‘Can I be a kinky ace?’: How asexual people negotiate their experiences of kinks and fetishes

Winter-Gray, Thom; Hayfield, Nikki

Abstract

Prior research has found that asexual people may fantasise or participate in activities typically conceptualised as ‘sexual’. These behaviours may be considered paradoxical when an asexual person is conceptualised as someone who does not experience sexual attraction or desire. This research aimed to explore how kinks and fetishes are conceptualised, experienced, and negotiated by asexual individuals. Forty-eight participants were recruited to take part in an online qualitative survey. Thematic analysis resulted in three themes. In “Am I asexual?”: (How) can you be a kinky ace?, we discuss the sense of dissonance which some participants reported in negotiating what was seemingly the paradox between their self-identity as asexual and their exploration of kinks and fetishes. In the second theme, Between me and me’ and make believe: Kinks and fetishes as solo and imaginary, we report on how kinks, fetishes, and fantasies were often understood in a solitary context and as either undesirable – or impossible – to live out. In the final theme, Kink as a sensual enhancement in relationships, we highlight how participants positioned kinks and fetishes as an agent for intimacy. These findings expand our knowledge of how asexual people negotiate kinks and fetishes and capture the complexities of asexual identities.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 9, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Oct 22, 2019
• Publication Date: Aug 1, 2021
• Deposit Date: Oct 9, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 23, 2020
• Journal: Psychology and Sexuality
• Print ISSN: 1941-9899
• Electronic ISSN: 1941-9902
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 163-179
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2019.1679866
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/3608079