There is a new sexual orientation that seems to be taking hold….personally I think it is a downer but there are those that seem to want it.

The movement is a testament to how vital sexual identity is to self-worth. But the public emergence of asexuals also raises questions for sexuality researchers — mysteries involving the fluidity of sexual identity and the link between romance, which many asexuals enjoy, and sexual attraction.

“It does raise questions about the nature of love,” said Anthony Bogaert, a sexologist at Brock University in Ontario who estimated the prevalence of asexuality in 2004. He analyzed an earlier survey of Britons and found that 1 percent reported that they had never felt sexually attracted to anyone.

Some asexuals are romantically straight, gay or bisexual, and some aren’t romantic. They date each other, or they go out with “sexuals,” attempting to compromise in bed.

The birth of the asexual movement has been as tricky as the personal stories, involving people whose sexuality is naturally passive. They lack the cultural markers claimed by the gay community — styles of dress, for instance, or bars in which to gather.

Into that breach came the great uniter of obscure groups — the Internet — and Jay, whom many asexuals consider to be an ideal spokesman. Young, charismatic and good-looking, here is a man, they say, who could have sex if he wanted to.

AVEN members have one concrete goal: changing the authoritative Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to make explicit that asexuality is not a “hypoactive sexual desire disorder.” The next edition will be published by the American Psychiatric Association in 2012.

What a BUMMER!