Uncertain Belonging: Asexuality and Queer Nightlife

Abstract

Despite being one of the “A”s in LGBTQIA+, asexuality has a tenuous and contested relationship with the broader queer community. Although asexuality’s violation of the assumption that everyone does/should experience sexual attraction situates asexuality at the margins of the heteronormative world, asexuality also exists at the margins of the queer world. This raises the question: how do asexual people experience queer nightlife? This topic is almost entirely unmapped in academia. In this study, I draw on 23 semi-structured interviews with asexual individuals to investigate asexual perspectives on queer nightlife. I find that my asexual respondents have various and complex perspectives on queer nightlife. These perspectives fell into three broad categories: 1) uncertain belonging, in which respondents said they feel neither explicitly welcome nor unwelcome in queer nightlife spaces, 2) abstaining from the party, in which respondents said queer nightlife simply is not the type of queer space asexual people need, and 3) expanding the party, in which respondents suggested additions to make queer nightlife more welcoming for asexual people. I consider what these asexual perspectives suggest about queer nightlife as a form of queer community and queer belonging.

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