Swankivy -- Asexuals need real-world understanding

Details: Category: News; Published on Saturday, 23 July 2011 19:50; Written by Shawn Landis; Hits: 433

Asexuals may know Swankivy from her “Letters to an Asexual” YouTube series. Her other efforts include launching and maintaining a website. Swankivy started describing herself as nonsexual in High School, and says that most of her peers accepted her viewpoint. A few persistent males would offer to 'help' her with this problem. She relates the story of a young man who pressured her into a kiss after an outing. She consented, but when the kiss became more aggressive she stormed away. The young man called after her claiming that he was only trying to help her.

Asexuals need real world understanding if they are to be accepted as anything other than anonymous wackos on the Internet. (Publisher’s Note: The owner of this site is a named wacko on the Internet. The Editor's name also appears in the Contact Us section unless it has been fixed. Asexual News did not ask her for her real name. Ed note: Maybe so, but when I signed up, I thought the name field meant one's real name & I initially included my middle name as well, but got rid of that within a month or so). Swankivy, known for her Asexuality video series on the internet, recently agreed to an interview with Asexual news.

Swankivy started off her Asexuality advocacy with a rant known as the “Nonsexuality Top 10 List”. She did not start out with the goals of furthering visibility or starting a networking hub. She simply wanted to share her opinions with others. Her first site appeared in 1998 and was listed in the Internet archives two years later.

Although many people have come to know her online identity through her handle, she hopes she will be remembered more for her fiction and her creative writing. “If I'm being referenced or interviewed because of my Asexuality, I don't mind being identified in that way any more than I mind being identified as a woman if I'm asked to provided a female perspective on an issue...I don't want to be 'defined by' Asexuality. It's just that I don't want it to be the central issue around which my life orbits”.

The Letters to An Asexual Series involves her answering questions from OKCupid users, but the videos did not grow out of annoyance with unenlightened responses. Swankivy started the video series to attract a different audience and provide greater access to information about Asexuality. If there's one thing Swankivy does not want to be, it's the Asexuality poster girl. She acknowledges that David Jay is the founder and the figurehead, but she does not consider herself one of its leaders. A small amount of her time is devoted to Asexuality awareness, and she wants to keep it that way.

Swankivy reiterated the need, also spoken by Shula Asher Silberstein, that there is a greater need for Asexual resources. She believes that the shared experiences with the LGBTQ community make it the best place for information about Asexuality to be spread. The small number of Asexuals and our diverse geographical locations often make it hard for Asexuals to meet up elsewhere. Pamphlets about Asexuality handed out at community centers would be a positive first step. The oppression issues Asexuals face are not the same as those faced by the LGBT community, but Asexuals often deal with coming out and disbelief. They also usually have to have a 30 minute question and answer session with others when they try to come out. To further this cause, Swankivy believes there should be more positive portrayals of active Asexuals in the media. American television includes only people who do not actively pursue sex.