Anonymous asked:

Whenever i tell someone im asexual, they say that its a condition and i should go to a doctor to get pills for it. Have you encountered attitudes like that in the medical circles? What is a good response i can shut them up with?

macgyvermedical answered:

I have encountered attitudes like this in the medical world, but the sentiment is invariably based on personal stigma, not the most recent scientific/medical  understanding of asexuality. 

A lot of medical professionals (and, really, a lot of people in general) who are not in the community tend to equate asexuality with hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD), and I think this is where a lot of the confusion comes from.

Asexuality is a sexual orientation and is officially defined as a lack of sexual attraction. It’s someone saying “I have no (or less than average) sexual attraction to other people, this is fine with me because my sexual and intimacy needs (if any) are (or can be) still adequately met.”

HSDD, meanwhile, is a disorder characterized by personal distress related to lack of sexual desire- it’s someone going “I have no desire for sex but still need it, which leaves my sexual/intimacy needs unmet and causes me distress.”

Note that they’re two completely different things- one is a neutral identity like being gay (and while there may be external stressors like bullying, the identity itself does not cause distress), while the other is a disorder that causes real distress in itself and can be treated with therapy and/or medications that increase libido.

Ironically, I am on one of the main combination of medications used to treat HSDD (testosterone and buspirone) for different reasons, and they haven’t impacted my asexual identity one bit- because no medications can change one’s sexual orientation.