The world celebrated International Asexuality Day on Sunday. Against this backdrop, a new study out of King’s College London is raising eyebrows across the LGBTQ community, especially among asexual people. The study, backed by asexual activist and model Yasmin Benoit, found that nearly a third of respondents believe asexuality can be cured through therapy—a finding Benoit says, while disturbing, didn’t surprise her. She told LGBTQ Nation, “I know that people will just come out and say all kinds of things about asexuality. They have no gauge of what is a bad thing to say about asexual people or what is acephobic.”
The study used a double-list experiment to minimize bias in responses—an approach rarely seen in asexuality research. Results revealed not just misunderstanding, but active discrimination: 27% said asexuals just haven’t met the right person, and 30% said legislation shouldn’t protect them. Benoit, the first asexual grand marshal of NYC Pride in 2023, added, “We don’t even have hate crime law protection.” She believes this lack of understanding is rooted in poor societal education and a dismissive queer and mainstream media – “We’re still stuck on Asexuality 101.”
With rising right-wing sentiments across the globe, Benoit warns: “Just because things start targeting one group doesn’t mean that they’re not going to do the same things to other people. We see how the trans community gets weaponized, and now you’re seeing that they’re increasingly coming for the gay community as well. It’s just going to keep going on and on. I guess it’s that saying “There needs to be equality for everybody, or there isn’t equality for anybody.”
