It’s estimated that about 1 percent of the world’s population identifies as asexual, which according to The Trevor Project, are people who “experience little or no sexual attraction to others. Asexual people, or ‘aces,’ often identify somewhere on a spectrum that includes their emotional, spiritual and romantic attraction to other people.”

While queer people have become more visible in pop culture in recent years, asexual representation is still lacking in movies and television. Scroll through below to some examples of asexuality from Watchmen and Heartstopper to the box office phenomenon, Barbie…

(A)sexual documentary

Though the 2011 film might seem a little dated now, it is a good introduction to asexuality and the asexual community. The description for the documentary, directed by Angela Tucker, reads: “Inside a sex-obsessed culture, people who don’t experience sexual attraction struggle to claim their identity amid a mountain of public misconception.”

Streaming on tubi

Sex Education

Florence Simmons (Mirren Mack) appeared in the second season of the hit Netflix series. She thinks something is wrong with her, but she learns about asexuality after confiding in Dr. Jean Milburn (Gillian Anderson), who taught her, “Sex doesn’t make us whole, so how could you ever be broken?”

In the fourth and final season Sex Education, another asexual character, Sarah “O” Owen (Thaddea Graham) was introduced. O is a fellow teen sex therapist and a rival of Otis’ (Asa Butterfield), though the two ultimately join forces and work together. O ends up coming out as asexual in the fifth episode of the fourth season.

Streaming on Netflix

Heartstopper

The adorable adaptation of Alice Oseman’s series of graphic novels about an unexpected romance between two British secondary school students, Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and Nick Nelson (Kit Connor), and how their friendship-turned-relationship impacts their queer friend group. One of their friends is Isaac Henderson (Tobie Donovan), a bookworm who realizes he’s asexual in the second season’s penultimate episode, “Sorry.” About Isaac’s self-discovery, Gay Times’ Sarah Sharp wrote: “My favorite Isaac scene came later in the series when Isaac meets another aromantic asexual character, and watching this interaction felt like a warm hug through the screen; it filled my heart in a way that no TV show has ever done before.”

Streaming on Netflix

Barbie

Barbie doesn’t want to spend the night with Ken or anyone for that matter, leading some viewers to conclude that the world’s most famous doll is actually asexual. In the movie, Barbie isn’t interested in sex, and in a Vogue interview, Margot Robbie explained: “She’s a doll. She’s a plastic doll. She doesn’t have organs. If she doesn’t have organs, she doesn’t have reproductive organs. If she doesn’t have reproductive organs, would she even feel sexual desire? No, I don’t think she could.” Thus a new asexual icon was born.

Streaming on Max

Bojack Horseman

In the Season 3 finale of the Netflix animated series, Todd Chavez, the best friend and former roommate of Bojack Horseman, admits that he “might be nothing” when his then-girlfriend Emily asks him if he’s gay. In the following season, Todd comes out as asexual to Bojack, saying that “It actually feels nice to finally say it out loud.” By the end of the fourth season, Todd starts dating Yolanda Buenaventura who also identifies as ace.

Streaming on Netflix

Watchmen

The brilliant genius Adrian Veidt (a.k.a Ozymandias) is the main antagonist of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbon’s seminal graphic novel, Watchmen. He is gorgeous, smart, and rich — and yet he shows no romantic interest in anyone, which was noticed when adapting the comic for the screen.

Matthew Goode, who played Adrian Veidt in Zack Snyder’s 2009 Watchmen film, told MTV News: “I think that’s part of the image that [Ozymandias] perpetuates himself. He’s more asexual than anything else.” In 2019, Damon Lindelof, the creator of HBO’s Watchmen series, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about how he approached Adrian Veidt (played by Jeremy Irons in the series), and said: “I always wondered if he was asexual. He’s such a good-looking guy, but he doesn’t seem to be attracted to people of either gender, or even talk about things in sexual terms.”

Watchmen (2009) and Watchmen (2019) are streaming on Max

Hazbin Hotel

The animated musical series on Prime Video follows Charlie, the daughter of Lucifer, who opens a rehab hotel for demons in Hell. Alastor, the red, 7 ft. tall charismatic and chaotic “Radio Demon,” is a fan favorite character from Hazbin Hotel. In an interview with Amir Talai, the voice of Alastor, he confirmed that the demon is canonically asexual, but “that hasn’t come up in the show, obviously.” Maybe in Season 2?

Streaming on Prime Video

Jughead

Since he was first introduced in 1941, Archie Comics’ Jughead Jones was usually more interested in hamburgers and hotdogs than kissing any of his Riverdale High classmates. In 2016, in the fourth issue of his own solo comic series, Jughead was revealed to be asexual — which was met with praise from comic book fans.

Frustratingly, in 2017, Archie comics artist Dan Parent walked back Jughead’s asexuality, saying: “I would like to tell you that it’s not that he is asexual, it’s just that he is a character who loves to live in his own world. He loves to eat, he runs away from girls and loves to hang out with his few best friends. He’s a fun loving character, who is not interested in dating.” 

In an interview with Teen Vogue, Cole Sprouse, who played Jughead on the CW’s Riverdale, said he fought to keep Jughead asexual on the series, saying that he hoped “that huge corporations like the CW recognize that this kind of representation is rare and severely important to people who resonate with it. That demands representation. It would be a wonderful thing if that were the case.”

Anyone who watched Riverdale knows Jughead didn’t end up being asexual on the series (#Bughead, anyone?), but it doesn’t erase Jughead’s (brief) asexuality in the comics, something  that is hopefully addressed again someday.

Jughead comic series available on Comixology. Riverdale is streaming on Netflix.

Something in the Dirt

The unsettling cosmic horror movie directed by and starring Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, is about two new neighbors, Levi Danube (Benson) and John Daniels (Moorhead), who witness strange supernatural events in their L.A. apartment building and start filming the bizarre occurrences. In the movie, John is gay and has an ex-husband, while Levi comes out as asexual (without using the actual word) in a tender rooftop scene with his new friend.

Streaming on Hulu

Slow

The dramatic film directed by Marija Kavtaradzė tells the story of a dancer, Elena, and a sign language interpreter Dovydas, who must navigate their new relationship when Dovydas comes out as asexual. The film made its world debut at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, and in June 2024 it won six Lithuanian Film Awards including Best Fiction Film, Best Director, Best Leading Actress, and Best Leading Actor. It was also Lithuania’s official Oscar selection for Best International Feature at the 2024 Academy Awards.

Playing in select theaters this summer. Digital home release coming soon.

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Once Monthly Annually

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated