Around one percent of the world’s population is estimated to be asexual. According to RFSL’s definition, it means that you do not feel sexual attraction to others, that you do not feel sexual desire or that you do not want to have sex for various reasons. Linnéa is one of those who defines herself as asexual – I happened to hear the word asexual on the radio ten years ago. The word stuck and I felt it suited me, says Linnéa. Despite the fact that asexuality has become a more well-known concept, many people still do not know what it means, and the prejudices are many. And living as an asexual in a society where sex and relationships are constantly present can mean great challenges and the feeling of exclusion. – You don’t become asexual. That’s man. It’s like a sexual orientation. I am drawn to people for other reasons, says Linnéa. “Do not feel any sexual attraction” Although you may have heard the word, many people do not know what it means to not feel any sexual attraction, to have no desire or longing for sexual intercourse at all, to not join in on conversations when peers are talking about sex and relationships. – I connect something else in my brain and don’t always follow along when there are jokes about sex in popular culture, for example, says Linnéa. – We have a very strong norm of duplicity in society. It is not a problem not to feel desire. It only becomes a problem when those around you start to question it, says our psychologist Anna Bennich. It is important that we can talk openly and communicate. If you live outside a norm, you need to talk about it, and Linnéa does that, among other things, by sharing what it’s like to live as an asexual on an Instagram account called “Heja Livet”.
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