Asexual Representation: Famous Asexual People, Characters and Songs

Good asexual representation is still easy to count, and harder to find than it should be. This guide lists famous asexual people who have described themselves as asexual or ace-spectrum in their own words. It also lists asexual characters confirmed by the story itself or by the people who made it. Each entry names where that statement or confirmation came from.

The rule is strict on purpose. Nobody appears here because they seem uninterested in dating, stay single, or fit a stereotype. Guessing at a real person’s orientation is not representation, and this page does not do it.

You will also find a short, sourced note on songs and music, the tropes that keep turning up in ace stories, and where to look for longer community lists. If you are new to the terms, start with what asexuality is.

Why asexual representation matters, and how it has gone wrong

Representation matters because many ace people go years without a word for what they feel. When the only stories on offer end in sex or a wedding, not wanting either can look like a flaw instead of an orientation.

What a word and a face give ace people

Model and activist Yasmin Benoit has written that she first heard “asexual” used about people when a classmate suggested it to her at 15. Before that, she only knew the word from biology class. Novelist Keri Hulme told the New Zealand Herald that being asexual can be isolating, because everyone assumes you are interested in sex.

Fiction can close some of that gap. Writing for Vox, an asexual aromantic author described calling herself “nothing” for years, and said watching Todd Chavez move from “nothing” to asexual changed that.

A short, uneven history on screen

The record on television is thin. Vox suggests the first depiction may have been a 2003 late-night character who mostly turned being nonsexual into a punchline. The first sincere asexual character arrived in 2007, on the New Zealand soap Shortland Street.

Small steps followed. In 2010, the ABC Family drama Huge gave a single, well-handled minute to a character named Poppy coming out as asexual. Progress still did not run in a straight line. A 2012 episode of House featured a patient who lied about being asexual, and her husband’s lack of interest turned out to be caused by a brain tumor. Even in 2018, GLAAD found only one asexual character on streaming platforms: Todd, in Netflix’s BoJack Horseman. That scarcity is why each portrayal below gets so much attention, and so much criticism.

Public figures who describe themselves as asexual or ace-spectrum

The people below have each said, in an interview or their own writing, that they are asexual or on the ace spectrum. The note gives the gist and the source tells you where they said it.

People who have said it in their own words

David Jay matters here beyond his own story. He launched asexuality.org in 2002, giving ace people a place to share stories and get information. Benoit, for her part, later worked as an asexuality consultant on Sex Education.

Why some names you have seen elsewhere are missing

Many celebrity lists online include stars who never used the word about themselves. Some are dead and cannot answer. Others are named because they are single, private, or said once that sex bores them. None of that is a statement of orientation, so none of it qualifies here.

Labels can also change. An older interview records what someone said at the time, which is why each entry names its source and year. If a person later describes themselves differently, their newer words win. This page will not answer questions about any named streamer, actor or influencer who has not spoken publicly about it.

Asexual characters confirmed on screen, on the page and in games

Every character here is asexual or aromantic asexual in the story itself, or confirmed by the person who created or wrote them. Fan readings, however popular, are left out. So are characters whose only confirmation is a crew member’s social post or a merchandise design.

Each table answers two questions. How do we know the character is ace? And does the story treat that as part of a full person, or as a gag? Short notes can’t replace watching or reading the work, but they flag what to expect.

Live-action TV

O drew the sharpest split in reactions. Some fans welcomed a lead who breaks the white, male image of asexuality on screen. Others felt she was underdeveloped, and Benoit said scenes that explained her behaviour had been changed.

One detail on Liv: Steele told Metro she believed it was the first soap asexuality storyline. Vox, though, dates an asexual character on New Zealand’s Shortland Street to 2007.

Animation

Todd was also the only asexual character GLAAD counted on streaming in 2018. Vox’s critique still applies, though: much of his arc revolves around a possible romance with a woman.

Books and comics

Loveless is worth a note because its author is openly asexual herself. That pairing of an ace writer with an ace lead is still uncommon.

Video games

Games are the thinnest part of this list. Several popular game characters are read as ace by fans, but few have confirmation from the people who wrote them. Until more studios say so on the record, this row stays short.

Songs and music: a short, honest list

Songs about asexuality are the hardest category to verify. Plenty of tracks get adopted by ace listeners, but this guide found no reliable source in which a songwriter says a song is about being asexual. So this list stays short and points to people, not guessed meanings.

The clearest voice is Bradford Cox of Deerhunter. In a 2019 Guardian interview, Cox said people keep telling him he just hasn’t met the right person, as if asexuality were a phase like braces. Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz said in a 2015 Rookie conversation that she had come to identify as panromantic and demisexual. Neither has framed a specific song as an ace anthem in the sources here, so none is named.

For songs themselves, the ace community mostly builds its own playlists on streaming services and forums. Treat those as fan picks. A track on an “asexual” playlist tells you what listeners relate to, not what the artist meant or how the artist identifies.

Tropes to watch for in ace stories

Bad ace representation tends to repeat a handful of patterns. Knowing them makes it easier to judge a new show or book on its own terms. The examples below are named only where a published source makes the point.

The robot, alien or monster

The most familiar pattern gives the “no sex” trait to a character who is barely human: a robot, an alien, a demon. According to the community blog The Asexual Agenda, this nonhuman, unfeeling ace character is one of the most discussed ace tropes. What bothers ace audiences is the link it draws between not wanting sex and not having feelings. The same blog notes that a story can soften this by also including a human ace character with ordinary emotions.

The cure or the fix

Here, asexuality is a symptom waiting for a diagnosis or the right partner. The 2012 House episode is the classic case, with a brain tumor offered as the explanation. Keri Hulme answered the idea directly: she rejected the notion that asexual people can be cured and said she was neither sick nor deficient.

Cold, prickly or unfeeling

Even confirmed ace characters can lean on this one. Some viewers argued that O in Sex Education fed stereotypes of ace people as cold and unfeeling. CBR has also pointed to overlapping stereotypes of autistic and asexual people, and called early Sheldon Cooper an offensive caricature of both groups.

Romance as the only plot

Many ace storylines still revolve around whether the character will date someone of the opposite sex. Vox argued this frames asexuality as “heterosexuality-lite” and leaves aromantic aces with no story at all. For the difference between those identities, see aromantic vs asexual vs aroace.

Erasure in adaptation

Sometimes the ace identity exists on the page and vanishes on screen. Jughead was asexual in the comics from 2016, yet Riverdale paired him with Betty. Actor Cole Sprouse pushed for the show to keep the character’s sexuality.

Where to find more (community-maintained lists)

If you want longer lists, community-run resources go far beyond this page. Treat them as starting points, because their entries are added by volunteers and the sourcing varies from one item to the next.

• asexuals.net keeps community lists of ace representation in TV shows, books, articles and YouTube videos. It also flags one video as an example of how not to talk about asexuality.
• The Asexual Agenda runs a long-standing blog series that breaks down ace and aro tropes one at a time.
• Wikipedia’s lists of fictional asexual characters and of people on the asexual spectrum are edited by volunteers. Use their footnotes to find the original interview or episode, then judge it yourself.
• AVEN’s site, asexuality.org, launched by David Jay in 2002, is where ace people have long gathered to share stories and information.

Checking an entry takes a few minutes. Open the footnote and find the interview, essay or episode it points to. Then look for the exact words: did the person say “I’m asexual” or something close, or did a writer guess on their behalf? For a character, look for a line in the story or a quote from the creator, not a fan wiki summary. If the trail ends at a forum post or a rumour, leave the name off.

Before you share any name from these lists, check the original source. A creator’s own statement or a clear on-screen moment is the bar this page uses. If you are still sorting out the basics, the guide to what asexuality is covers the terms.

Ace representation FAQ: quick answers

Which celebrity is asexual?

The best-documented names are people who said it themselves, such as activist Yasmin Benoit, novelist Keri Hulme and author Alice Oseman. Musician Bradford Cox has also spoken about his own asexuality in a Guardian interview. Any name without a statement in the person’s own words does not belong on the list.

What are some asexual shows on Netflix?

Netflix’s BoJack Horseman features Todd Chavez, the only asexual character GLAAD found on streaming in 2018. Sex Education includes O, a fourth-season character who comes out as asexual. Heartstopper shows Isaac finding the words asexual and aromantic in its second season. Availability differs by country, so check your local catalogue.

Is being asexual a spectrum?

Yes. Alice Oseman describes asexuality as an umbrella term covering many identities, including greysexual and demisexual. Some ace people experience romantic attraction and some do not, which is why labels like aromantic asexual exist.

Is SpongeBob asexual or aromantic?

There is no clear answer. In 2002, while denying claims that SpongeBob is gay, creator Stephen Hillenburg told BBC News he thinks of the show’s characters as “somewhat asexual”. That hedged remark is not a clear statement about orientation, so it falls short of the confirmation bar this page uses. CBR adds that sea sponges are asexual in a biological sense, which is different from asexuality as a human orientation.

Picking ace stories worth your time

The verified list is shorter than most celebrity roundups, and that is the point. A real person belongs on it only after saying so in their own words. A character belongs on it once the story or its creator confirms it.

When you pick something new to watch or read, ask a few plain questions. Is the ace character human, with feelings and a life beyond the label? Does the story treat asexuality as an orientation rather than a problem to fix? Does it leave room for aces who do not want romance at all, or does every ace plot still bend toward a kiss in the final episode? Ask that one twice. Stories that pass those tests, like Isaac’s discovery in Heartstopper or Georgia’s slow realisation, tend to be the ones ace audiences keep recommending.

For the basics behind the labels, read what asexuality is and how aromantic, asexual and aroace differ.

Related reading

• Asexual Pride: The Ace Flag, Symbols, History, and Coming Out
• Aromantic vs Asexual vs Aroace: How the Three Labels Differ
• What Is Asexuality? Meaning, Spectrum, Myths and Research
• How Common Is Asexuality? What the Research and Estimates Show

Sources

1. Asexuality & Aromanticism: Yasmin Benoit Tells Us Why It Is & Dispels Common Myths - Glamour UK
2. No sex please, we’re asexual - The New Zealand Herald
3. Asexuality’s TV evolution, from Game of Thrones to Bojack Horseman to Shadowhunters - Vox
4. 2018 saw record growth in LGBTQ roles on television - The Verge
5. Asexuals - The Least Visible Sexual Minority - New York magazine
6. Alice Oseman on being aromantic asexual - BBC Bitesize
7. Interview with Author Rebecca Burgess - Geeks OUT
8. ‘I’m an apocalypse writer’: Bradford Cox of Deerhunter, the asexual rock star for end times - The Guardian
9. Happy Campers - Rookie
10. Sex Education Asexuality Consultant Says Much of the Show’s Ace Storyline Was Cut - Them
11. Is Isaac Asexual? What He Identifies As In Heartstopper Season 2 - Screen Rant
12. Emmerdale’s Isobel Steele on character’s asexuality, album plans and ‘great’ co-star - The Mirror
13. Emmerdale spoilers: Isobel Steele speaks out about Liv Flaherty asexuality storyline - Metro
14. “To Me, Viktor Was Always Asexual” - ‘Arcane’ Co-Creator Says Viktor and Jayce’s Relationship Isn’t What You Think - Collider
15. Bloom Into You’s Maki Is an Important Example of Aro-Ace Representation - CBR
16. So you watched Heartstopper, but have you read Loveless? - Lambda Literary
17. Tash Hearts Tolstoy - Kirkus Reviews
18. Archie Comic Reveals Jughead Is Asexual - Vulture
19. Cole Sprouse Is Fighting For Asexual Visibility - Refinery29
20. Apex Legends Narrative Lead On Representation, Toxicity, And Mirage’s Bobsexuality - TheGamer
21. Ace Tropes: And There Is a Human - The Asexual Agenda
22. Steven Universe: A Crystal Gem Is Confirmed As Asexual - CBR
23. Asexual representation in the media | TV, books and articles - asexuals.net
24. Camp cartoon star ‘is not gay’ - BBC News