asexuality
Enable an agent to represent asexuality accurately, distinguish attraction from identity and behaviour, and choose respectful actions without assigning an orientation to someone.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 17 findings · 27 questions
Definitions and spectrum boundaries Represent how asexuality is defined and how each definition handles neighbouring spectrum terms.
Attributed definitions
Separate definitions by source and intended use.
Definition inclusion rule
Record whether a source defines asexuality through attraction, identity, or a combination, including its qualifiers.
- Does this definition require absent sexual attraction, include little attraction, or use another criterion? definition
- Who uses this definition, in which source, and for what community or research purpose? provenance
Umbrella and neighbouring terms
Track relationships among narrow asexuality, spectrum usage, grey-asexuality, and demisexuality.
Spectrum membership boundary
Represent inclusion relationships as attributed usage rather than a universally fixed taxonomy.
- Does this source use asexuality as a specific orientation or as an umbrella that includes grey-asexuality and demisexuality? boundary
- How does the source distinguish rare attraction from attraction conditional on an emotional bond? definition
Attraction and associated experiences Distinguish sexual attraction from experiences and behaviours that may otherwise be used as proxies.
Sexual experience dimensions
Keep attraction, libido, arousal, and behaviour independently describable.
Attraction proxy check
Determine which experience a statement actually reports before using it in an asexuality classification.
- Is the report about attraction toward someone, general sexual desire, physiological arousal, or sexual behaviour? measurement
- Would the proposed classification change solely because the person has sex, masturbates, or abstains, and what definition justifies that change? boundary
Romance and sex attitudes
Represent romantic experience and attitudes toward sexual participation without deriving them from orientation.
Independent preferences
Preserve optional descriptions of romance, intimacy, and sex-related preferences as separate from the asexual label.
- Has the person independently described romantic attraction or desired forms of intimacy? measurement
- Does an expressed attitude concern personal sexual participation, a particular situation, or general views about other people's sexual activity? boundary
Identity and personal history Represent self-identification, uncertainty, and changes in descriptions without imposing a developmental narrative.
Self-description authority
Identify who supplied an orientation label and what the person intends it to mean.
Chosen versus assigned label
Keep voluntary identity statements distinct from observer assignments and research classifications.
- Is asexual the person's chosen description, a research classification, or someone else's attribution? provenance
- If the person uses no label or is questioning, how can the agent preserve that position without assigning one? action
Time and reinterpretation
Distinguish changes in attraction, terminology, understanding, and willingness to disclose.
Dated personal account
Attach time and context to accounts without assuming that different accounts invalidate each other.
- Does a reported change concern attraction, the chosen label, understanding of past experience, or disclosure? measurement
- Which description does the person want used now, and is retaining earlier descriptions necessary and permitted? action
Research and operationalisation Represent how studies turn asexuality into inclusion criteria and interpret resulting evidence.
Classification procedure
Capture the actual items and rules used to include participants.
Operational definition
Record wording, response choices, timeframe, and any instrument threshold separately from identity.
- What exact questions and decision rules classify a participant as asexual or asexual-spectrum? measurement
- What evidence supports interpreting this instrument in the language and population studied? provenance
Sampling and comparability
Assess what study recruitment and definition choices allow a result to describe.
Population claim limits
Tie prevalence estimates and group comparisons to recruitment, eligibility, and uncertainty.
- Were participants recruited through asexual communities, a general population sample, or another route, and who could be missed? provenance
- Do the compared studies include the same attraction patterns and identity groups over comparable timeframes? boundary
Recognition, consent, and support Guide respectful action where asexuality is relevant to disclosure, relationships, or requests for help.
Disclosure and interpersonal boundaries
Connect sensitive information handling and interpersonal actions to explicit preferences.
Permission and consent
Record disclosure limits and obtain situation-specific consent independently of orientation.
- For what purpose and audience has the person permitted their asexual identity information to be used? action
- What explicit preferences or consent apply to the proposed interaction, independently of the person's orientation? action
Support and clinical boundaries
Distinguish identity recognition from separately reported distress, unwanted changes, and requests for clinical help.
Person-defined support need
Identify the actual request for help without inferring pathology or a need to change orientation.
- Is the person seeking identity information, help with stigma or relationship pressure, or assessment of a separately reported concern? boundary
- What assistance does the person request, and which concerns require a separate model or qualified professional? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of asexuality this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of asexuality this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of asexuality this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of asexuality this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of asexuality this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of asexuality this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of asexuality this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Activities and processes
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- ACT
- Domain
- ACT.ACT
- Other names and narrower kinds
- non-binary asexual, aroace, apothisexuality, aegosexuality, strict asexuality, gray asexuality, averse asexual, fraysexuality, greyromantic
What it is Filled
Asexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by little or no sexual attraction to others, also used as an identity and an umbrella term for related experiences of limited or conditional sexual attraction.
In scope
- Definitions centred on absent, low, rare, or conditional sexual attraction and the boundaries between them
- Relationships between asexuality, asexual-spectrum terminology, and personal identity
- Distinctions among sexual attraction, romantic attraction, libido, arousal, behaviour, and attitudes toward sex
- Operational definitions used to identify asexuality in research
- Consent, disclosure, recognition, and support relevant to asexual people
Out of scope
- Asexual reproduction and reproductive biology
- Sexual-orientation classification beyond its relationship to asexuality
- Aromanticism as an independently modelled orientation
- Diagnosis and treatment of sexual-function concerns
- Celibacy, abstinence, and relationship arrangements as independent practices
- General sexuality education and relationship counselling
Why it exists Filled
Enable an agent to represent asexuality accurately, distinguish attraction from identity and behaviour, and choose respectful actions without assigning an orientation to someone.
Distinguishing features Filled
- A description concerns sexual attraction or an explicitly stated asexual identity; absence of sexual activity alone does not establish asexuality.
- Celibacy describes a practice or commitment, whereas asexuality concerns orientation or identity; record them separately even when they coexist.
- A claim about libido or physiological arousal does not by itself answer whether someone experiences sexual attraction.
- A claim about romantic attraction does not determine asexuality; romantic and sexual self-descriptions require separate records.
- Distinguish asexuality used narrowly from asexuality used as a spectrum umbrella, and preserve the speaker's intended meaning.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Treat asexuality as an illness, disorder or phase to be cured.
- Attribute an orientation to a named person without their statement.
- Disclose a person's orientation without consent.
- Mock asexual people or deny their experience.
Only with a human decision
- Any discussion of a person's orientation in a clinical setting.
May
- Explain asexuality as a sexual orientation, citing community and research sources.
- Point users to supportive community resources.
Moral aspects Filled
- Asexual people face disbelief, pressure and conversion attempts.
- Orientation is private and sensitive personal data.
Who is affected
- Asexual people
- Partners and families
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody: an orientation; each person defines their own identity.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q3043188 - registry parent class
- Q339014 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.asexuality
- Wikidata: Q724351 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q724351)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Definition and attribution: Definition text linked to its author, community, publication, date, and intended context
- Scope of terminology: Narrow asexuality; asexual-spectrum umbrella; another explicitly defined usage; unspecified
- Voluntary identity description: Person's own wording, optionally dated; questioning; no label; not disclosed
- Reported sexual attraction pattern: Absent; low; rare; conditional; another self-described pattern; uncertain; not disclosed, with timeframe
- Romantic self-description: Optional self-described romantic orientation or experience, recorded independently of sexual orientation
- Attitude toward personal sexual participation: Person's own description, with context and date; variable; uncertain; not disclosed
- Research classification method: Self-identification; attraction question; instrument-based classification; combined rule; other documented method
- Disclosure permission: Not provided; permitted for a specified purpose and audience; withdrawn
Plane ACT: no invented physical properties.
Recognition not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Asexuality is an internal pattern of attraction or a self-described identity and cannot be determined visually.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Compare definitions while retaining their sources, intended populations, and inclusion boundaries.
- Record a person's chosen terminology without requiring intimate details or inferring an identity.
- Identify when a claim confuses attraction with behaviour, libido, arousal, or romantic orientation.
- Evaluate whether research estimates use sufficiently comparable definitions and recruitment methods.
- Offer requested terminology explanations or support resources while respecting disclosure preferences.
- Ask about specific consent and relationship preferences when relevant instead of deriving them from orientation.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Treating asexuality itself as an illness can stigmatize people and encourage unwanted attempts to change their orientation.
- Assuming sexual behaviour or relationship status establishes orientation can misidentify people and undermine their autonomy.
- Disclosing someone's orientation without consent can expose them to harassment, discrimination or relationship conflict.
- Dismissing a person's boundaries because of their orientation can contribute to coercion and distress.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, provides general protections for privacy and equality relevant to the treatment of asexual people.
Context of use required Filled
- Asexuality is discussed in personal identity, relationships, sexuality education and research on patterns of sexual attraction.
- The concept helps distinguish sexual attraction from romantic attraction, sexual behaviour, libido and choices about relationships.
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q724351: asexuality - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Asexuality - general description of the item
Open questions
- How do community, reference, and research sources differ in their use of absent versus little sexual attraction, and which disagreements remain unresolved?
- How consistently do sources and self-identifying people include grey-asexuality and demisexuality within the term asexuality itself?
- Which measures distinguish sexual attraction from libido and behaviour across languages and cultural contexts, and where is validation insufficient?
- How much do recruitment methods and inclusion rules account for differences among published prevalence estimates?
- What longitudinal evidence distinguishes changes in attraction from changes in labels, self-understanding, and disclosure?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q724351/spec.json