Freedom and foreclosure: intimate consequences for asexual identities

This article considers the intersections between identity and intimate practices for asexual people. Drawing on findings from a project exploring asexual lives, we argue that asexual identification produced consequences for intimate lives in the form of either freedom or foreclosure. Eight perceptions of increased freedom or foreclosure in personal life are discussed. Using Symbolic Interactionist theory, we suggest that these attitudes reflected tendencies towards either introspection or negotiation. In all cases, however, participants drew on conceptions of significant others, real or imagined, and what was considered to be acceptable in intimate relationships. We conclude by highlighting how our argument reminds us of the need to be aware of the relational elements of intimate lives.