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| Type of business | 501(c)4[1] |
|---|---|
Type of site | Advocacy group Virtual community |
| Available in | 16 languages |
| Founded | March 10, 2001 |
| Headquarters | Oakland, California, U.S.[1] |
| Founder | David Jay |
| URL | asexuality |
TheAsexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) is an online community founded in 2001 byDavid Jay and classed as a 501(c)4 non-profit since June 2022.[2] By 2021, it had 135,539 members, according to Michael Doré, one of its members in the UK who works with their project team.[3]
When first starting the website, AVEN's main goals were "building community and… legitimisingasexuality as asexual orientation."[3]
AVEN serves simultaneously as an informational platform, a space for fostering community, and as a forum for facilitating discussion.[4][5]
A study performed by Kristin S. Scherrer on asexual identity was published in 2008 that focused on analyzing survey responses from 102 individuals that identified themselves as asexual.[4] This study brought asexual perspectives intoacademic research at a time when there was relatively little academic literature available on the topic of asexuality, and even less that approached it as an identity rather than simply a behavior or desire.
The participants for this study were found and recruited through AVEN's website. In addition to contributing to the ability to acquire the necessary participants, AVEN served to inform the responses given by participants as well. For example, when asked to describe what an asexual identity meant to them, 44% of respondents closely echoed the definition of asexuality as found on AVEN's website.[6] One respondent referred directly to AVEN in response to this question.[4] Scherrer's study has been cited by many studies since, indicating the study and AVEN's contributions to it have had further impact on academic research.[4]
AVEN is responsible for the creation of the AVEN DSM Task Force. As theAmerican Psychiatric Association began efforts to make revisions that would become the newDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), this task force sought to petition for changes regardingsexual desire disorders.[7][8]
One of the central parts of AVEN is the community forum where users post about their experiences surrounding asexuality.[9] In an interview withFemestella, Jay highlighted the importance of such open spaces for people who are unsure of their sexuality and having support to understand themselves better.[10] The forums exist in many languages.[5]
AVEN publishes a newsletter called AVENues every four months. It collects content from the community and includes fiction, poetry, articles and also publishes discussion pieces from the forum.[11]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)The most common description of an asexual identity closely mirrors the definition given on AVEN's website, of asexuality as "a person who does not experience sexual attraction" (AVEN, 5-23-07). Of the eight-nine participants who responded to the question, "what does this identity mean to you?" thirty-nine, or forty-four percent, of participants said that their asexual identity means that they do not experience sexual attraction or sexual desire.
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