Being a straight woman is uniquely challenging......

[Coventina]

2. A person who has no sexual desire until an emotional bond is formed.

I wish "asexual" and "demisexual" were available terms when I was growing up.

I would have identified as "asexual" at least, had the term been available to me.

I never dated anyone. Men who asked me out terrified me, I couldn't understand why someone I didn't know would want to spend time with me.

I am married now, but because I got to know a co-worker who was brave and patient enough to approach me differently.

My parents assumed I was lesbian, since I expressed no desire for men. Since they were fundamentalist Christian, this caused them a lot of angst they did not outwardly express toward me.

It was a huge relief to them when I finally did start a relationship with my husband.

Little do they know that it could have just as easily been a woman. However, no woman pursued me in that way, either sexually or romantically.