[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=#009999]I am struggling to find the correct words to explain this coherently.
There is some debate in the ace community over what exactly "sexual attraction" means. Does it mean desire for other people? Or is it based on feeling of being attracted to others? Or a combination of both? Something else entirely? Is a person asexual if they find people attractive but don't desire sex with others? Or are they asexual if they desire sex with others but don't find people attractive? Or is this an either or situation? Or something else entirely?
While involved in one of these type of discussion one person told me that I shouldn't call a person like I am trying to describe asexual because there are many sexual people who claim to never experience any attraction to other people. Then they said if we considered them asexual then almost half of the worlds population would technically be asexual.
I asked if they had any numbers on that and they didn't, nor could I find any numbers googling. So, being as stubborn and anal as I am on these things, I made this poll (here on DU where people probably never encountered this debate) as kind of an unscientific attempt to test if this claim was true or not.
Are there a lot of sexual people who have never experienced physical attraction to others? Or is that rare. Or would people who identify as sexual call that asexuality. I passed on the vote to avoid influencing the results too much.
In the end, it is another stupid definition debate, and I am sorry for bring it here, but...I just wanted to have some tangible evidence one way or another. From sexual people who don't have any pre-determined opinions on the issue.
No worries about the bisexuality thread. I just like chiming on things like that occasionally.[/font]
PS: I agree with your assessments that asexuality is to sexual orientation as atheism is to religion. Very good analogy.