Asexual Visibility and Education Network
Type of site
Advocacy group
Virtual community
Available in16 languages
FoundedMarch 10, 2001
Founder(s)David Jay
URLasexuality.org

The Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) was founded in 2001 by David Jay. Self-described as the "world's largest asexual community", it had grown to over 50,000 members by 2012.[1][2]

Purpose

When first starting the website, AVEN's main goals were to give the community space to grow and raise awareness for asexuality in public. AVEN serves simultaneously as an informational platform, a space for fostering community, and as a forum for facilitating discussion.[2][3]

Impact

Improving academic understanding of asexuality

A study performed by Kristin S. Scherrer on asexual identity was published in 2008 that focused on analyzing survey responses from 102 individuals that identified themselves as asexual.[3] This study brought asexual perspectives into academic research at a time when there was relatively little academic literature available on the topic of asexuality, and even less that approached it as an identity rather than simply a behavior or desire. The participants for this study were found and recruited through AVEN's website. As a result, AVEN not only contributed to the potential of this study to even be performed, but also served to inform the responses given by participants. For example, when asked to describe what an asexual identity meant to them, 44% of respondents closely echoed the definition of asexuality as found on AVEN's website.[2] One respondent even referred directly to AVEN in response to this question.[3] Scherrer's study has been cited by many studies since, indicating the study and AVEN's contributions to it have had further impact on academic research.[4]

Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) and the DSM-5

AVEN is responsible for the creation of the AVEN DSM Task Force. As the American Psychiatric Association began efforts to make revisions that would become the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), this task force sought to petition for changes regarding sexual desire disorders.[5]

Activities

One of the central parts of AVEN is the community forum.[2] In this forum, users post about their experiences surrounding asexuality and the space is open to queer-friendly interactions without any sort of judgement.[6][7] In an interview with Femestella, Jay highlighted the importance of such open spaces for people who are unsure of their sexuality and having support to understand themselves better.[8] The forums exist in many languages such as French and Russian.[9]

Publication

AVEN publishes a newsletter called AVENues every four months. It collects content from the community and includes fiction, poetry, articles and also publishes discussion pieces from the forum.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Among the asexuals". the Guardian. 2012-02-26. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "About AVEN | The Asexual Visibility and Education Network | asexuality.org". www.asexuality.org. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  3. 1 2 3 Scherrer, Kristin S. (October 2008). "Coming to an Asexual Identity: Negotiating Identity, Negotiating Desire". Sexualities. 11 (5): 621–641. doi:10.1177/1363460708094269. PMC 2893352. PMID 20593009.
  4. ↑ Scherrer, Kristin S. (October 2008). "Coming to an Asexual Identity: Negotiating Identity, Negotiating Desire". Sexualities. 11 (5): 621–641. doi:10.1177/1363460708094269. PMC 2893352. PMID 20593009.
  5. ↑ Brown, Natalie B.; Peragine, Diana; VanderLaan, Doug P.; Kingstone, Alan; Brotto, Lori A. (12 May 2021). "Cognitive processing of sexual cues in asexual individuals and heterosexual women with desire/arousal difficulties". PLOS ONE. 16 (5): e0251074. Bibcode:2021PLoSO..1651074B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0251074. PMC 8115827. PMID 33979379.
  6. ↑ "AVEN's mission and values". Asexual Visibility and Education Network. 7 August 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  7. ↑ "Types of Sexuality And Their Definitions - Which One Is Yours?". spectrum-id.com. Retrieved 2023-10-21.
  8. ↑ Finkel, Lena (2020-02-13). "Let's Talk Asexuality: Every Question You Ever Had About Asexuality Answered". Femestella. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  9. ↑ "Links | The Asexual Visibility and Education Network | asexuality.org". www.asexuality.org. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
  10. ↑ "AVENues | The Asexual Visibility and Education Network | asexuality.org". www.asexuality.org. Retrieved 2022-08-09.
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