Sex is an integral part of many relationships, fostering closeness and intimacy, while providing the participants with a pretty darn good time. It's obviously also used as a means for procreation. But there are people who have absolutely no interest in having sex with other people - or even themselves, in some cases. A 2004 study found that up to 1 percent of the population is asexual, meaning they have no interest in sexual activity or any sexual desire. It also may include a lack of sexual orientation, in that asexual people don't identify as heterosexual or homosexual. The Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) was formed in 2001 to facilitate public acceptance of asexuality. It's possible for asexual people to be aromantic, or completely uninterested in forming or unable to form a romantic attraction to another person.
It's also possible for asexual people to want to be romantic and intimate - without having sex - with someone else, whether they're the same sex, opposite sex, transgendered or all of the above. There is debate about whether asexuality is an orientation or even if it's pathological; however, it's not generally thought of as a disorder or disease. Some asexuals eschew any sort of sexual gratification, but some do masturbate. The reasons for a person being asexual don't necessarily involve bad experiences, medical problems or other outside factors. Asexuality sometimes is mistaken for intimacy problems, phobias and other mental disorders, but most asexuals are self-identified - doctors don't have ways of defining it yet. Famous people who identify themselves as asexual include comedian Paula Poundstone, Janeane Garofalo and Tim Gunn.
