Interview: USA Today

Interview: USA Today

USA Today published a piece reacting to Paris Hilton describing herself as potentially having been asexual before she got married. The article is called “Paris Hilton thought she was asexual. What we often misunderstand about asexuality.

This article includes contributions from KJ Cerankowski, me, Catherine Esperanza, and Aubri Lancaster, outlining some misconceptions about asexuality and how trauma and sexual violence are related to the orientation.

 

I would like to note that one of the quotes from me could, in some interpretations, imply that asexual people who have undergone trauma are not legitimate (because I’m quoted as saying that doesn’t “delegitimize the rest of us”). There is never much space for nuance in these kinds of pieces and that’s not their fault. In my interview I did discuss how important it is to support and make space for asexual people who have a traumatic history and went into detail about the legitimacy of people with that intersection. Anyone, including people with trauma, should be able to access asexuality labels and communities. (As of this writing no one has come out of the woodwork to criticize me for that presentation, but just in case anyone was confused about my position, I do not believe “does not delegitimize the rest of us” is, in isolation, an accurate representation of how I approach this issue.)

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