This is a list of asexual characters in fiction, i.e. fictional characters that either self-identify as asexual or have been identified by outside parties to be asexual. Listed characters may also be aromantic. Not listed are celibate but not asexual characters or non-human characters, such as non-sexual computers or aliens in science-fiction. The names are organized by the year of the character's debut.
Characters | Title | Character debut date | Notes | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alastor | Hazbin Hotel | October 28, 2019 | Alastor, also known as the Radio Demon, is asexual. [1] [2] [3] He is also the second guest at the Happy Hotel, [4] which he renames the Hazbin Hotel by the end of the pilot episode. He is also called an “Ace in the Hole” by Rosie during episode 7 of Hazbin Hotel as a nod to his sexuality.[ citation needed ] | United States |
Yolanda Buenaventura | BoJack Horseman | September 8, 2017 | In the season 4 episode, "What Time Is It Right Now", Yolanda reveals that she is asexual when she asks Todd out on a date. She is first seen in the background of an asexual meetup in the episode "Hooray! Todd episode!". [5] | |
Todd Chavez | August 22, 2014 | In the season 3 finale, "That Went Well", Todd confides in his friend Emily that he does not think he is either straight or gay, and in fact "might be nothing". He explores the identity further in season 4 and accepts his asexuality, while meeting others who share his orientation. [6] Todd was the only asexual character GLAAD found on streaming platforms in 2018. [7] [8] | ||
Lilith Clawthorne | The Owl House | February 7, 2020 | Eda's older sister and former leader of the Emperor's Coven. In a charity livestream hosted by Dana Terrace on March 13, 2022, a specially produced audio, written by Terrace and recorded by Cissy Jones in character as Lilith, was played. In this audio, Lilith claims to have never felt romantic attraction towards anyone before. [9] Later prompted by Jade King of TheGamer, Jones stated that her audio during the charity stream was "basically canon." [10] Jones would make further allusion to Lilith's aromantic orientation over Twitter, before giving direct affirmation of the character's asexuality on March 18, over Instagram. [11] [12] [13] | |
Elijah | Big Mouth | October 28, 2022 | In the sixth season of Big Mouth, Elijah is introduced as an asexual religious African-American kid who Missy is in love with. [14] [15] | |
Peridot | Steven Universe | January 8, 2015 | Storyboard artist Maya Petersen stated that Peridot is asexual and aromantic on her Twitter, even though she said her word is not "the ultimate authority" on the matter. This asexual identity was never expressed in the show directly, [16] with fans shipping Peridot with various other characters, specifically Lapis Lazuli and Amethyst, some reviewers even seeing Peridot and Lapis in a "close, loving relationship" in the past. [17] | |
Perry the Platypus | Phineas and Ferb | August 17, 2007 | This character was confirmed to be asexual in a 2021 TikTok post. Someone asked the creator of Phineas and Ferb, Dan Povenmire, if Perry was LGBTQ+, and Povenmire asked if asexual counts.[ citation needed ] | |
Seiji Maki | Bloom Into You | October 5, 2018 | A supporting character, he is an aromantic asexual with well established feelings on sex and romance, and is a "crucial sounding board" for Yuu as she tries to figure out her feelings. In the ninth episode, he says that he does not fall in love, but prefers to watch from the outside. [18] [19] He enjoys romance but does not wish to partake it in himself.[ citation needed ] | Japan |
SpongeBob SquarePants | SpongeBob SquarePants | May 1, 1999 | The eponymous character was confirmed to be asexual according to interviews from show creator Stephen Hillenburg in 2002 and 2005. [20] [21] Like real-life sea sponges, SpongeBob has been shown to asexually reproduce by budding. [22] Hillenburg also insisted that SpongeBob should never be in a relationship. [23] [24] | United States |
The Warden | Superjail! | May 13, 2007 | In an interview with Steven Smith of FreakSugar, show co-creator Christy Karacas stated that he considers the Warden to be asexual because of the character's obsession with himself. [25] |
Characters | Title / Franchise | Actors | Years | Notes | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seligman | Nymphomaniac | Stellan Skarsgård | 2013 | Seligman confirms his asexuality and virginity to Joe, but assures her his "innocence" and lack of bias makes him the best man to listen to her story. However, many believe that he was lying, as he attempts to rape Joe later in the film. [26] [27] | Denmark, Germany, France, Belgium |
Todd | Straight Up | James Sweeney | 2019 | Sweeney, writer and director of the film, stated "while personally I do see Todd as on the ace spectrum, I don't know when another label is in the cards for him—and it was important to me to end Todd's arc with a departure, instead of a destination". [28] [29] | United States |
Levi Danube | Something in the Dirt | Justin Benson | 2022 | Levi's character admits to being asexual in the film, saying "I've never been attracted to anyone. And that is a very hard thing to explain to people that you'd be interested in dating." [30] | United States |
Kasumi 'Sobakasu' Sobata | I Am What I Am | Toko Miura | 2022 | The film is about Sobata's life within amatonormativity. [31] [32] [33] | Japan |
Dovydas | Slow | Kęstutis Cicėnas | 2023 | The film is about the romantic relationship between Elena and Dovydas. [34] | Lithuania |
Characters | Work | Author | Years | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hippolytus | Hippolytus | Euripides | 428 BC | The characters vow of chastity in honor of the goddess Artemis has led to modern interpretations of the character as an asexual. [35] |
Kerewin Holmes | The Bone People | Keri Hulme | 1984 | Although she does not use the word 'asexual', the way she describes her sexuality aligns with modern understandings of asexuality. [36] [37] |
Tori Beaugrand | Quicksilver | R. J. Anderson | 2013 | Tori, an engineer, hacker, and friend, is asexual, an important part of her life, as she mediates on an attempt to have a sexual relationship. [38] Her friend Milo wants their relationship to be sexual but he respects the sexual orientation of Tori. In a post on LiveJournal, the author explained how Tori being asexual "adds a layer of complication and delicacy to her relationships with her parents and her best (male) friend," Milo, while explaining some of her choices. [39] |
Victor Vale | Villains Series | V. E. Schwab | 2013 | Victor Vale is one of the main viewpoint characters in the Villains series his sexuality is only mentioned once in the second book Vengeful where it's noted he has never had an interest in sex. His asexuality was later confirmed in a tweet by the author. [40] |
Clariel | Clariel | Garth Nix | 2014 | The protagonist "stands out for her assured asexuality", does not see the appeal of sex, and wants to live alone in the woods as a forest ranger. [41] Clariel's lack of experience of sexual or romantic attraction are described at multiple points, come up early in the book, and are treated as a core part of who she is as a person. [38] |
Felicity Montague | Montague Siblings trilogy [lower-alpha 1] | Mackenzi Lee | 2017–2020 | Though the word is never used due to the time period, Felicity's descriptions of her sexuality clearly line up with that associated with asexuality. [42] [43] |
Rumi Seto | Summer Bird Blue | Akemi Dawn Bowman | 2018 | This novel features an asexual protagonist, Rumi Seto, whose asexuality is merely an aspect of her character and not the main focus of the story, as on being sent to live with her aunt in Hawaii following the tragic death of his sister, she begins to realize life is still worth living, even in the midst of grief. [44] |
Corey | Before I Let Go | Marieke Nijkamp | 2019 | This book features an asexual protagonist, Corey, whose asexuality is integral to the story, which her editor was ok with. [45] Some have described this book as a gripping "asexual tale of friendship and love." [46] |
The Astronauts | To Be Taught, if Fortunate | Becky Chambers | 2019 | This novella features multiple ace-spec characters. [44] |
Georgia Warr | Loveless | Alice Oseman | 2020 | Georgia is the main character of Loveless, coming to terms with her sexuality during the events of the book, realising that she is an aromantic asexual. Georgia also has a conversation with another character, Sunil Jah, who is gay and asexual. [47] |
Sunil Jha | ||||
Ellis | ||||
Ekundayo Kunleo | Raybearer | Jordan Ifueko | 2020 | Ekundayo is biromantic and asexual, stating that while he has crushes, he has "never been interested in the sex part." [48] |
Firuz-e Jafari | The Bruising of Qilwa | Naseem Jamnia | 2022 | Firuz-e is aromantic and asexual, or "aroace", in addition to being non-binary. [44] |
Tori Spring | Heartstopper / Solitaire | Alice Oseman | 2023 | In Heartstopper 5, Tori comes out as asexual to her brother Charlie. She is in a romantic relationship with Michael Holden.[ citation needed ] |
Character | Portrayed by | Program | Years | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sebastian, the Asexual Icon | Craig Kilborn | The Late Late Show | 2003–2004 | Though he was possibly the first depiction of an asexual character on television in 2003 (during Kilborn's tenure as host), [49] Vox highlights that "the character made it obvious the writers had no idea asexuality was a real orientation, turning the very idea of being nonsexual into a punchline". [49] |
Gerald Tippett | Harry McNaughton | Shortland Street | 2007–2012 | Introduced in 2007, Vox identified Gerald as the first "sincere" asexual character on television. Gerald's sexuality was discovered and explored over the course of several episodes. [49] |
Poppy | Zoe Jarman | Huge | 2010 | She is an ever-cheerful, fairy-like counselor, often very supportive and protective of both the girls she watches over. [49] She was once overweight and attended Camp Victory herself.[ citation needed ] |
Misty Day | Lily Rabe | American Horror Story | 2011–Present | Misty Day is a powerful witch that has the power to bring things back to life. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly , showrunner Ryan Murphy stated that he thinks that Misty is "just an asexual character". [50] |
Varys | Conleth Hill | Game of Thrones | 2011–2019 | Lord Varys is a eunuch, but he states his asexuality predated his castration. [49] Other eunuchs in the series are sexually active.[ citation needed ] |
Asexual couple | (Unidentified) | House | 2012 | In the "Better Half" episode, Dr. Wilson meets an asexual couple, but it is later revealed that the wife was faking asexuality for the "sake of her husband" while the husband had a blockage in his brain suppressing his sex drive. [51] The founder of the Asexual Visibility and Education Network, David Jay, criticized the representation, calling it "disturbing but not unexpected," while others, in a petition to FOX executives, wrote that the episode encourages viewers to see asexuality skeptically, rather than accept it, "to probe asexual people for causes of our 'condition' rather than to accept us as a part of the natural spectrum of human sexual diversity." [52] |
Evan | Avery Monsen | High Maintenance | 2012-2020 | Evan, one of The Guy's clients, is asexual. [53] |
Brad | Sidney Franklin | Faking It | 2014–2016 | Brad only briefly exclaims his orientation in an episode about labels. [54] [49] |
Valentina "Voodoo" Dunacci | Kelly O'Sullivan | Sirens | 2014–2015 | She was the "focus of a major storyline" where she has a strong bond with Brian, who is not "asexual but is hopelessly in love with Val." [49] Even though Brian says she is his girlfriend, Valentina does not accept this officially. (The show was "willing to live in a gray area instead of forcing Val to change." As such, the series has been accused of treating her orientation as a "joke or as an obstacle"; [51] while the character has won praise from others for being more than her sexuality. [55] ) |
Purvis | Joshua Jackson | Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | 2016 | He is a convenience store owner and Dawson's Creek fan resembling Pacey Witter who takes it upon himself to explain the ins and outs of virginity loss to Kimmy Schmidt and Dong, before revealing he dislikes the concept of sex and does not intend to ever have it himself. [56] |
Raphael Santiago | David Castro | Shadowhunters | 2016–2019 | Raphael came out as asexual in the last episode of season 2. [54] [57] |
Liv Flaherty | Isobel Steele | Emmerdale | 2016–2022 | Liv has no attraction to men or women. (This is the second time that there has been an "asexuality storyline" in a soap opera. [58] ) |
Adrian Veidt | Jeremy Irons | Watchmen | 2019 | He was described as asexual by showrunner Damon Lindelof. [59] Also known as Ozymandias. |
Drea | Lillian Carrier | Everything's Gonna Be Okay | 2020-2021 | Drea is homoromantic asexual. [60] |
Greta Moreno | Haley Sanchez | Genera+ion | 2021 | Greta is homoromantic asexual. [61] |
Esperanza "Spooner" Cruz | Lisseth Chavez | Legends of Tomorrow | 2021–2022 | In the episode "The Fixed Point" (2022), Spooner realizes she is asexual and comes out to Zari Tarazi; [62] [63] she is the first Arrowverse character to do so. [64] |
Abbi Singh | Rhianna Jagpal | The Imperfects | 2022 | In the first episode, Abbi tells two other characters that she's ace. [65] [15] |
Jay | Esco Jouley | State of the Union | 2022–Present | Jay is asexual. [66] |
Douglas "Ca$h" Piggott | Will McDonald | Heartbreak High | 2022–Present | Though Douglas never uses the word asexual, his feelings towards sex imply that he is on the asexuality spectrum. He explains that he isn't interested in having sex with anyone. [67] [68] |
Isaac Henderson | Tobie Donovan | Heartstopper | 2022–Present | Isaac is a featured character of the show adaptation of the graphic novel Heartstopper . In season two of the show, released August 2023, Isaac is introduced to James; an openly gay student at his school. While James clearly expresses his crush on him, it is clear Isaac struggles to understand why he cannot reciprocate James' feelings. Isaac discovers the terminology 'aromantic asexual' at a queer art exhibition and after further personal reading and research. [69] [70] [71] He eventually comes to terms with being aro-ace as he enters his school library and proudly takes Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex, a book on asexuality by Angela Chen. Previous to season two's release, Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman confirmed on Twitter that Isaac is aromantic asexual. [72] |
Sakuko Kodama | Yukino Kishii | Koisenu Futari | 2022 | This series revolves around Kodama and Takahashi's developing relationship, after Kodama realizes she is aromantic-asexual by reading Takahashi's blog, while Takahashi is also aromantic asexual as well. [73] [74] Co-director Yuta Oshida came up with the idea for the story after coming to the realization that Japanese television dramas often include romantic relationships and elements, and he later learned about asexuality, with his research including interviewing asexual people. [75] |
Satoru Takahashi | Issei Takahashi | |||
Sarah "O" Owens | Thaddea Graham | Sex Education | 2023 | O is introduced as a rival sex therapist to Otis in season 4. She comes out as asexual in episode 5. The character was developed with the guidance of asexual activist Yasmin Benoit. [76] |
Florence Simmons | Mirren Mack | 2020 | Florence comes to Otis for advice in season 2. She tells him she has no interest in sex. Finding his answers lacking however, she later goes to see his mother Jean, who helps her understand that she is asexual, though not aromantic. [77] | |
Will | Noah Thomas | Everything Now | 2023 | While initially saying that he’s had sex, we later figure out that hasn’t, with him saying, “I’m starting to realise I need a connection first, looks don’t really do it for me on their own.” This alludes to his Demisexuality. [78] |
Characters | Series or Title | Year | Notes | Developer |
---|---|---|---|---|
Maya | Borderlands 2 | 2012 | Maya (voiced by Martha Harms)—described as asexual and romantically attracted in Kreig (while knowing nothing about romance). [79] | Gearbox Software |
Parvati Holcomb | The Outer Worlds | 2019 | Companion character who expresses professional and later romantic interest in the Chief engineer of the Colony Ship "Ground Breaker", Junlei, and is an asexual homoromantic. Narrative designer Kate Dollarhyde, an asexual woman who is also biromantic, was excited they were inheriting this character, saying she was glad to "bring that personal experience to the audience," making her character different from other companions. [80] | Obsidian Entertainment |
Characters | Title | Years | Notes | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alix | Sex Criminals | 2013–Present | Alix is an asexual character introduced in issue #13. The story covers her experiences as a teenager feeling pressured to have sex, and how she feels alien without coming across as broken. [81] While other characters in the story are able to freeze time when they orgasm, Alix freezes time through the adrenaline rush of BASE jumping. [82] [83] | United States |
Amiru | Last Gender: When We Are Nameless | 2022 | She has a sex drive but is not romantically attracted to anyone else, and pushes to make herself "the main character in her own life." [84] | Japan |
Chika | Is Love the Answer? | 2023 | She detests romance, having sex, or kissing other people, and her professor tells her she is on the asexual spectrum, resulting in her "intensely researching the subject of human sexuality and asexuality" in an effort to understand herself and what other people experience. [85] [86] She is also aromantic. [87] | |
Diane | Lumberjanes | 2014–Present | In issue #68, when Hes confesses her love for Diane, Diane says: "...I like you too. But I don't have any interest in kissing or junk like that" and has never had interest in kissing anyone. [88] On the following page, she still says she has romantic feelings toward Hes, but not sexual ones. [89] | United States |
Frieren | Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End | 2020–present | It is stated in chapter 13 of the manga that Elves lack feelings of affection and reproduction citing it as the reason for so little Elves existing in their world and the reason for their slow extinction.[ citation needed ] | Japan |
Gaveedra-Seven / Shatterstar | Marvel Comics | 1991–2007 | Shatterstar's co-creators Rob Liefeld and Fabian Nicieza created and wrote the character as being asexual from 1991 to 2007, expressing disapproval of later writers ignoring this aspect of his character, Liefeld saying that Shatterstar was meant to be "asexual, and struggling to understand human behavior", [90] and Nicieza stating that "In my final issue, I pretty clearly stated that Shatterstar had no real understanding of sexuality – homo or hetero – and needed to learn about general human nature before he could define his own sexual identity." [91] Following the duo's departure, Shatterstar's and Rictor's relationship was written as romantic from 2007 onward, against their wishes, with Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada stating that if Liefeld wanted the character's asexuality restored, he would have to "take it up with the next editor-in-chief", [92] to which Liefeld stated that he "can't wait to someday" do. [90] Following Quesada's deparature from Marvel in May 2022, whether the character's asexuality will be restored is unconfirmed. [93] | United States |
Gwendolyn "Gwen" Poole | 2015–Present | During writer Kelly Thompson's run on West Coast Avengers (2018), Gwen entered into a romantic relationship with Quentin Quire, however, Gwen later admits that she only did so because she felt that a romantic plot would make her less of a supporting character in the metafictional narrative of the series and thus less likely to die. [94] [95] In 2023, it was then confirmed that Gwenpool was asexual and aromantic during her story arc in the Love Unlimited series. During this arc, she is in a relationship with Julie Power and discovers what it means to be asexual after Julie suggests the possibility. [96] [97] In 2023's Marvel's Voices: Pride, Gwen then attempts to form an "Ace Force" with other asexual characters, while also sending a message to any "ace kid" reading that "you are not alone". [98] [99] | ||
Nadia Van Dyne / The Wasp | 2016–Present | During writer Jeremy Whitley's run on The Unstoppable Wasp (2017), Nadia was implied to be asexual with the implication continued in later series such as Unstoppable Wasp: Built on Hope and Marvel Action: Chillers #3. [100] Whitley clarified in 2021 while he views the character as aromantic asexual, he and his editor Alanna Smith were prevented from outright stating that during their run due to corporate concerns from the MCU franchise. [101] In 2023's Marvel's Voices: Pride, Nadia is considered by Gwen Poole to join her "Ace Force"; [98] [101] consequently, Whitley then confirmed Nadia was now considered "officially Ace" by Marvel editorial. [102] | ||
The Truth | 2017–Present | Introduced in Max Bemis' Marvel Legacy soft reboot of Moon Knight (2017), the Truth is identified as asexual on-panel by his psychologist, reviewing his medical records. [103] In 2023's Marvel's Voices: Pride, the Truth is then considered by Gwen Poole to join her "Ace Force". [98] | ||
Jughead Jones | Archie | 1942–Present | In Jughead #4 in 2016, [104] a comic by Chip Zdarsky and Erica Henderson, Jughead was established as an asexual character, [38] with Zdarsky saying at the 2015 New York Comic Con that historically Jughead "has been portrayed as asexual. They just didn't have a label for it, so they just called him a woman-hater," even though he isn't a misogynist. [105] Zdarsky added that "asexuality is underrepresented," noting that since he is already asexual, he would "continue to write him that way," and said it is more interesting than "writing him as just being behind everyone developmentally." [106] | |
Raphael Santiago | The Shadowhunter Chronicles | 2007–Present | In The Red Scrolls of Magic, a fey woman asks Raphael about his sexuality. He responds and says his sexuality is "not interested." [107] [108] Author Cassandra Clare confirmed his asexuality, but has rarely spoken about the subject. [109] | |
Connor Hawke | DC Comics | 1994–Present | The DC Pride 2022 anthology confirms Connor to be asexual; [110] "Connor is a character who a number of fans have interpreted to be asexual for decades, as he has often shied away from sexual moments or innuendos". [111] The debut story, titled "Think of Me", will be created by an entirely-asexual team consisting of Ro Stein, Ted Brandt, and Frank Cvetkovic. [111] [110] | |
Kashikawa | Sex Ed 120% | 2020–2021 | She is a student who isn't interested in romance or sex, and loves animals. [112] [113] [114] | Japan |
Mine | Mine-kun is Asexual | 2023 | A man who dislikes sexual intimacy in relationships and dislikes kissing. He is loved by Murai, even though her romantic feelings are not reciprocated. [115] [116] | |
Someone-san | Our Dreams at Dusk | 2015–2018 | A mysterious and secretive person who owns the drop-in center. They are later revealed to be asexual and non-binary in volume 4 of the manga. [117] [118] | |
Hinako Uno | Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon | 2019–2022 | Hinako and Sato are asexual lesbians who fall in love with one another. [119] [120] | |
Asahi Sato | ||||
Yuriko | I Want to Be a Wall | 2019–2023 | Yuriko is an asexual woman married, to satisfy the desires of her parents, to a gay man who loves his childhood friend, resulting in a marriage of convenience. [121] [122] She is also aromantic. [123] |
Romantic orientation, also called affectional orientation, is the classification of the sex or gender which a person experiences romantic attraction towards or is likely to have a romantic relationship with. The term is used alongside the term "sexual orientation", as well as being used alternatively to it, based upon the perspective that sexual attraction is only a single component of a larger concept.
Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to others, or low or absent interest in or desire for sexual activity. It may be considered a sexual orientation or the lack thereof. It may also be categorized more widely, to include a broad spectrum of asexual sub-identities.
Gurihiru, also credited as Illustrator Unit Gurihiru and Gurihiru Studios, is a Japanese illustration team, consisting of Chifuyu Sasaki and Naoko Kawano. Both originating from Sapporo, Japan, they are currently based in Saitama, mainly working as artists for American comics.
Aromanticism is a romantic orientation characterized by experiencing little to no romantic attraction. The term "aromantic", colloquially shortened to "aro", refers to a person whose romantic orientation is aromanticism.
Gwenpool is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A girl from the real world transported to the Marvel Universe, her physical design originated as an amalgam of Gwen Stacy and Wade Wilson created by Chris Bachalo for a variant cover of Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars #2, which was one of twenty such variant covers published due to the popularity of Spider-Gwen from June 2015.
Bloom Into You is a Japanese yuri manga series written and illustrated by Nio Nakatani. The manga began serialization in the Japanese monthly shōnen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh on April 27, 2015, and ended on September 27, 2019. The story follows two female high school students, Yuu Koito and Touko Nanami, and the relationship that develops between them as they learn more about themselves through their experiences together.
The portrayals of asexuality in the media reflect societal attitudes towards asexuality, reflected in the existing media portrayals. Throughout history, asexual characters have appeared in television series, animated series, literature, comics, video games, music, and film.
Jeff the Land Shark is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Kelly Thompson and artist Daniele di Nicuolo, the character first appeared in West Coast Avengers vol. 3 #6, but was not named and formally introduced until issue #7. Jeff was originally the pet landshark of the superhero Gwen Poole but has since had other caretakers such as Deadpool, Elsa Bloodstone and Kate Bishop.
The first story is by Marieke Njkamp and Pablo Collar featuring Gwenpool. The story, where the character explains how she's asexual and aromantic, is tightly written. She wants to find people to team up with because 'one person can't represent a whole spectrum.'
I don't know anything about those other characters but I know Nadia is now officially Ace.
https://thegeekiary.com/phineas-and-ferb-an-animated-series-all-can-enjoy/109986