Rudin wrote:
I also have to ask, are you asexual because you simply don't understand the emotions involved in sex or because it just doesn't interest you or you find it not pleasurable?
All of the above.
It doesn't interest me, it's not pleasurable (at least masturbation isn't, and my instincts tell me sex won't be either), and I don't understand how others can find it so desirable.
mild mannered missanthrope wrote:
My question: Has anyone else had a similar experience of difficulty understanding what sexual attraction is? If so, do you think that your autism plays a role in that difficulty with understanding? Perhaps due to Alexithemia or Theory Of Mind difficulties?
Yes, I have.
I don't have alexithymia, and I don't think I have ToM issues either. (At least, I'm pretty sure I met the normal milestones for understanding false beliefs as a child.) However, when I was younger I often tricked myself into thinking I felt something because I thought I was 'supposed' to feel it. This led to me making up sexual attractions where there were none.
However, I talked to a NT lesbian who used to do the same thing (as well as mistaking actual attraction for simply wanting to make friends with that girl) so I'm not sure it has anything to do with my autism. Sex is hard for most teens to figure out, and it's even harder when what the adults say
should be happening doesn't match your experience.