Pitt hosts asexual speaker

‘No Sex, Please!’ reads one of many T-shirts available to members of the Asexual Visibility and… ‘No Sex, Please!’ reads one of many T-shirts available to members of the Asexual Visibility and Education Network. Pitt’s Rainbow Alliance hosted the creator of the network, David Jay, to speak about asexuality awareness and education at the Graduate School of Public Health Thursday night. Asexual people do not feel sexual attraction, said Jay. The Journal of Sex Research released a study in 2004 that reported that 1.05 percent of the population had never felt sexual attraction in their lives. Although it has statically significant numbers, the asexual community received little or no attention from the media, religious groups or in politics. This could be because the term ‘asexual’ had not even been defined yet. Jay, 26, first applied the word to a group of people when he was 14, when he realized he was asexual. ‘There’s nothing wrong with me, I can live my life and be happy. Asexual people are exploring new ways to think about intimacy,’ said Jay. Many people define themselves as asexual but still find themselves attracted to others, just not sexually. ‘All of the things that sexual people’s bodies go through happen to asexual people too,’ said Jay. This means that asexuals have the ability to have sex but they do not have the desire to take part. Jay started the Asexual Visibility and Education Network in 2001 to provide support and friendship to people like him. The network now has the largest asexual outreach program in the world. The Rainbow Alliance president, Joseph Yarsky, helped bring Jay to speak. ‘We received a good amount of general body feedback indicating a strong interest in an asexual speaker. ‘He stands for many of the same principles that Rainbow Alliance does. Currently we have active members who identify themselves as asexual,’ said Yarsky. ‘Asexuals will definitely relate the best with Jay, but I feel that the campus body as a whole can benefit from this speaker that promotes visibility and education for all sexual orientations,’ he said.