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I model racy lingerie & people think I’m obsessed with sex…they couldn’t be more wrong & have no clue who I really am
"Men wolf whistle at me or shout things like, 'you look fit', from their car windows."
STUNNING lingerie model Yasmin Benoit spends her days in saucy underwear and looks like a girl who could have her pick of men.
She's even become accustomed to others assuming she must love sex because of her work.
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But while other women might buy a saucy set of stockings and suspenders to put them in the mood for intimacy, it doesn't have that effect on Yasmin, 27,
That's because the full-time model identifies as asexual - which means she doesn't experience any sexual desires whatsoever towards men, or women.
Yasmin, who lives in Berkshire, is a virgin - and she has never even had a kiss.
"People often make assumptions about me because of how I look and what I do, and attach the idea of sex to lingerie...but they couldn't be more wrong."
Yasmin, 27
She says: "I've never had any desire to kiss anyone or go on a date, let alone be intimate with someone - so I've also never had sex.
READ MORE FABULOUS REAL LIFE
"I don't experience sexual attraction.
"People often make assumptions about me because of how I look and what I do, and attach the idea of sex to lingerie.
"They also assume I'm extremely sexual and obsessed with sex and that's why I'm wearing it - but they couldn't be more wrong, and I find it annoying when men ask me out when I'm going about my daily life.
"I can't stand in one spot for too long because a man will suddenly be beside me.
Most read in Fabulous
"They've called me frigid, a sociopath, narcissist... I get everything, but I don't let it get to me. "
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Growing up, while her friends were becoming interested in the opposite sex, Yasmin was adamant she didn't want to explore being sexually intimate with anyone.
People think I'm sex obsessed but I've never been kissed
She says: "I realised I wasn't interested in sex around 11 or 12, when I went to secondary school.
"I'm also what's called aromantic as well, which means I also don't experience romantic attraction, so I was never interested in dating either.
"It was more other people who found it weird and I'd be bullied as a result and called a prude. People would say there must be something wrong with me, and that became more of an issue."
Yasmin
"This was pretty much puberty, around starting secondary school, when everyone started to fancy each other.
"I thought maybe it might kick in for me at some point, but I wasn't holding my breath. It didn't really bother me.
"It was more other people who found it weird and I'd be bullied as a result and called a prude.
"People would say there must be something wrong with me, and that became more of an issue.
"They wrongly assumed I must have had some kind of trauma as a kid, or I was 'slow'."
What is asexuality?
Somebody who is asexual is someone who does not experience sexual attraction to anyone.
- O.O6% - 28,000 people - identify as asexual in England and Wales (ONS)
- Asexual people may not experience sexual attraction but may still experience romantic attraction.
- ‘Ace’ is an umbrella term used specifically to describe a lack of, varying, or occasional experiences of sexual attraction.
- Asexuality should not be confused with celibacy. Celibacy is a choice to abstain from sex, whereas for some asexuality is a lack of sexual attraction.
- It’s also possible to be both asexual and aromantic.
- Aromantic people may not experience romantic attraction, but may experience sexual attraction.
- Stonewall has partnered with ace activist Yasmin on a partnership project to better understand the experiences of ace people in the UK - .
Yasmin went to an all girls school and while her peers were navigating their first kisses and more, she wasn't interested.
"I didn't feel the need to try something or force myself to feel something I didn't just to impress others or to fit in," she says.
"People thought I was a bit weird. I just wanted people to shut up so I just rode it out.
"My parents weren't concerned and were massively supportive - I don't think it's seen as a bad thing to say to your mum 'don't worry, I'm not going to be dating or having sex!'
"My mum wasn't surprised, and she would have been more surprised if I came home with a boyfriend."
Yasmin was 15 when she realised she wasn't alone in how she felt.
She says: "I started googling and found a thread on Tumblr. On there, someone posted about being asexual. I realised I ticked all the boxes and though 'that sounds right'. But it wasn't very helpful as kids at school didn't believe me anyway."
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Yasmin managed to avoid the awkwardness of being asked out on a date until she went to college.
She says: "One guy who I was friends with asked me to be his Valentine in college when I was 17.
"He wrote it on the whiteboard in our student room, to make it even more embarrassing!
"Everyone was ready to film my reaction. I just said we were better off as friends."
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Now, Yasmin says that while she often gets propositioned by men, she finds it nothing but irritating.
She says: "Men have the tendency to ask me out when I'm in the middle of the street going somewhere, so I just find it annoying most of the time.
Men wolf whistle at me or shout things like, 'you look fit', from their car windows. Even if I was interested that's the wrong way to go about it."
Yasmin
"I don't really go to bars - so I don't get guys coming over and offering to buy me drinks or anything like that - it's just in public.
"They'll shout after me or try to get my number, and I just try and shake them off. In the summer it's worst. Men wolf whistle at me or shout things like, 'you look fit', from their car windows.
"Even if I was interested that's the wrong way to go about it."
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In recent years, Yasmin has grown her lingerie work - she models for the likes of Ann Summers - and is extremely career-driven.
She explains: "I'm a D cup and my body shape is best suited to lingerie modelling.
"Lingerie is designed to make your body look good regardless so anyone who wears it is going to feel a confidence boost."
Yamsin
"I've always liked lingerie before I really knew what it was - I used to watch the Victoria's Secret fashion show and say to my mum 'this underwear is so cute... but how do they fit it under their work clothes with all these diamonds and stuff?!'
"I didn't really attach it to anything sexy - it supports my boobs, and it looks nice.
"Lingerie is designed to make your body look good regardless so anyone who wears it is going to feel a confidence boost."
While Yasmin is comfortable with being asexual - and she'd sooner own a dog than have kids - she doesn't judge anyone who loves sex.
Read More on The Sun
She adds: "People think I'm against people expressing their sexuality because I'm not having sex, but it's not a lifestyle choice - it's just how it worked out for me.
"I'm not saying no one should have sex. You do what you want to do!"
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