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Asexual
Asexual
refers to the absence of sexual activity or a low level of sexual response.
Sexual union of male and female germ cells (such as the sperm and ova in humans)
is the means of reproduction that is standard among mammalian and many
non-mammalian species. However, many organisms reproduce through asexual means,
such as budding, spore formation, or fission. Organisms that produce through
these means are sexless.
Asexuality can also refer to a
lack of interest or involvement in sex in sexual species. The priesthood in a
number of religions, for example, requires abstinence or even monasticism among
its members. While individuals who participate in religious abstinence may have
normal sexual interest, they are required to take a vow of abstinence. Over
time, lack of involvement in sexual activity may lead to a considerable drop in
sexual interest. Vows of abstinence
may also be taken outside of the arena of organized religion, although these are
usually situational and time limited. Disinterest in sex also may be due to a
sexual dysfunction; that is, a psychological or organic condition that blocks
normal sexual behaviors and responses. Specifically, in the case of complete
disinterest in sex, the condition may be diagnosed as sexual desire disorder.
In sexual desire disorder the
individual has a persistent absence of sexual fantasies or desire for engaging
in sex. Further, the individual exhibits an intense aversion to either
heterosexual or homosexual genital sexual contact. Additionally, persistent
failure in sexual response may lead to the avoidance of sex or sexual
situations. This can occur at any point in life but tends to occur more
frequently among the elderly. These conditions can have an emotional origin, of
varying severities, or they may have an organic cause. Often they are treatable
through sex
therapy and/or biomedical intervention. Intensive desire disorders, however,
may reflect complicated psychological problems that are difficult to treat. In
addition, some individuals may be biologically incapable of sexual interest or
involvement in sexual activity and, although members of a sexual species, are
themselves asexual. This, however, is a rare condition and most forms of sexual
dysfunction respond to therapeutic intervention.
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Sex
