as things fall apart, Georgia starts to question whether she might be on the aromantic and asexual spectrums, and what that means for her. Oseman states, “If anyone happens to pick up the book and feel seen, for the first time or not, then I'll feel like I've done a good job.”