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Traditionally one of the less represented sexualities under the queer umbrella, asexuality has, in the last five years, seen a massive increase in inclusion and representation in Gothic and horror fiction. Although asexual slurs such as 'frigid' are still used without the
same censure as other anti-queer slurs, and there is a common culture
of erasure in both allosexual and queer communities, asexuality also
has an association with cosiness, as demonstrated in ace-identifying
slogans such as "I'd rather eat cake". This talk will examine how and
why asexuality bucks this 'cosy' persona in darker fiction.This talk will begin by charting the use of asexual reproduction in classic works such as Alien, to the current trend for sporror/myco-horror. It will then look at 'claimed' asexual characters -- those who are perceived as asexual by readers, academics, and fan groups -- and survey self-identifying asexual characters (and monsters). Finally, we will address the small quantity of existing scholarship on asexual representation in fiction, as well as theory that applies to queerness more broadly, and judge how (and if) this applies specifically to asexuality in horror and the Gothic.
