notes toward an asexual erotica
“it matters little how the pleasure is carried out or created, provided there is pleasure- mutual pleasure, associated or isolated pleasure, pleasure obtained without constraint or deception, pleasure submitted to the will of they who search for it, actualize it, refine it, even complicate it.” - Emile Armand, Revolutionary Sexualism
(in the wake of the microgenre discourse, it feels pertinent to note that these are crystallizations of my OWN theory and practice, not intended as a bible for others.)
asexual
adj., not experiencing sexual desire for any specific person or persons, not experiencing sexual desire at all, or experiencing a dearth of sexual desire compared to others (called “allosexuals”). sexual desire is distinct from physical arousal. asexuality is distinct from celibacy (not partaking in any sexual activity), sex-aversion (repulsed by the thought/mention of sex), aromanticism (not experiencing romantic desire/desirous of romance) or sexual dysfunction (not physically able to have sex), though an asexual person may also identify with these terms.
n., a person identifying as asexual, part of the Asexual community, a subset of the Queer/LGBTQIA+ community.
erotica
n., literature or art which forefronts the sexual and/or sensual. distinct from pornography (art whose main purpose is to evoke sexual desire and/or stimulate sexual fulfilment), though some art may be described by either or both terms.
asexual erotica
n., literature which explores the sexual and/or sensual from outside the lens of sexual desire. this may include sexual activity which does not intend to sexually stimulate the reader; sexual activity among non-human or from post-human perspectives; impossible or improbable sexual activity; sexual activity used as metaphor; sexual description or activity which reveals feelings of alienation from sex and/or the body; etc.
this et cetera is important; asexuality, as with all sexualities and identities, is infinite, i could never explore all its potentials
after Audre Lorde
erotic as power
refutation of the misconception that asexuals are incapable of erotic communion. the erotic as exchange, vulnerability, power, on asexual terms.
pornography as the opposite of the erotic
here meaning not a demonization of pornography, but an opportunity for distinction of purpose, an archetypal opposite. a continuum on which sex writing rides.
ace erotica may revel in the grotesquerie of pornography and/or the sensitivity of the erotic.
the “erotic is a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings”
using erotic themes and imagery to explore selfhood. describing singleness, aloneness, or individuals with lush erotic language; not depending upon objects of sexual desire or even observers to justify erotic self discovery. being erotic about and with oneself.
“[capitalism] robs our work of its erotic value”
asexuality as/in defiance of commodified sexuality and hypersexualized advertisement. asexuality as a framework for intentionally un-marketable sex writing, which then spills outward toward all queer sex writing: grayness as a medicine for rainbow capitalism.
“The dichotomy between the spiritual and the political is also false, resulting from an incomplete attention to our erotic knowledge. For the bridge which connects them is formed by the erotic - the sensual”
see 1.4. the dichotomy between asexual and allosexual is false, resulting from hypersexual colonial+capitalist norms. the forefronting of the sensual makes this apparent; neither desperate for orgasm or puritanically unsexual, simply exploring. finding the bridge between.
“the open and fearless underlining of my capacity for joy”
erotica as an exercise of joy. acknowledgment of the awkward, the humorous, the outrageous aspects of sex/sexuality. the awareness that vulnerability is cringe, yet embracing it all the same.
“in touch with the erotic, I become less willing to accept powerlessness”
see 1.6. erotic = exchange, and exchange = power. the integral maintenance of an Asexual community, to facilitate such exchange/power.
after Simone de Beauvoir, in Must we Burn Sade
“a repertory of man’s sexual possibilities”
a lens for cataloging sexual possibility; there is no gravity that pulls asexuals toward any particular sex act or pairing. all being equal, the full breadth can be appreciated/reviled.
destroying “the illusion of sovereign pleasure”
pleasure from any perspective- top/bottom, observer, non-human and human alike, sexual or non-sexual. questioning power structures in sexual/romantic/social relations. questioning pleasure itself, and/or equating pleasure with less so-called positive sensations and emotions.
“literature [enables us] to unleash and fix [our] dreams and also to transcend the contradictions implied by any demonic system.”
erotica, erotic journaling, fanfictioning, rambling, as a process by which asexuals may uniquely explore the question of sexuality. written exploration is fundamentally vital for those asexuals for whom physical exploration is out of the question. written exploration is fundamentally vital for those asexuals who lack community, or whose community is unsupportive. sexual exploration-as-art, art-as-sexual-exploration.
“a budding libertine, no doubt, needs violent emotions in order to feel the truth of his individual existence.”
there is rage in sexual freedom. there is rage in sexual repression, the constant bombardment of hypersexual imagery and enforcement of heteronormative desire. asexual erotica by necessity carries angst, whether subtle or overt. “you think you know me/you think you know sex better than me/i’ll show you.”
“the enactment of the erotic scene interest[s] … more than the actual experience.”
see 2.4. above erotic writing as purgation, as an act unto itself which does not presuppose physical stimulus or even have real relation to the acts it describes. erotica-as-fantasy. as some kinks open the gateway to impossibility (think: vore), so too does asexuality, wherein all sex acts may be equally impossible.
after Plato’s Phaedrus
“the non-lover is more his own master, and is desirous of solid good, and not of the opinion of mankind”
asexuality and/or aromanticism as an ethic. viewing character relationships and worldbuilding from the asexual lens in order to subvert allosexuality, and thereby imagine social paradigms less fettered by toxic hegemonies.
forefronting pleasure and friendship above romance
romance (in media) is often the extension of hypersexual advertisement. exploration of the erotic outside the conservative romantic framework. exploration of the erotic among friends, especially. exploration of friendship as the primary chosen social relationship.
“when the charioteer sees [Beauty], his memory is carried to the true beauty, whom he beholds in company with Modesty like an image placed upon a holy pedestal.”
see 1.5. a continuum between desire and non-desire. non-desire being equal to desire, both facets in consideration.
love as a madness which is “a divine release of the soul from the yoke of custom and convention.”
see 3.1. and 1.1. the hypothesis that eros requires breaking free of expectation. writing unconventional erotic content as political subversion of all erotic conventions.
“The divine madness was subdivided into four kinds, prophetic, initiatory, poetic, erotic.”
see 3.2. the exploration of all kinds of exultations. nuanced description/categorization of sensation, emotion, and intention.
“even the best of writings are but a reminiscence of what we know”
awareness of erotica as an incomplete expression of sex/sexuality. utilization of vagueness, uncertainty, or obfuscation concerning the sexual.
conversely, this awareness may furnish asexual erotica with hypersexual tendencies. since all we know is non-desire, why not caricaturize the desire which is foisted upon us, insisted upon at every turn in our daily lives?
after Emile Armand’s Revolutionary Sexualism
“We put [intense, voluptuous, sensual pleasure] on the same plane as intellectual pleasure (artistic, literary, etc), moral pleasure, and economic pleasure.”
see 3.5. the plurality of pleasures. continued thwarting of the hetero-orgasmic imperative. discussion of physical pleasure alongside other, potentially equivalent pleasures, not necessarily as metaphor or comparison, simply because all pleasure is good, is necessary.
“‘Liberty of sexual life’ is not synonymous with ‘debauchery’”
sexual liberty =/= increased sexual activity, and asexuality =/= disinterest in the topic of sex.
“We demand for the research and practice of sexual liberty the same broad daylight as for those of other liberties”
writing asexual characters and situations so that asexuality is considered equal to and among other sexualities. using sexual forms, genres, and themes to showcase asexual characters and concepts.
“I want there to be “unique” amorous temperaments.”
see 2.5. asexuality as a more “newly” identified sexuality which suggests yet further sexualities to be discovered. depicting a broad and vital sexual spectrum; depicting neo-sexualities alongside or more predominately than trad-sexualities. experimental sexualities. impossible sexualities. infinite sexualities.
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references/inspirations:
Armand, Emile. Individualist Anarchism and Revolutionary Sexualism. Pallaksh Press. 2012 ed.
Beauvoir, Simone de. Must We Burn Sade? 1951-1952. Olympia Press. 2015 Kindle ed.
Lorde, Audre. Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power. 1978.
Plato. Phaedrus. http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/phaedrus.html. 360 BCE.