Understanding Asexuality [Hardcover]

Bogaert (Brock Univ.), who has published numerous articles on sexuality, takes on the little-researched topic of asexuality--lack of interest in sexual relations with others. He struggles with philosophic questions: How should one judge another's mental health? What really is pathology? His chapter on the madness of sex is insightful in exploring what is abnormal, what is normal, and the benefits of being asexual--such as less contact with the criminal justice system and mental health agencies. Bogaert seems to speak directly to readers and shows his humor through such chapter titles as Do You Have Hypoactive Skydiving Disorder? Because asexuality is an area of minimal research--due to asexuals' not bringing themselves to the attention of others--Bogaert must speculate based on what is known to build a picture of asexuality and provide a solid background for further research. He explores ways that genes can direct or influence a person's sexual choices and gives examples of some features more prominent in the asexual cohort than others, including a larger number of left-handed, later-born sons than average. The bibliography includes some 250 entries. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.Bogaert (psychology, Brock Univ.) is known for his research on birth order and sexual orientation. Here, he examines another aspect of his researchasexuality. Bogaert sets out to carefully define and describe asexuality using a four-part approach to help categorize the processes of sexuality: A (attraction and arousal), B (behavior), C (cognition), and D (desire). Bogaert describes asexuality as a sexual orientation that is perhaps statistically as prevalent as homosexuality. Other chapters discuss asexuality in regard to masturbation (why would an asexual person masturbate?), gender (is asexuality more prevalent among females?), sexual identity (how is asexual identity different than homosexuality?), the madness of sex (how lS6