Asexuality and the Epistemic Gap in Philosophy of Sex

I aim to research asexual theory by bringing it into dialogue with existing theories of sexual orientation.

Asexuality is an emerging field of research with pioneering literature focusing on how to conceptualise asexuality, so asexual theory remains under-researched.

I propose that without a coherent theory of asexuality, discussions about sexual orientation will continue to employ allonormative standards: the assumption that sexual attraction is a universal experience. The consequence of this is an epistemic gap within philosophy of sex.

Therefore, my goal for this research is to reduce the impact of this epistemic gap by using asexual theory to analyse current theories of sexual orientation.