1970

Artifacts from the 1970s

“*Afraid to Ask”

A satirical reader submission criticizing sex in the media, responding to an article on asexuality

1971

“A Lack of Sexual Desire Emerges as a Contemporary Condition”

A newspaper article on the emergence of asexuality as a new phenomenon

1978

“A Typology of Transsexualism: Gender Identity Theory and Data”

An academic paper that classifies trans women into three groups—heterosexual, homosexual, and asexual

1976

“All God’s Children Need Love” Gay Freedom Day Parade

A photo featuring a sign for equal rights for queer people, including asexuals

1973

“Asexual and Autoerotic Women: Two Invisible Groups”

One of the first academic papers on asexuality

1977

“Asexual Chic: Everybody’s Not Doing It”

A newspaper story in which various self-professed asexual people are interviewed

1978

“Asexuals have problems too”

A satirical article about the prevalence of sex in society from the perspective of a fictionalized asexual

1971

“Atypical sexualities face oppression”

A newspaper article in which a sex therapist expresses concern about celibates being labelled as asexual

1979

“Choose Your Label” Barnard College

A photo of activists at Barnard College inviting people to choose their own label

1973

“Eunuch Lib: No More Sex!”, Berkeley Barb

An article in the newspaper Berkeley Barb which posits that young people are choosing to be asexual

1978

“Helen Help Us!” The News-Dispatch

A reader submission about neopronouns that mentions asexuality by name

“Sexual Orientation and Self-Perception”

A study that reimagines the Kinsey Scale as a two-dimensional spectrum that accounts for asexuality

“Sexual Roles Historically Stressed To Serve Society”

A newspaper article in which the author suggests that every person is, at their core, asexual

1972

“SexualLaw Reporter,” The Conspiracy

An introduction to a newsletter about legal issues relevant to queer people, including asexuals

1975

“The Innocent Bystander: Asexual Militancy”

An interview with the president of the Asexual Liberation Movement

“This guy’s not a freak, he’s just asexual”

A newspaper advice columnist suggests to a reader that they might be asexual

1979

“Transvestite and Transsexual Liberation”

An article on trans liberation which mentions asexuality

1971

“World of Women; Speeches from the Lesbian Feminist Dialogue Conference”

A speaker talks about solidarity between groups of women, including celibates, asexuals, and virgins

1972

Ain’t I a Woman?, vol. 1, no. 8

A reader mentions asexual women in a submission about oppression in queer relationships

1970

Fifth Estate, vol. 9, no. 4

A reader calls out the news journal Fifth Estate for overlooking the oppression of asexuals

1974