Negotiating the boundaries of intimacy: the personal lives of asexual people

This paper uses findings from research diaries to explore the use of practices of intimacy among asexual people. While much of the literature to date has focused on the supposedly transformative and political nature of uniquely asexual practices of intimacy our findings suggest something different. Rather than seeking to transform the nature of intimate relationships asexual people make pragmatic adjustments and engage in negotiations to achieve the forms of physical and emotional intimacy they seek from relationships. We discuss this in relation to three areas: friendships, sex as a practice of intimacy, and exclusion from intimacy. Our findings suggest the importance not only of considering the social context in which asexual people practice intimacy but also how the practices they engage in may be shared with non-asexual people.