Around one percent of the world's population are 'asexuals' who feel no sexual attraction at all, experts have claimed.
Around one percent of the world's population are 'asexuals' who feel no sexual attraction at all, experts have claimed.
A leading academic has suggested that the sexualisation of our culture has turned people off sexual feelings, to the extent that millions do not have physical attraction to others at all.
Claims that one percent of the world's population are asexual would mean that 70 million people on Earth feel no sexual attraction.
A book to be published next month even suggests that the growing number of asexuals should be classed as a 'fourth sexual orientation'.
Professor Anthony Bogaert believes that asexuals are 'under-studied' and that they can feel excluded from our 'very sexualised culture'.
Experts say a certain number of asexuals may have always existed but are only now starting to 'come out' as society becomes more liberal.
Professor Bogaert said society can place expectations on both sexual and asexual people.
He defines asexuality as a complete lack of sexual attraction.
Prof Bogaert, an associate professor at Brock University in Canada, said: 'There are two forms: people who have some level of sex drive, but don't direct this drive toward others (so they may masturbate); and other people who have no sex drive whatsoever.'
In 2004, Prof Bogaert analysed the responses of 18,000 people in the UK to a 1994 survey on sexual attraction.
He found that one percent agreed with the statement: 'I have never felt sexually attracted to anyone at all.'
His book to be published next month, Understanding Asexuality, analyses asexuality further, arguing that greater numbers of people now consider themselves 'asexual'.
Some asexuals may have extremely low sex drives but others have normal sex drives and are simply not attracted to others, according to a previous New Scientist report.
Some still want to form close and lasting emotional bonds with other people and may even want to have children by using IVFto avoid having sex, the magazine reported.
專家稱，世界上約有百分之一的人口是「無性戀者」，這些人從任何人身上都感覺不到性吸引力。
一位知名學者指出，我們文化的「性化」讓人們逐漸遠離性愛之情，甚至有數百萬人感覺不到他人的性吸引力。
專家稱百分之一的世界人口是無性戀者，這意味著地球上有7000萬人感覺不到性吸引力。
下個月將出版的一本書甚至提出，數量日益增長的無性戀者應被歸為「第四種性取向」。
安東尼 博格爾特教授認為，無性戀者就像替補演員一樣無人在意，在我們當前被極度性化的文化中，他們可能會有被孤立的感覺。
專家說，也許一直以來都存在一定數量的無性戀者，只不過是因為現在社會變得更開放，所以才開始「出櫃」。
博格爾特教授說，不管是有性慾者還是無性戀者，社會對他們都有期望。
他將「無性戀」定義為完全感受不到性吸引力。
博格爾特教授是加拿大布魯克大學的一名副教授，他說道：「無性戀有兩種：一種是有一些性慾，但是不會對他人產生性慾（所以他們可能會手淫）；另一種是無論怎樣都沒有任何性慾。」
2004年，博格爾特教授分析了1994年一項關於性吸引力的調查收到的1.8萬英國人的反饋結果。
他發現，百分之一的人同意這一陳述：「我從未對任何人產生過性慾。」
他的書《了解無性戀》將於下個月出版，該書進一步對無性戀進行了分析，書中稱現在更多的人認為自己是「無性戀者」。
《新科學家》雜誌先前的一篇報導稱，或許一些無性戀者性慾極低，但其他無性戀者有正常的性慾，只是不對他人產生性慾。
該雜誌報導說，一些無性戀者仍然想和他人建立親密持久的感情關係，甚至可能為了避免性交，通過體外受精的方法來生小孩。
Vocabulary:
under-studied:候補演員，替角
masturbate:手淫，自慰
IVF:in-vitro fertilization，試管受精，體外受精
（編輯：趙穎茹）