Beyond Sexual Attraction: A Study of Asexual Identity Discourse on Reddit

Asexuality is a complex and evolving concept that challenges conventional understandings of sexual attraction and identity. It functions as an umbrella term encompassing a broad spectrum of sexual identities and experiences, fundamentally questioning the assumption that sexual attraction is a universal and essential aspect of human identity. This reconceptualization challenges normative sexual frameworks, opening discussions about the diverse ways humans experience attraction, desire, and relationships.

Despite its relevance, the discussion of asexuality in gender studies remains marginal and under-explored, positioned alongside other 'invisible' sexualities such as bisexuality and pansexuality. Against this backdrop, this study investigates asexuality through the analysis of discourses within the digital spaces of Reddit, a social networking platform characterized by user-generated content, specifically within topic-driven "subreddits".

This research employs an integrated mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative techniques to study the role of online communities in the construction and recognition of asexual identities. Textual data are extracted through web scraping from subreddits focused on asexuality. Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), a topic modeling technique, is utilized to analyze the textual content, identifying latent themes in discussions and uncovering patterns of identity and self-narration in the digital space. Additionally, digital ethnography provides in-depth insights into how online environments contribute to the construction and recognition of asexual identities.

This research not only offers a new lens for knowing sexual identities in digital spaces but also enriches the conversation on asexuality by thoroughly investigating how individuals within the asexual community construct and describe their identities online.