The first asexual person I met outside of the internet was a 65 year old woman.
Iâd been interning with her as an artist/executive assistant for some time. To put a long story short sheâd developed a tremor that kept her from doing a certain amount of studio work, so in between sending emails and invoices for her Iâd chip in and help with line art or drafting on longer projects. A lot of it was the two of us sitting in her basement studio, doing our own thing, waiting for the phone to ring. We got to talking a lot. Iâd just moved across the country and was still finding my footing.
There was a handyman she had over occasionally â he was a personal friend who enjoyed her company more than she enjoyed his. She didnât dislike him by any means, but he definitely had feelings for her that she didnât reciprocate. One day, after heâd come over to repair something-or-other and left, she and I started talking about relationships.
She asked if I had a boyfriend. I told her I wasnât interested in being in a relationship with anyone and that Iâd never had a desire to be in a relationship. Admittedly, I was bracing for the âYouâll meet the right person somedayâ response. I knew it generally came from a place of care, but it never changed how much I dreaded to hear it. I really respected my mentor and I was prepared to nod along to whatever response she gave me. Instead of anything I expected her to say, she just kind of nodded and said, âMe neither. I think Iâm â whatâs the term â asexual?â
I was ecstatic. I told her I was asexual, too. I saw her sigh in relief, the same way I did. I couldnât believe it.
We didnât get much work done that day, we just started talking about our experiences. Sheâd been married once when she was younger and even during that period of her life her disinterest in a sexual relationship didnât change. She had a roommate after graduating college who confessed to having feelings for her and she had to tell her âItâs not that I donât like girls, itâs that I donât like anybody.â The roommate harbored enough bitterness over this that they had to split ways. Her mother told her that she would quote ârather have a gay daughter than a daughter who didnât fancy anyone at allâ unquote.
I didnât have nearly as many experiences as she did, but I was able to share my own for the first time. I shared how it was easier to say I was taking time to work on myself than to say I had no interest in being in a relationship. We talked about the words âYouâll meet the right person somedayâ and âYouâll know when youâre in loveâ and âDonât worry, one day youâll meet some guy that changes everything.â As if something was broken.
âIâve been alive for sixty five years,â my mentor told me, âand Iâve never felt like I was missing something, even if everybody told me I was.â
Currently, my mentor lives with her parrot, her cats, and her backyard-wildlife pals in a house that she owns. She makes art and hosts community art groups and volunteers at care homes and is the most self-fulfilled woman Iâve ever met. And she loves her life. She loves the people she knows and they love her, too. If I could be half as cool as she is when I grow up, I think thatâd be pretty amazing.
âAsexualityâ isnât a problem to be fixed or a phase to grow out of. Sometimes youâre fifteen and sometimes youâre sixty-five. I knew in my heart that older asexual people existed but it changed me completely to meet one. We were here before and we always will be.
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