title: Brickwork

text: Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called "courses" are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall.


title: Brickwork

text: Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by size. For example, in the UK a brick is defined as a unit having dimensions less than and a block is defined as a unit having one or more dimensions greater than the largest possible brick.


title: Brickwork

text: Brick is a popular medium for constructing buildings, and examples of brickwork are found through history as far back as the Bronze Age. The fired-brick faces of the ziggurat of ancient Dur-Kurigalzu in Iraq date from around 1400 BC, and the brick buildings of ancient Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan were built around 2600 BC. Much older examples of brickwork made with dried (but not fired) bricks may be found in such ancient locations as Jericho in Palestine, Çatal Höyük in Anatolia, and Mehrgarh in Pakistan. These structures have survived from the Stone Age to the present day.


title: Brickwork

text: Brick dimensions are expressed in construction or technical documents in two ways as co-ordinating dimensions and working dimensions.


title: Brickwork

text: In this case the co-ordinating metric works because the length of a single brick (215 mm) is equal to the total of the width of a brick (102.5 mm) plus a perpend (10 mm) plus the width of a second brick (102.5 mm).


title: Brickwork

text: Mortar placed between bricks is also given separate names with respect to their position. Mortar placed horizontally below or top of a brick is called a bed, and mortar Placed vertically between bricks is called a perpend.


title: Brickwork

text: A brick made with just rectilinear dimensions is called a solid brick. Bricks might have a depression on both beds or on a single bed. The depression is called a frog, and the bricks are known as frogged bricks. Frogs can be deep or shallow but should never exceed 20% of the total volume of the brick. Cellular bricks have depressions exceeding 20% of the volume of the brick. Perforated bricks have holes through the brick from bed to bed, cutting it all the way. Most of the building standards and good construction practices recommend the volume of holes should not exceed 20% of the total volume of the brick.


title: Brickwork

text: Parts of brickwork include "bricks", "beds" and "perpends". The bed is the mortar upon which a brick is laid. A perpend is a vertical joint between any two bricks and is usually—but not always—filled with mortar.


title: Brickwork

text: A "face brick" is a higher quality brick, designed for use in visible external surfaces in face-work, as opposed to a "filler brick" for internal parts of the wall, or where the surface is to be covered with stucco or a similar coating, or where the filler bricks will be concealed by other bricks (in structures more than two bricks thick).


title: Brickwork

text: A brick is given a classification based on how it is laid, and how the exposed face is oriented relative to the face of the finished wall.


title: Brickwork

text: The practice of laying uncut full-sized bricks wherever possible gives brickwork its maximum possible strength. In the diagrams below, such uncut full-sized bricks are coloured as follows:


title: Brickwork

text: Occasionally though a brick must be cut to fit a given space, or to be the right shape for fulfilling some particular purpose such as generating an offset—called a "lap"—at the beginning of a course. In some cases these special shapes or sizes are manufactured. In the diagrams below, some of the cuts most commonly used for generating a lap are coloured as follows:


title: Brickwork

text: Walls, running linearly and extending upwards, can be of varying depth or thickness. Typically, the bricks are laid also running linearly and extending upwards, forming "wythes" or "leafs". It is as important as with the perpends to bond these leaves together. Historically, the dominant method for consolidating the leaves together was to lay bricks across them, rather than running linearly.


title: Brickwork

text: Brickwork observing either or both of these two conventions is described as being laid in one or another "bond".


title: Brickwork

text: A leaf is as thick as the width of one brick, but a wall is said to be one brick thick if it as wide as the length of a brick. Accordingly, a single-leaf wall is a half brick thickness; a wall with the simplest possible masonry transverse bond is said to be one brick thick, and so on.


title: Brickwork

text: The thickness specified for a wall is determined by such factors as damp proofing considerations, whether or not the wall has a cavity, load-bearing requirements, expense, and the era during which the architect was or is working. Wall thickness specification has proven considerably various, and while some non-load-bearing brick walls may be as little as half a brick thick, or even less when shiners are laid stretcher bond in partition walls, others brick walls are much thicker. The Monadnock Building in Chicago, for example, is a very tall masonry building, and has load-bearing brick walls nearly two metres thick at the base. The majority of brick walls are however usually between one and three bricks thick. At these more modest wall thicknesses, distinct patterns have emerged allowing for a structurally sound layout of bricks internal to each particular specified thickness of wall.


title: Brickwork

text: The advent during the mid twentieth century of the cavity wall saw the popularisation and development of another method of strengthening brickwork—the wall tie. A cavity wall comprises two totally discrete walls, separated by an air gap, which serves both as barrier to moisture and heat. Typically the main loads taken by the foundations are carried there by the inner leaf, and the major functions of the external leaf are to protect the whole from weather, and to provide a fitting aesthetic finish.


title: Brickwork

text: Despite there being no masonry connection between the leaves, their transverse rigidity still needs to be guaranteed. The device used to satisfy this need is the insertion at regular intervals of wall ties into the cavity wall's mortar beds.


title: Brickwork

text: This bond has one stretcher between headers, with the headers centred over the stretchers in the courses below.


title: Brickwork

text: Where a course begins with a quoin stretcher, the course will ordinarily terminate with a quoin stretcher at the other end. The next course up will begin with a quoin header. For the course's second brick, a queen closer is laid, generating the lap of the bond. The third brick along is a stretcher, and is—on account of the lap—centred above the header below. This second course then resumes its paired run of stretcher and header, until the final pair is reached, whereupon a second and final queen closer is inserted as the penultimate brick, mirroring the arrangement at the beginning of the course, and duly closing the bond.


title: Brickwork

text: Some examples of Flemish bond incorporate stretchers of one colour and headers of another. This effect is commonly a product of treating the header face of the heading bricks while the bricks are being baked as part of the manufacturing process. Some of the header faces are exposed to wood smoke, generating a grey-blue colour, while other simply vitrified until they reach a deeper blue colour. Some headers have a glazed face, caused by using salt in the firing. Sometimes Staffordshire Blue bricks are used for the heading bricks.


title: Brickwork

text: Brickwork that appears as Flemish bond from both the front and the rear is "double Flemish bond", so called on account of the front and rear duplication of the pattern. If the wall is arranged such that the bricks at the rear do not have this pattern, then the brickwork is said to be "single Flemish bond".


title: Brickwork

text: Flemish bond brickwork with a thickness of one brick is the repeating pattern of a stretcher laid immediately to the rear of the face stretcher, and then next along the course, a header. A lap (correct overlap) is generated by a queen closer on every alternate course:


title: Brickwork

text: A simple way to add some width to the wall would be to add stretching bricks at the rear, making a Single Flemish bond one and a half bricks thick:


title: Brickwork

text: For a double Flemish bond of one and a half bricks' thickness, facing bricks and the bricks behind the facing bricks may be laid in groups of four bricks and a half-bat. The half-bat sits at the centre of the group and the four bricks are placed about the half-bat, in a square formation. These groups are laid next to each other for the length of a course, making brickwork one and a half bricks thick.


title: Brickwork

text: To preserve the bond, it is necessary to lay a three-quarter bat instead of a header following a quoin stretcher at the corner of the wall. This fact has no bearing on the appearance of the wall; the choice of brick appears to the spectator like any ordinary header:


title: Brickwork

text: For a more substantial wall, a header may be laid directly behind the face header, a further two headers laid at 90° behind the face stretcher, and then finally a stretcher laid to the rear of these two headers. This pattern generates brickwork a full two bricks thick:


title: Brickwork

text: For a still more substantial wall, "two" headers may be laid directly behind the face header, a further two "pairs" of headers laid at 90° behind the face stretcher, and then finally a stretcher laid to the rear of these four headers. This pattern generates brickwork a full three bricks thick:


title: Brickwork

text: This bond has two stretchers between every header with the headers centred over the perpend between the two stretchers in the course below in the bond's most symmetric form.


title: Brickwork

text: The great variety of monk bond patterns allow for many possible layouts at the quoins, and many possible arrangements for generating a lap. A quoin brick may be a stretcher, a three-quarter bat, or a header. Queen closers may be used next to the quoins, but the practice is not mandatory.


title: Brickwork

text: Monk bond may however take any of a number of arrangements for course staggering. The disposal of bricks in these often highly irregular raking patterns can be a challenging task for the bricklayer to correctly maintain while constructing a wall whose courses are partially obscured by scaffold, and interrupted by door or window openings, or other bond-disrupting obstacles. If the bricklayer frequently stops to check that bricks are correctly arranged, then masonry in a raking monk bond can be expensive to build.


title: Brickwork

text: Occasionally, brickwork in such a raking monk bond may contain minor errors of header and stretcher alignment some of which may have been silently corrected by incorporating a compensating irregularity into the brickwork in a course further up the wall. In spite of these complexities and their associated costs, the bond has proven a common choice for constructing brickwork in the north of Europe.


title: Brickwork

text: Raking courses in monk bond may—for instance—be staggered in such a way as to generate the appearance of diagonal lines of stretchers. One method of achieving this effect relies on the use of a repeating sequence of courses with back-and-forth header staggering. In this grouping, a header appears at a given point in the group's first course. In the next course up, a header is offset one and a half stretcher lengths to the left of the header in the course below, and then in the third course, a header is offset one stretcher length to the right of the header in the middle course. This accented swing of headers, one and a half to the left, and one to the right, generates the appearance of lines of stretchers running from the upper left hand side of the wall down to the lower right. Such an example of a raking monk bond layout is shown in the New Malden Library, Kingston upon Thames, Greater London.


title: Brickwork

text: Elsewhere, raking courses in monk bond may be staggered in such a way as to generate a subtle appearance of indented pyramid-like diagonals. Such an arrangement appears in the picture here from the building in Solna, Sweden.


title: Brickwork

text: Many other particular adjustments of course alignment exist in monk bond, generating a variety of visual effects which differ in detail, but often having the effect of directing a viewing eye diagonally down the wall.


title: Brickwork

text: This bond has three stretchers between every header, with the headers centred above the midpoint of three stretchers in the course below.


title: Brickwork

text: The bond's horizontally extended proportion suits long stretches of masonry such as garden walls or the run of brickwork over a ribbon window; conversely, the bond is less suitable for a surface occupied by many features, such as a Georgian façade. The relatively infrequent use of headers serves to make Sussex bond one of the less expensive bonds in which to build a wall, as it allows for the bricklayer to proceed rapidly with run after run of three stretchers at a time.


title: Brickwork

text: One of the two kinds of course in this family of bonds is called a "stretching course", and this typically comprises nothing but stretchers at the face from quoin to quoin. The other kind of course is the "heading course", and this usually consists of headers, with two queen closers—one by the quoin header at either end—to generate the bond.


title: Brickwork

text: This bond has alternating stretching and heading courses, with the headers centred over the midpoint of the stretchers, and perpends in each alternate course aligned. Queen closers appear as the second brick, and the penultimate brick in heading courses. A muted colour scheme for occasional headers is sometimes used in English bond to lend a subtle texture to the brickwork. Examples of such schemes include blue-grey headers among otherwise red bricks—seen in the south of England—and light brown headers in a dark brown wall, more often found in parts of the north of England.


title: Brickwork

text: Harappan architecture in South Asia was the first use, anywhere in the world, of so-called English bond in building with bricks. An ancient example of alternating courses of headers and stretchers, is found on Malta. The ruins of the Ggantija Temple on the island of Gozo consist of two temples and a surrounding wall dating back to the Neolithic Age (3600–250 BCE); some stones are as long as 5 meters weighing over 50 tonnes.


title: Brickwork

text: This bond also has alternating stretching and heading courses. However, whilst the heading courses are identical with those found in the standard English bond, the stretching courses alternate between a course composed entirely of stretchers, and a course composed of stretchers half off-set relative to the stretchers two courses above or below, by reason of a header placed just before the quoins at either end. The bond is widely found in Northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands.


title: Brickwork

text: Large areas of English cross bond can appear to have a twill like characteristic, an effect caused by the unbroken series of perpends moving diagonally down the bond.


title: Brickwork

text: This bond is exactly like English cross bond except in the generating of the lap at the quoins. In Dutch bond, all quoins are three-quarter bats—placed in alternately stretching and heading orientation with successive courses—and no use whatever is made of queen closers. To the Dutch this is simply a variant of what they call a cross bond.


title: Brickwork

text: For the standard English garden wall bond, headers are used as quoins for the middle stretching course in order to generate the lap, with queen closers as the penultimate brick at either end of the heading courses. A more complex set of quoins and queen closers is necessary to achieve the lap for a raking English garden wall bond.


title: Brickwork

text: The heading course in English garden wall bond sometimes features bricks of a different colour to its surrounding stretchers. In English chalk districts, flint is substituted for the stretchers, and the headers constitute a lacing course.


title: Brickwork

text: The lap is generated by the use of headers as quoins for the even-numbered stretching courses, counting up from the previous heading course, with queen closers as the penultimate brick at either end of the heading courses.


title: Brickwork

text: This bond may have between three and nine courses of stretchers between each course of headers. Six is the most common number of courses of stretchers.


title: Brickwork

text: Headers are used as quoins for the even-numbered stretching courses, counting up from the previous heading course, in order to achieve the necessary off-set in a standard American bond, with queen closers as the penultimate brick at either end of the heading courses.


title: Brickwork

text: The brick Clarke-Palmore House in Henrico County, Virginia, has a lower level built in 1819 described as being American bond of three to five stretching courses between each heading course, and an upper level built in 1855 with American bond of six to seven stretching courses between each heading course.


title: Brickwork

text: All bricks in this bond are headers, but for the lap-generating quoin three-quarter bat which offsets each successive courses by half a header.


title: Brickwork

text: Header bond is often used on curving walls with a small radius of curvature. In Lewes, Sussex, England UK many small buildings are constructed in this bond, using blue coloured bricks and vitrified surfaces.


title: Brickwork

text: All bricks in this bond are stretchers, with the bricks in each successive course staggered by half a stretcher. Headers are used as quoins on alternating stretching courses in order to achieve the necessary off-set.


title: Brickwork

text: Also consists entirely of courses of stretchers, but with the bricks in each successive course staggered in some pattern other than that of standard stretcher bond.


title: Brickwork

text: Flemish stretcher bond separates courses of alternately laid stretchers and headers, with a number of courses of stretchers alone. Brickwork in this bond may have between one and four courses of stretchers to one course after the Flemish manner. The courses of stretchers are often but not always staggered in a raking pattern.


title: Brickwork

text: Rat-trap bond (also Chinese bond) substantially observes the same pattern as Flemish bond, but consists of rowlocks and shiners instead of headers and stretchers. This gives a wall with an internal cavity bridged by the rowlocks, hence the reference to rat-traps.


title: Brickwork

text: Dearne's bond substantially observes the same pattern as English bond, but uses shiners in place of stretchers.


title: Brickwork

text: A row of single basket weave bond comprises pairs of sailors laid side-by-side, capped with a shiner, alternating with pairs of sailors laid side-by-side sat atop a shiner. Subsequent rows are identical and aligned with those above.


title: Brickwork

text: A row of double basket weave bond comprises pairs of shiners laid atop one another, alternating with pairs of sailors laid side by side. The following row is off-set so the pair of shiners sits below the pair of sailors in the row above. This results in bricks arranged in pairs in a square grid so that the join between each pair is perpendicular to the join of the four pairs around it.


title: Brickwork

text: The herringbone pattern (opus spicatum) made by placing soldiers next to stretchers or vice versa (i.e. headers perpendicular) making 'L' shapes, nesting each L in the same order of laying. Thin bricks are more common. The pattern is usually rotated by 45° to create a completely vertical (plumb) succession of 'V' shapes. It follows either the left or right brick forms the tip of the v in any wall. Herringbone is sometimes used as infill in timber-framed buildings.


title: Brickwork

text: A pattern made of four bricks surrounding a square brick, one-quarter the size of a half-brick. It is designed to resemble woven cloth. Another, similar pattern is called the interlacing bond.


title: Brickwork

text: Flemish diagonal bond comprises a complex pattern of stretcher courses alternating with courses of one or two stretchers between headers, at various offsets, such that over ten courses, a diamond-shaped pattern appears.


title: Brickwork

text: Moisture may ascend into a building from the foundation of a wall or gain ingress into a building from a wet patch of ground, where it meets a solid wall. The manifest result of this process is called damp. One of many methods of resisting such ingresses of water is to construct the wall with several low courses of dense engineering bricks such as Staffordshire blue bricks. This method of damp proofing appears as a distinctive navy blue band running around the circumference of a building. It is only partially effective, as in spite of the lower courses of brick being more moisture resistant the mortar bedding and perpends joining the bricks remain permeable.


title: Jareth

text: Jareth the Goblin King is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the 1986 fantasy film "Labyrinth." Portrayed by David Bowie, Jareth is the powerful and enigmatic king of the goblins to whom protagonist Sarah Williams wishes away her baby brother Toby. Jareth gives Sarah thirteen hours to retrieve the baby from his castle at the centre of an enormous labyrinth, during which time he sets obstacles in her path and tries to entice her away from her quest.


title: Jareth

text: The character was created by director Jim Henson and writer Dennis Lee, and designed by Brian Froud. Several contemporary musicians were initially considered for the role besides Bowie, including Sting, Michael Jackson and Prince. Henson first approached Bowie in 1983 to offer him the part, and the character was developed with Bowie in mind—who was also hired to write the songs for "Labyrinth", performing three in the film as Jareth.


title: Jareth

text: Conceptualised as the inner fantasy of Sarah, Jareth's character design was influenced by Heathcliff from "Wuthering Heights" and Rochester from "Jane Eyre", as well as the Scarlet Pimpernel, medieval knights, "Grimm's Fairy Tales", ballet dancers, contemporary rock stars, and "leather boys" such as Johnny Strabler from "The Wild One".


title: Jareth

text: Reception to the character has been generally positive, with critics praising Jareth's magnetism and costuming. Bowie's performance as Jareth, while alternately lauded and derided by contemporary critics, has since become one of his most celebrated film appearances.


title: Jareth

text: "Labyrinth" started as a collaboration between director Jim Henson and conceptual designer Brian Froud following their previous collaboration, "The Dark Crystal". In making "Labyrinth", Henson wanted to create a film that combined elements of fairy tales and classical stories in a script that would appeal to a modern audience. According to Froud, he and Henson decided to have human characters as the lead roles in order to make "Labyrinth" "more accessible and immediate" than "The Dark Crystal", which had featured only puppets. Henson explained that they structured "Labyrinth" "in a way that the human is really carrying the whole picture" and acts as a "bridge" between the fantastical puppets and the audience. In the film's initial discussions between Henson, Froud, artist Wendy Froud and writer Dennis Lee, the character of Jareth was first conceived as a shapeshifting "prince of darkness" who kidnaps a king's baby, spiriting it away to the Castle of Darkness at the centre of a great labyrinth inhabited by goblins. Wishing to avoid similarities to Ridley Scott's original fairy tale film "Legend", which was in development near the same time as "Labyrinth", Henson and his team made significant changes to "Labyrinth"'s main characters and story. They decided to have the protagonist be an adolescent girl, Sarah, who journeys to the centre of the Labyrinth to rescue her baby brother after wishing him away to the goblins. Describing the subtext of "Labyrinth" as being "about the growing-up process of maturity ... a young girl right at that point between girl and woman, shedding her childhood thoughts for adult thoughts", Henson intended to partly represent this in the figure of Jareth, who exists in Sarah's imagination. Henson said of the character:


title: Jareth

text: In Lee's early version of the story, Jareth had solved the Labyrinth long ago but "never had the courage to return to the real world". During the drafting stage, Henson and screenwriter Terry Jones had a fundamental disagreement about Jareth's character and what the story would be about. Jones envisaged Jareth as a "hollow man" who merely seems "all powerful to begin with" but is actually using the Labyrinth to "keep people from getting to his heart." In Jones' original script, Jareth represented "people who are more interested in manipulating the world than actually baring themselves at all", and is destroyed by Sarah reaching the Labyrinth's centre. This idea "didn't mean anything" to Henson, who intended his film to be a girl's coming of age story.


title: Jareth

text: The casting of David Bowie as Jareth, who was also hired to write songs for the film, resulted in many script changes and had a significant impact on the character's prominence in the story. Jones had intended for the Goblin King not to appear until Sarah reaches the centre of the Labyrinth, as he felt that if Jareth "can appear anywhere he likes there’s no contest". With the thought of Bowie starring in the film, Henson wanted Jareth to sing and appear throughout the film, and asked Jones to re-write the script to allow the character numerous appearances and songs. After receiving a redraft of the script, Bowie found that it lacked humour and considered withdrawing his involvement in the project as a result. To ensure Bowie's involvement, Henson asked Jones rework the script again to restore the humour of some the previous drafts. Shortly before filming began, Henson solicited Elaine May to improve the characterisations of Sarah and Jareth; her contributions "humaniz[ed] the characters" and pleased Henson to the extent that her material was incorporated into the film's shooting script.


title: Jareth

text: According to Henson, Jareth was at one stage going to be a creature in the same vein as his goblin subjects, which were portrayed through the use of puppets and animatronics produced by Henson's Creature Shop. Deciding that the role should be filled by a live actor, Henson initially considered offering it to Simon MacCorkindale or Kevin Kline. After "Labyrinth" score composer Trevor Jones proposed the idea of using contemporary music for the film, Henson decided he wanted a big, charismatic pop star to sing and act as the Goblin King, "someone who could change the film's whole musical style". Several contemporary singers were considered for the role besides Bowie, including Sting, Michael Jackson and Prince. Henson's first choice was Bowie, whom his sons Brian and John convinced him to offer the role to as they believed Bowie would have the most lasting appeal with audiences. Familiar with his music, the Hensons had also seen Bowie act on Broadway in the play "The Elephant Man", and felt that his "other-worldliness" and energy would be a good match for the fantastic creatures and settings planned for the film.


title: Jareth

text: "I wanted to put two characters of flesh and bone in the middle of all these artificial creatures," Jim Henson explained, "and David Bowie embodies a certain maturity, with his sexuality, his disturbing aspect, all sorts of things that characterize the adult world." Expounding that Jareth "must have something attractive and menacing about him" and be both "positive and negative at the same time", Henson said that Bowie "had the advantage of being able to be seductive, threatening, scary", and was able to create the range he wanted in the character. Froud similarly felt that Bowie was the perfect choice to play Jareth, writing that his "protean persona" made him well-suited to the role, as "Jareth needed to be a mercurial figure who would constantly throw Sarah off balance emotionally." While "Labyrinth" was made as a film that would appeal to children, Henson also hoped Bowie's presence and musical contributions would make the film more accessible to older demographics.


title: Jareth

text: Henson met Bowie in the summer of 1983 to seek his involvement, as Bowie was in the U.S. for his Serious Moonlight Tour at the time. During a meeting in New York on 18 June 1984, Henson showed Bowie some of Froud's concept art to pique his interest in the film. "That impressed me for openers," Bowie later said, "but he also gave me a tape of "The Dark Crystal", which really excited me. I could see the potential of adding humans to his world of creatures". Henson continued to pursue Bowie for the role of the Goblin King, developing the character with him in mind and sending him each revision of the script for his comments. The two men met again in Gstaad, Switzerland on 11 February 1985, and Bowie's deal was set on 15 February 1985.


title: Jareth

text: Bowie began shooting his scenes on 3 June 1985. On playing the role of Jareth, Bowie said, "I loved the magic, the mystery." Henson stated that Bowie acted his scenes as written in the script while occasionally contributing ideas, and "needed very little direction, because his own characterization [of Jareth] was always right on." However, Bowie initially had difficulty acting with the puppet characters, as the characters' voices did not come from the puppets themselves but from off-stage which he found disorientating. Henson recalled that Bowie's first few scenes were with the puppet Hoggle, "and he kept wanting to look off-stage to where the voice was coming from ... instead of where Hoggle, the puppet, actually was. It took him a while to get used to that aspect of filming." Bowie completed many of his scenes in two or three takes, except for very technical scenes or those involving complex puppets. Bowie enjoyed making the film, stating, ""Labyrinth" was great fun to do".


title: Jareth

text: Bowie's two dancing scenes were choreographed by Charles Augins and Cheryl McFadden respectively. Jareth's elaborate crystal-ball contact juggling manipulations were choreographed and performed by juggler Michael Moschen. Henson wanted Jareth to have a visible skill with which to express his magical powers, and said that Moschen's work was "as close to real magic as anything that I really know." During filming, Moschen crouched behind Bowie's cloak and placed his hands through the sleeves to replace Bowie's arms. This meant that Moschen could not see the objects he was juggling, and it took many takes to film the scenes with the crystal balls.


title: Jareth

text: Froud stated that Jareth is "Sarah's inner fantasy, a figure made up of her daydreams and nightmares ... He is seen, through her eyes, as part dangerous goblin, part glamorous rock star". The concept behind the character is that Sarah, having reached the age of sexual awakening, creates Jareth as the living embodiment of her adolescent interests and desires; he is a dream figure who reflects her inner "romantic turmoil." Froud sought to reflect this in the character's outfits and appearance, and drew upon classic "romantic dangerous" figures from a range of literary sources. In his afterword to the 20th-anniversary edition of "The Goblins of Labyrinth", Froud wrote that Jareth references "the romantic figures of Heathcliff in "Wuthering Heights" and a brooding Rochester from "Jane Eyre"" and the "transfiguring" Scarlet Pimpernel. Jareth's costumes are intentionally eclectic, drawing on the image of Marlon Brando's leather jacket from "The Wild One" as well as that of a medieval knight "with the worms of death eating through his armour" from "Grimms' Fairy Tales". Jareth's close-fitting tights are a reference to ballet dancers, such as Mikhail Baryshnikov. The Goblin King also has a popstar aspect; Froud designed him a sceptre topped with a crystal ball as "a visual echo of a microphone". The sceptre also functions as a swagger stick and riding crop, as Froud regarded Jareth as "the proud lord of the manor, lord of his goblin domain, with his hounds at his feet, ready to go hunting for human souls." Hanging from his neck and adorning his leather jacket and breastplate, Jareth wears the "goblin symbol". Jeweller Mitch Nugent was commissioned to make the baroque amulet and sceptre. Jareth's cloak was designed by costume designer Vin Burnham.


title: Jareth

text: The design of the character's countenance and hairstyle went through various stages. Henson revealed, "For a while, we thought we'd give [Bowie] lots of prosthetic make-up, and horns", while Froud said at one stage they attempted to make Jareth's hair look "wolf-like and feral". They eventually settled on "just the wild Kabuki hair", a multi-layered blond wig which was also reminiscent of "a popstar from a rock band". Bowie also gave input into the creation of the character's look.


title: Jareth

text: For the ballroom scene, Froud and costume designer Ellis Flyte fashioned Jareth a velvet tailcoat shot with blue, black and silver, and embroidered with broken jewels and mirrors on the front and shoulders. Worn underneath this was a silver silk satin shirt with a jabot, and black leggings printed with a silver snakeskin pattern.


title: Jareth

text: Froud's son Toby, who as an infant played "Labyrinth"'s character of the same name, stated that the Goblin King is meant to be a sexual icon and a temptation to Sarah, alluding to "the dark fairy in folklore [who] are meant to be tempting." This fact was accentuated by a prominent codpiece added to Bowie's costumes. According to puppeteer coordinator Brian Henson, the codpiece had to be reduced from its original size after the studio reviewed the rushes from the first scene shot with Bowie and deemed his costume inappropriate. The codpiece was reduced for Bowie's subsequent scenes. However, due to Jim Henson's dislike for reshooting, Bowie's first scene (the "Blind Beggar" scene) was not reshot.


title: Jareth

text: The white barn owl that appears in "Labyrinth" "is one of the many manifestations of the Goblin King", according to the film's early production notes. Henson described the owl as "vaguely...the symbol of the Goblin King." Jareth as the owl was performed by a live owl and a puppet owl built by the Creature Shop in alternating shots. The computer-generated owl that flies over the film's opening credits was created by animators Larry Yaeger and Bill Kroyer, and marked the first use of a realistic CGI animal in a film.


title: Jareth

text: Jareth is the only main character to sing in "Labyrinth". Bowie performed as the character three of the five songs that he wrote for the film: "Magic Dance", "As the World Falls Down" and "Within You". The film's theme song, "Underground", has also been interpreted by some critics as being sung from Jareth's point of view.


title: Jareth

text: "Magic Dance", which has been described as a "bouncy pop" song, is performed along with dance by Jareth and his goblins to cheer up baby Toby at the castle. The dialogue starting with phrase, "you remind me of the babe" that occurs between Jareth and the goblins at the beginning of the song is a direct reference to an exchange between Cary Grant and Shirley Temple in the 1947 film "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer". "Cinemaps: An Atlas of 35 Great Movies" authors Andrew DeGraff and A.D. Jameson suggest the significance of this reference is that "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" is about a teenage girl's crush on an older man, just as Sarah is infatuated with the fictitious Goblin King.


title: Jareth

text: "As the World Falls Down", which "Rolling Stone" described as a "sparkling, subdued ballad", soundtracks a dream sequence at a masquerade ball. Though Jareth does not perform the song directly, he mouths the words of the song to Sarah as they are dancing towards the end of the sequence. Henson wanted the song to be "fairly old-fashioned in its sentiments", according to Bowie. A love song, the lyrics promise everlasting loyalty and affection.


title: Jareth

text: Jareth sings "Within You" at the film's climax before his final confrontation with Sarah at the top of his castle. "I had to write something that sounded like stone walls and crumbling power," Bowie said of the song, describing its overall effect combined with the film's visuals as "very tragic and slightly disturbing." Adam Trainer of "Senses of Cinema" described "Within You" as "a dark, tortured-sounding song of love’s betrayal. Throughout, the lyrics emphasise the lengths to which Jareth has gone to facilitate Sarah’s self-indulgent quest." Calling the song "haunting and touching" whilst being the character's most villainous song, Sean Rehbein of "Keen Gamer" wrote that it "looks into his motivations, and brings forth his vulnerabilities ... as Jareth realizes all his plans haven't worked, and his game is seen as nothing but wicked, instead of charming, by Sarah." "Labyrinth: The Ultimate Visual History" authors Paula Block and Terry Erdmann suggest Jareth's mournful repeated line at the end of the song, "I can't live within you", is his acknowledgement that he exists only in Sarah's imagination, which she is on the verge of leaving behind.


title: Jareth

text: King Jareth is inadvertently summoned by Sarah, a discontented teenager who has rashly wished her baby brother Toby away to the goblins. Jareth urges Sarah to forget about her brother, offering her a crystal ball containing her dreams in exchange for the baby, but Sarah declines, regretting her wish and insistent on getting Toby back. Unable to dissuade her, Jareth reluctantly informs Sarah that Toby is in his castle at the centre of the Labyrinth, and that to retrieve the baby she must solve the Labyrinth in thirteen hours or Toby will remain in the goblin realm forever.


title: Jareth

text: As Sarah navigates the Labyrinth, inside the castle Jareth and his goblins entertain Toby while monitoring Sarah's progress through a crystal. Jareth is perturbed by how far she has travelled, and that she does not give up. After Sarah bribes a dwarf named Hoggle into helping her, Jareth appears before the pair. Confronting Hoggle, Jareth questions the dwarf's loyalty, as he had been supposed to lead Sarah back to the beginning of the Labyrinth, and threatens to suspend him over the Bog of Eternal Stench if he continues to help her. Jareth then asks Sarah how she is finding his challenge. Sarah belittles the Labyrinth as being easy, and in response Jareth takes away three hours from her time limit and summons "the Cleaners", a goblin-driven steel machine, to chase her and Hoggle.


title: Jareth

text: Later, as Hoggle is running to rescue Sarah from a group of wild forest creatures called the Fireys, Jareth confronts the dwarf again, reproaching him for continuing to help Sarah against his warnings. He gives Hoggle an enchanted peach with the instruction to give it to Sarah. Jareth also warns Hoggle that if Sarah kisses him, Jareth will turn him into the "Prince of the Land of Stench". When Sarah kisses Hoggle in thanks for saving her from the Fireys, they are both sent to the Bog. Jareth releases crystals that float like bubbles to the forest, where Sarah has eaten the peach and fallen into an amnesiac enchantment. The crystals draw near her and she is transported into a dream of a masquerade ball, where she finds Jareth and they dance. Eventually Sarah escapes the dream by smashing the walls of the crystal and, unbeknownst to Jareth, she remembers Toby and continues her journey to save him.


title: Jareth

text: In his castle, Jareth is informed that Sarah has gotten past the gate guard to the Goblin City. Alarmed by the news, he orders the goblins to hide Toby and sends his goblin troops to stop Sarah from reaching the castle, but the defence is unsuccessful. Sarah finds Jareth in a gravity-defying room of staircases and he leads her on a chase. Eventually she spots Toby and tries to get to him as Jareth sings a mournful song. In their final confrontation, Jareth reminds Sarah that he took Toby because she wished it and says he is exhausted from living up to her expectations of him. Jareth offers Sarah her dreams, entreating her to let him rule her and promising to be her slave if she will fear, love and obey him. She tells him he has no power over her. Defeated, Jareth returns Sarah and Toby home safely and turns into an owl, flying away. His final appearance is as the owl, briefly watching from outside as a number of goblins and other characters from the Labyrinth celebrate with Sarah in her room, before flying away into the night.


title: Jareth

text: Jareth is the king of the goblins and ruler of the Labyrinth — a vast, maze-like domain within a magical realm referred to as "the Underground" in the film's theme song. Though the Goblin King, Jareth is never said to be a goblin himself, appearing instead as a handsome human. In an early draft of the "Labyrinth" script, however, he turned into a goblin when Sarah rejected him. Besides his goblin subjects, Jareth also reigns over the fairies, dwarves and various creatures that dwell in the Labyrinth.


title: Jareth

text: Jareth's powers include the ability to form crystal orbs in his hands, which can create illusions of all types or allow him to view any place within his kingdom. He uses his crystals to show dreams, and offers a crystal to Sarah as a symbol of her dreams in exchange for her baby brother.


title: Jareth

text: Jareth is also a master of disguise. He can shapeshift into a barn owl, a form in which he appears at the beginning and the end of the film. In another scene, he disguises himself as a blind beggar. He is able to magically appear and disappear at will, and can walk through material. He can also project his disembodied voice to distant places.


title: Jareth

text: Jareth can defy gravity and also has the ability to reorder time. After Sarah belittles the Labyrinth as being too easy, Jareth moves time forward by three hours so that she has a stricter time limit in which to solve it. Although Sarah spends a total of ten hours in the Underground, when she returns to the human world less than five hours have passed.


title: Jareth

text: According to Brian Froud, Jareth is a Romantic hero, a rebel and an outsider. Jim Henson said that Jareth's "role is similar to being the leader of a gang. Everyone in the kingdom does what he says until Sarah comes along — and she defies him. The goblins [Jareth] controls are like members of his gang. He treats them terribly but they do anything he says." However, Froud said that "in many ways the character is ridiculous" as he is never quite able to control the unruly goblins. Jareth has to remind the goblins to laugh every time he makes a joke, and is often annoyed by their lack of intelligence. Donal Lynch of the "Irish Independent" observed that Jareth's personality continually "swerve[s] from playful to imperious and back again." Toussaint Egan of "Polygon" described the character as "a wily and verbose sorcerer with an irrepressible flair for the dramatic."


title: Jareth

text: Brooding and discontent, Jareth has reluctantly inherited his position and runs his kingdom under duress, according to David Bowie. Though he would prefer a different life, Jareth is resigned to his role as Goblin King and runs his kingdom "as well as he can", Bowie said, expressing the character's weariness at having to "sort out the whole situation" whenever the goblins collect a baby that has been wished away. Bowie stated that Jareth is not evil; however, he described the king as spoilt, childish and accustomed to getting his own way. "I think Jareth is, at best, a romantic; but at worst, he's a spoilt child, vain and temperamental — kind of like a rock 'n' roll star!" Bowie said, adding that the king is "completely smitten" by the character Sarah, admiring of her strong will and virtue. He described the dynamic between Jareth and Sarah as being like a battle of wits, without true hostility. According to Bowie, Jareth is lonely and longs for companionship, a sentiment which underlies his pleading for Sarah to remain with him in the Underground.


title: Jareth

text: Jareth is gentle and friendly towards Toby, and at one point playfully muses on renaming the baby after himself. However, he is cruel in his treatment of Hoggle, using intimidation and the threat of the Bog of Eternal Stench to coerce him to obey, and tormenting Hoggle over his friendship with Sarah.


title: Jareth

text: Ed Power of "The Telegraph" wrote that Jareth is a "mirror image" of Sarah: "both are immature, temperamental and peevish." Brian Henson described Jareth as a "Peter Pan type of character" who is "locked in a sort of teenage sensibility ... He’s a little petulant and unpredictable and he's spoiled rotten". However, Jareth "learns his lesson" about his faults, Henson said, remarking that ""Labyrinth" is both a coming of age for Sarah and a coming of age, in a way, for Jareth".


title: Jareth

text: Although "Labyrinth" received mixed reviews, Jareth has earned a mostly positive reception from entertainment critics. Francie Noyes of "The Arizona Republic" found Jareth "a wonderful fantasy character, alternately wicked and compelling." Sheila Benson of the "Los Angeles Times" considered Jareth to be one of the film's strong points, writing, "he has a nice, mocking sense of irony, and he looks suitably magical with his Kabuki lion-mane hair ... He might, in fact, make a fine Shakespearean Oberon, and he'd hardly have to change costume." Paul Byrnes of "The Sydney Morning Herald" also likened Jareth to Oberon as a "charming tempter", although found that "his characterisation suffers because he constantly breaks into song." Mary Mae Goris of the "Irish Independent" wrote, "with staring hair and svelte in clinging pantaloons and high hessians [...] he'd make a good Hans Heiling if he could sing."


title: Jareth

text: Jareth is often described as a pantomime villain, and a scene stealer. Considering Jareth the film's main attraction, Brian Truitt of "The Palm Beach Post" called him "the smoothest Goblin King of all time" and a character "[y]ou love to hate and just love to love". Taryn McCabe of "Little White Lies" praised Jareth as "a dazzling character we feel at once threatened by and compulsively drawn to." Hailing the character as "one of cinema’s most daring and eccentric bad boys" in a feature for film website "OneRoomWithAView.com", Amy Hubbard wrote: "Bowie’s Jareth does exactly what he is designed to do – he is the ultimate heartthrob, a representation of danger, love and lust as well as the confusion that such feelings inspire." Bridget McGovern of "Tor.com" likened the Goblin King to the eponymous villain of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen", writing that such characters "tend to represent an unsettling mix of childhood fantasies and adult fears and desires; they draw their would-be victims in through a disturbing blend of infantilization and seduction". Adrienna Borda of "Taste of Cinema" wrote, "He is flirtatious and protective, yet mysterious and menacing. He is Prince Charming combined with a bad boy. Without a doubt, Jareth is simply one of the most attractive villains ever created." Nick Wanserski of "The A.V. Club" acclaimed Jareth as "a spectacularly realized character," while "VultureHound"'s Jack Edwards praised him as "a wonderful villain without ever truly being evil," writing: "He has that whimsical nature of a folklore antagonist; he provides the chance for victory for the hero by giving Sarah 13 hours, he doesn’t turn Toby to a goblin immediately and when he has been beat he is not destroyed, he is bound by the terms of his world." Chris Cabin of "Collider" found that "as a character, Jareth seems to be having infinitely more fun than most film villains do," and his creators were "careful not to stress some sadistic side or a rigid belief in evil as a kind of religious duty." Daniel Richardson of "UNILAD" wrote, "Oozing charisma, adding musical numbers and riffing with the comedic puppets enables the character to avoid the clichés of being a baby-snatcher. Instead, [Jareth] shows the loneliness of a king who has played a sinister game in an attempt to garner affection from someone who isn’t a goblin." Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib of MTV News wrote that the Goblin King is "not a villain in the traditional sense ... he want[s] to be feared, respected, but mostly adored," concluding, "Jareth represent[s] a lot of things, perhaps the greatest being anxiety over whether we will ever be truly loved". "Glamour's" Ella Alexander appreciated that, unlike many male film antagonists' attitudes towards a young female protagonist, Jareth "notes the complexities and intelligence of Sarah, and is eventually defeated by her", calling it "pretty groundbreaking stuff".


title: Jareth

text: Bowie's performance as Jareth was variously lauded and derided by contemporary critics. "Time's" Richard Corliss praised Bowie as "charismatic", referring to his character as a "Kabuki sorcerer who offers his ravishing young antagonist the gilded perks of adult servitude". Nina Darnton wrote in "The New York Times" that Bowie was "perfectly cast as the teasing, tempting seducer whom Sarah must both want and reject in order to learn the labyrinth's lessons," and Bruce Bailey of the "Montreal Gazette" also commended the casting of Bowie, commenting, "He has just the right look for a creature who's the object of both loathing and secret desire. And this is one rock star who can deliver his lines with a combination of menace and playfulness that few seasoned actors could even begin to match." However, Victoria Mather in "The Daily Telegraph" panned his acting as "robotic", writing, "Bowie makes himself quite ridiculous as the Goblin King complete with punk hair do and black leather, desporting himself with a small, non-speaking character in a babygro". Hal Lipper of the "St. Petersburg Times" found, "Bowie forgoes acting, preferring to prance around his lair while staring solemnly into the camera. He's not exactly wooden. Plastic might be a more accurate description." "Variety" dismissed Bowie as "too serious to be campy, too dumb to be serious." In "The Straits Times", Serena Toh felt that Bowie was "too self-conscious", while Kannan Chandran was highly critical of his performance, writing, "Bowie tries to inject venom into his role but hisses like a detoxified mamba instead."


title: Jareth

text: Bowie's portrayal of Jareth is acclaimed by modern critics, and received particular attention following the actor's death in 2016. Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" wrote that Bowie "made a sensational impression" as Jareth, in a role that "is perfect for his aptitude for fantasy and a certain kind of magical surrealism." Marc Burrows of the "New Statesman" wrote that Bowie "funnels his ambiguity, his magnetism and his subtle disquiet into Jareth ... The performance is hammy but somehow pitched absolutely right for the world it inhabits". Describing Bowie as "regal, arrogant and wildly charismatic", "Time Out" found his acting as the Goblin King "frighteningly believable". Josh Winning of "Total Film" wrote of his performance, "Bowie sweeps about his sumptuous castle set like a thing possessed, clearly revelling in the dress up while bringing depth and snark to the role." The "Portland Press Herald" wrote, "Bowie manages to be both archly hilarious, deeply menacing, and, as the symbol of the teenage heroine's awakening, very sexy." McGovern attributed much of "Labyrinth's" humour to Bowie's performance, observing that his portrayal of Jareth seemed to draw upon his "penchant for spoofing his own image as a spoiled, out-of-touch rock star and willingness to poke fun at the stereotype of the pretentious, self-obsessed pop idol". Jake Wilson in "The Age" praised Bowie as being tactful in his portrayal, writing: "there's a camp menace to the performance, but also an unforced jollity, as if he were genuinely delighted to be surrounded by a bunch of puppets." "Empire" described his performance as "fun, mischievous [...] pantomime but also scary", while "The Telegraph" called him "wonderfully zany". Jessica Kiang wrote for "IndieWire" that Bowie "brings his trademark ambiguity to making the villain both attractive and repulsive, lending the film a slightly more grown-up slant". Praising Bowie as "the indisputable star" of the film, Nick Chen of "Dazed" enthused that Bowie's voice "is tailor-made for a family movie villain". While judging the songs Bowie wrote and performed for "Labyrinth" as "far from his best work", Tasha Robinson of "The A.V. Club" praised Bowie's portrayal of Jareth as "gloriously iconic, a perfect blend of predatory, leering rock star and hurt, rejected emo lover". Writing for "AXS", Michelle Lavallee said, "Bowie combines a theatrical flamboyance and a sinister style that makes for one of the most memorable villains of the 1980's".


title: Jareth

text: Despite disappointing US box office sales upon initial release, "Labyrinth" was later a success on home video and television broadcasts, becoming a cult film. The film's lasting popularity and cult status have been attributed in large part to the character of Jareth and Bowie's performance. Jareth has been identified as a cultural icon, and is Bowie's most famous film role. Amanda Schurr of "Paste" wrote that Jareth "was the Wizard of Oz for Gen X moviegoers, much as the film itself sent Jim Henson-worshipping youngsters down their own uniquely ’80s, glitter-flecked Yellow Brick Road." Described by "Daily Telegraph" writer Robert Colvile as "childhood-defining", the character is particularly popular amongst the generation of children from the 1980s and 1990s. Bowie told an interviewer in 2002, "There's a generation that kind of know about "Labyrinth" ... A lot of kids are brought up to me and their mums say, 'This is Jareth, from "Labyrinth"!' ". Journalist Rob Sheffield called "Labyrinth" "the gateway drug that keeps introducing [Bowie] to new generations of young fans."


title: Jareth

text: Jareth is Bowie's most fondly remembered performance as well as his most "rock-star" acting role, academic Andrew Ross wrote in "The Conversation". Burrows argued that Jareth is the most important character Bowie played in his career because it cemented his legacy as "one of ethereal weirdness" in contrast to the more conventional entertainer he had become by the 1980s. Paul Morley in "The Guardian" identified "Labyrinth" as "the most blatant example of how Bowie could be both an amiable family entertainer and a far-fetched experimental pop star." Lucas Fagen of "Hyperallergic" considered Jareth to be Bowie’s "absolute triumph as an actor", more so than his roles in the films "The Man Who Fell to Earth" (1975) and "The Hunger" (1983).


title: Jareth

text: Jareth is regarded as one of the most iconic characters featured in a fantasy film. Pop culture website "The Portalist" rated Jareth as one of 50 "Best Fantasy Characters Ever", stating that "his fashion sense, musical abilities, and magnetism make Jareth one of the most iconic characters to come out of the dark fantasy films of the '80s." "Total Film" included Jareth on a similar list of 50 greatest fantasy characters, and wrote that "Not only can he hold a damn fine tune ... he's also one of the biggest fantasy divas ever", citing as examples: "He knows how to make an entrance and he isn't half a drama queen." The same publication also ranked Jareth as one of 30 greatest film characters from the 1980s. "Screen Rant" listed Jareth among the 10 most iconic characters created by Jim Henson, writing that while the villain of "Labyrinth", "he's so likable and fun it's impossible not to fall under his spell." The website also rated Jareth among the "10 Coolest Villains In Movie History".


title: Jareth

text: The character has gained recognition for his looks and fashion, with "ShortList" ranking him among the "25 Best Dressed Villains" on film. "Dazed" and "Vogue" listed Jareth among Bowie's most stylish movie roles, the latter writing that "there's no taking your eyes off of [Jareth] and his over-the-top costumes [...] he’s easily the most fashion-forward Jim Henson creation." In an article listing the "best mullets in movie history", "Digital Spy" called Jareth's hairstyle the most "magnificent mullet on the silver screen", while "Into Film" wrote it is "one of the most remarkable wigs in movie history". Ranking it among the "Top 10 Iconic Hairstyles In Pop Culture History", PEDESTRIAN.TV dubbed the hairstyle "The Jareth" and called it the "pinnacle of late 80s hair appeal". "Time Out", however, considered it "Bowie's saddest ever haircut". When asked in 2002 to nominate the most "Spinal Tap" fashion moment of his career, Bowie joked that his "Labyrinth" wardrobe "got pretty damn near it". Rotten Tomatoes considered Jareth among the "Top 10 Most Outrageous Movie Characters", citing among other attributes his "fantastically loud glam-rock" hairstyle and "melodramatic" singing. A sex symbol, Jareth has been credited by several publications with initiating the sexual awakening of numerous women as young girls and teenagers during the 1980s and 1990s.


title: Jareth

text: A fan favourite, Jareth is a popular subject of fan art, cosplay and fan fiction. Jim Henson went dressed as Jareth to one of the annual masked costume parties he hosted in New York between 1983 and 1988. Since 1997, the Labyrinth of Jareth Masquerade Ball, an event inspired by the character and film, has been held annually in various US cities, including San Diego, Hollywood, and, most recently, Los Angeles. According to event founder Shawn Strider, in the mythology that has developed around the ball, Jareth is a legendary "faerie prince or a goblin prince" who, due to a broken heart, eventually left the Labyrinth to be reunited with Sarah.


title: Jareth

text: Props and costumes Bowie wore as Jareth have been showcased in numerous exhibitions, including: the Museum of Pop Culture's permanent installation "Fantasy: Worlds of Myth and Magic" (opened 2013), the Victoria and Albert Museum's touring exhibit "David Bowie Is" (2013-2018), the Center for Puppetry Arts' display "Jim Henson's Labyrinth: Journey to Goblin City" (2016-2017), and the Museum of the Moving Image's permanent feature "The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited" (opened 2017).


title: Jareth

text: Jareth appears in "Labyrinth"'s tie-in adaptations, which include the novelisation by A. C. H. Smith and the three-issue comic book adaptation published by Marvel Comics, which was first released in a single volume as "Marvel Super Special #40" in 1986. He also appears in the film's picture book adaptation, photo album, and "".


title: Jareth

text: The "Labyrinth" novelisation includes a thematic subplot that was left out of the film, in which Sarah's mother had left her father to become an actress and had become romantically involved with an actor. According to Henson, the actor was to be played by Bowie in the film, so when Jareth appeared in his likeness "[Sarah] was to feel this attraction to him, but also anger". The subplot was ultimately cut from the script as "it loaded the story down". However, in the film various photos are briefly shown in Sarah's room depicting the unnamed actor (Bowie) with Sarah's mother Linda Williams, alongside news clippings reporting their “on/off relationship”. In the novelisation, Linda's costar is named Jeremy. The novelisation elaborates on Sarah aspiring to become an actress like her mother, idolizing both Linda and Jeremy, and fantasising about living their celebrity lifestyle.


title: Jareth

text: Bowie portrayed Jareth in two music videos for the songs "Underground" and "As the World Falls Down" from the "Labyrinth" soundtrack. Produced by Steve Barron in 1986, both videos were released on the 1993 VHS tape "Bowie - The Video Collection" and the 2002 two-disc DVD set "Best of Bowie". The videos feature footage of Bowie (as himself) performing the songs, appearances by various "Labyrinth" puppet characters, and footage of Bowie as the Goblin King taken from the film.


title: Jareth

text: Jareth appears as one of the main characters in "Return to Labyrinth", a four-volume original English-language manga sequel to the film created by Jake T. Forbes and published by Tokyopop between 2006 and 2010. In the manga, Jareth has been the Goblin King for 1,300 years, and is not a goblin like his subjects but had decided to rule them out of boredom. Having created the Labyrinth to isolate himself and protect his heart, Jareth is weakened by Sarah's defeat and his powers have diminished. In the series, which is set more than a decade after the events of the film, Jareth abdicates his throne, establishing the now teenaged Toby as his heir and leaving him in charge of the Labyrinth, which is in a deteriorating state. Jareth then goes to the human world to entice Sarah, with whom he is still in love, into creating a new world with him using the power of her dreams. However, Sarah realises her dreams and finds a way to preserve the world of the Labyrinth by writing stories. After Sarah and Toby insist everyone be allowed to choose their own paths, Jareth finds himself unwillingly returned to the goblin throne.


title: Jareth

text: Archaia Entertainment, in collaboration with The Jim Henson Company, announced in 2011 it was developing a prequel graphic novel about the story of how Jareth became the Goblin King. Project editor Stephen Christy described the graphic novel as "a very tragic story" featuring a teenaged Jareth, and not featuring Sarah or Toby. David Bowie was approached by Archaia in order to seek permission to use his likeness, and ascertain if he wished to have any involvement in the project. As a creative consultant on the project, Brian Froud was involved in producing character designs. Reported to feature a young Jareth who is taken into the Labyrinth by a witch, the novel's official synopsis states the plot revolves around Jareth's "attempt to rescue his true love from the clutches of the wicked and beautiful Goblin Queen."


title: Jareth

text: Jareth is the central character in "", a 12-issue comic series published between 2018 and 2019 by Archaia which gives an account of the Goblin King's past as well as the history of the Labyrinth itself. Written by Simon Spurrier, the series takes place within the timeline of the events of the film, framed as a story told to baby Toby by Jareth during their off-screen time together. Beginning in 1790s Venice, the story revolves around an infant Jareth who has been stolen by the previous ruler of the Labyrinth, known as the Owl King, and follows the quest of Jareth's mother, Maria, to rescue her son.


title: Jareth

text: Spurrier has mentioned that this comic is not canon to the movie, that it was only inspired by the movie and therefore just his artistic interpretation.


title: Jareth

text: Jareth appears in several comic short stories set in the world of "Labyrinth" published by Archaia. He appears in the "Labyrinth 2017 Special", a collection of six short stories by multiple authors, mainly featuring in the fifth story, "Beauty or the Beast" by Roger Langridge, in which he shows the captive baby Toby some of the wonders of his kingdom and informs Toby that he will inherit it someday. Jareth appears in "Labyrinth: Under the Spell", a 2018 collection of three comic short stories describing some of the individual histories of his subjects. Jareth has a minor appearance in "Labyrinth: Masquerade", a 2020 one-shot story about the ballgoers in Sarah's masquerade dream.


title: Jareth

text: Jareth features prominently in "Labyrinth" merchandise such as colouring and activity books, posters, lobby cards, jigsaw puzzles and school and party supplies. Over the years since the film's release, the character has also been produced and marketed as licensed action figures and figurines.


title: Jareth

text: In 2005, Palisades Toys announced a series of 12-inch collectible action figures based on "Labyrinth". The first in the series was called the "Jareth Classic", dressed in his "signature" outfit of Regency shirt, breeches and riding boots. However, the company went bankrupt in 2006 and the figure's release that year was cancelled. Plan B Toys released a resin bust of Jareth in 2006, set atop a crystal ball. The prototype display also included a version in his armour and cape. As part of its Cult Classics range, NECA released three Jareth action figures: a 12-inch speaking doll dressed in black and a 7-inch non-speaking version in 2007, followed by a differently garbed 7-inch figure in 2008 which also came with a figure of Hoggle the dwarf. A collectible Jareth statue was produced by KnuckleBonz as part of The Jim Henson Company's efforts to promote "Labyrinth" for its 25th anniversary in 2011, but ultimately never released.


title: Jareth

text: Two different Funko Pop figurines of Jareth were released in 2016, and a third "glitter version" in 2017. McFarlane Toys in 2017 released a 7-inch action figure, in his Ballroom dream outfit with a mask and a crystal orb, followed by another 7-inch figure in 2019, in his "Dance Magic" outfit with his sceptre and a miniature goblin. Chronicle Collectibles released a 1:4 scale polyresin statue of Jareth on his throne in 2019, and the same year, Ikon Collectables released a 1:6 scale (34 cm) resin statue of Jareth in his feathered clock, holding out a crystal, as in his final scene in the film. Weta Workshop announced in July 2021 a vinyl figurine of Jareth as a part of its Mini Epics line.


title: Bad Girls Club (season 17)

text: Bad Girls Club: East Meets West is the seventeenth and final season of the "Bad Girls Club". On January 10, 2017, the cast was revealed, along with a premiere date of February 14, 2017. Before the season officially began, a casting special aired on February 7, 2017. This season consists of Bad Girls from only the East Coast and the West Coast, living in a spacious Downtown Los Angeles loft. It was the final "Bad Girls Club" series to air on Oxygen before its format change to a true crime network; Oxygen has yet to announce the show's future fate in another venue.


title: Bad Girls Club (season 17)

text: The season began with seven original bad girls, of which three were removed by production. One replacement bad girl was introduced in one of their absences later in the season.


title: FG syndrome

text: FG syndrome (FGS) is a rare genetic syndrome caused by one or more recessive genes located on the X chromosome and causing physical anomalies and developmental delays. FG syndrome was named after the first letters of the surnames of the first patients noted with the disease. First reported by American geneticists John M. Opitz and Elisabeth G. Kaveggia in 1974, its major clinical features include intellectual disability, hyperactivity, hypotonia (low muscle tone), and a characteristic facial appearance including macrocephaly (an abnormally large head).


title: FG syndrome

text: FG syndrome's major clinical features include physical disability, usually mild; hyperactive behavior, often with a slow personality; severe constipation, with or without structural anomalies in the anus such as imperforate anus; macrocephaly; severe hypotonia; a characteristic facial appearance due to hypotonia, giving a droopy, "open-mouthed" expression, a thin upper lip, a full or pouting upper lip; and most or complete loss of the corpus callosum. About a third of reported cases of individuals with FG syndrome die in infancy, usually due to respiratory infection; premature death is rare after infancy.


title: FG syndrome

text: Associated with agenesis (absence) of the corpus callosum, intellectual disabilities are common among individuals with FG syndrome. Motor ability is also impaired as a result of FG syndrome, and it also affects the development of semen. During childhood, problems arise in the gastrointestinal and gastroesophageal systems of the body. The most common gastrointestinal problems include constipation from an imperforate anus and gastroesophageal reflux. Cardiopulmonary defects contribute to roughly 60% of premature deaths in infants with FG syndrome. Septal defects are the most common. After infancy, long-term survival has been recorded beyond the age of 50.


title: FG syndrome

text: Most mutations that cause FG syndrome can be found in the "MED12" gene. However, mutations have also been found in "FMR1", "FLNA", "UPF3B", "CASK", "MECP2" and "ATRX" genes. Mutations on these different genes lead to the different types of FG syndrome, all with similar characteristics. The FGS8 type mutation is the most common of the types, and is found in the "MED12" gene.


title: FG syndrome

text: The "MED12" gene codes for the mediator complex subunit 12 protein. The mediator complex is composed of around 25 different proteins that all help with the regulation of gene activity. This mediator complex regulates gene expression by bridging interaction between RNA polymerase II and gene-specific regulating proteins such as transcription factors, repressor proteins, activator proteins, etc. Changes to this complex and the proteins associated can have a severe impact on the production of new proteins. The "MED12" gene is also thought to be highly linked to neuron development as well as high usage in the cells signal transduction pathway. This explains the slowed intellectual development individuals with FG syndrome have.


title: FG syndrome

text: There is no established clinical diagnostic criteria for FG syndrome. A healthcare professional might consider the following clinical features in an individual as indicative for further evaluation:


title: FG syndrome

text: Treatment for FG Syndrome is individualized to each person. It generally involves a team of specialists to manage the symptoms.


title: FG syndrome

text: The name of the syndrome comes from the initials of the surnames of two sisters, who had five sons with the syndrome. The first study of the syndrome, published in 1974, established that it was linked to inheritance of the X chromosome.


title: FG syndrome

text: A 2008 study concluded that Kim Peek, who was the basis for Dustin Hoffman's character Raymond Babbitt in the movie "Rain Man", probably had FG syndrome rather than autism.


title: Butch Reed

text: Bruce Franklin Reed (July 11, 1954 – February 5, 2021) was an American professional wrestler and football player, better known by the ring name Butch Reed. He played college football at the University of Central Missouri, was a star in Mid-South Wrestling and had high-profile tag team matches in the World Wrestling Federation (such as the first Survivor Series main event) and World Championship Wrestling (where he held the championship with Ron Simmons, as Doom).


title: Butch Reed

text: In 1976, he signed as a rookie free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League, but the linebacker was cut before the season.


title: Butch Reed

text: Butch Reed was trained to wrestle by Ronnie Etchison debuting in 1978. Early on he wrestled as Bruce Reed adopting the "Hacksaw" nickname over time. Reed and Jerry Roberts beat Mike George and Bob Sweetan for the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship in 1980 and lost it to The Kelly Twins in January 1981. His next title also came as one half of a tag team when he and Sweet Brown Sugar won the Florida version of the NWA North American Tag Team Championship when they beat Dory Funk, Jr. and David Von Erich in 1982. Reed wrestled mainly for the NWA in the early 1980s and made a name for himself in their St. Louis, Florida Championship Wrestling and Georgia Championship Wrestling territories. On April 7, 1982, Reed had what is now recognized as the first 5-star rated match by Dave Meltzer in which he challenged Ric Flair for the NWA title in Miami, Florida.


title: Butch Reed

text: Reed established himself as a force to be reckoned with while competing in Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling from 1983 through early 1986. In Mid-South, he was known as "Hacksaw" Butch Reed and came into the territory as a tag team partner for the main face in the territory the Junkyard Dog. Reed immediately came face to face with "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan over the "Hacksaw" nickname. Back in 1983, Duggan was part of the heel group, The Rat Pack, along with Ted DiBiase and Matt Borne and used every dirty move he could think of to beat Reed. He and Duggan feuded over the "Hacksaw" name until Duggan turned face. This resulted in Reed's heel turn when Duggan was picked to be the Junkyard Dog's tag team partner over Reed.


title: Butch Reed

text: Reed appeared on TV stating that "Butch Reed is going to start looking out for Butch Reed", which prompted the Junkyard Dog (JYD) to join him in the ring. After arguing back and forth, Reed attacked JYD and was soon joined in the attack by DiBiase. On July 16, 1983, Reed won the Mid-South North American Heavyweight Championship and turned back JYD's challenges in subsequent months. In October 1983, Reed's arrogance made him agree to let the Mid-South fans pick a challenger for the North American title; he let them pick from the JYD, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, newcomer Krusher Khruschev, and Magnum T. A. The fans picked JYD but Reed dismissed the choice; he also said Duggan and Khruschev did not deserve a shot and instead gave the title shot to T.A., who won the title, then lost it twelve days later to Nikolai Volkoff.


title: Butch Reed

text: On the same night that Reed lost the North American title, he and partner Jim Neidhart beat Magnum T. A. and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan to win the Mid-South Tag Team Championship. After a few weeks, the North American title was returned to Reed, claiming that the title match with T.A. was not legal since the fans chose JYD. Reed's run as a double champion did not last long as JYD got his title shot with Dusty Rhodes as the special guest referee. After losing the North American title, Reed and Neidhart focused on the tag team titles and defended them against all comers. When Magnum and Mr. Wrestling II challenged for the titles, they felt that the challengers had to put up something of their own: Mr. Wrestling II's mask. Mr. Wrestling did not unmask that night as they took the gold from Reed and Neidhart in a Steel cage match on Christmas of 1983. Neidhart and Reed started to blame each other and had a short, brutal feud.


title: Butch Reed

text: The Neidhart feud was soon replaced with one with Terry Taylor who came out to save Neidhart from being beaten down with a football helmet after a match. The Reed/Taylor feud raged all through the spring of 1984 and was instrumental in establishing Terry Taylor as a star in Mid-South. The feud soon expanded to include "Nature Boy" Buddy Landel as Reed's tag team partner and saw Reed attack Taylor with a "Coalminer's Glove" on several occasions. After fighting with Terry Taylor for months on end, Reed's attention turned from Taylor back to his old enemy the Junkyard Dog. During a match, Reed and Landel attacked JYD as he performed under a mask as "Stagger Lee" and painted him yellow. The war between the two brought in Sonny King and later Ernie Ladd to team with Junkyard Dog. After the tag matches, came brutal singles matches such as Dog Collar Matches.


title: Butch Reed

text: Just as the feud was about to reach its heated highlight, the Junkyard Dog left Mid-South and signed with the World Wrestling Federation without informing booker Bill Watts of his decision. This meant that the federation was without their biggest face and the shows had to be hastily rebooked. Watts brought in "Master G" (journeyman wrestler George Wells) to take JYD's place but the feud between Reed and "Master G" never took off forcing Watts to rethink his options. When "General" Skandor Akbar entered the Mid-South and started to build a stable of heels, he presented Buddy Landel with a golden Rolex watch with the understanding that it wasn't actually for Landel but for someone else Akbar was trying to recruit. When Landel tried to give the watch to Reed, he became incensed, in the storyline, stomped on the watch, and started to brawl with his former partner. Akbar and his cronies came to ringside, which prompted Reed to rant on them getting the crowd behind him as he told them he didn't need back-up. When "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan came to his rescue from a 3 on 1 attack, Reed's face status was cemented. The two Hacksaws feuded with Akbar's army of Landel, DiBiase, Steve Williams, and Hercules. The two Hacksaws were successful at first, until Reed came up against Kamala. He proved to be too much for Reed, beating him all over the Mid-South territory before Reed quietly left.


title: Butch Reed

text: Reed went to the American Wrestling Association for a short stint as Jimmy Garvin's bodyguard, then returned to Mid-South in the middle of 1985. In October, he beat Dick Murdoch for the North American title. Around this time, he had a famous one-hour time-limit draw with NWA Champion "Nature Boy" Ric Flair and feuded with Dick Slater when Slater helped Ric Flair keep the world title. In January 1986, Slater won the North American title from Butch Reed through underhanded means.


title: Butch Reed

text: After leaving Mid-South Wrestling once more, Reed returned to Kansas City and the NWA Central States territory run by Bob Geigel. Here he initially teamed with Rufus R. Jones . He later turned on Jones and joined the group of manager Slick in 1986. After a brief feud with Jones, Reed feuded with Bruiser Brody. That summer, he lost a Loser Leaves Town match to Brody and left the territory along with Slick.


title: Butch Reed

text: Reed and Slick signed with the WWF and were brought in as a package. Reed dyed his hair blond and became "The Natural" Butch Reed, an updated version of Sweet Daddy Siki. He feuded initially with Tito Santana, a target of Slick's verbal jabs, and made his pay-per-view debut at WrestleMania III, where he defeated Koko B. Ware.


title: Butch Reed

text: In the weeks after WrestleMania, Reed targeted new Intercontinental champion Ricky Steamboat and faced him at house shows and on an episode of "Wrestling Challenge."


title: Butch Reed

text: In the fall, the WWF was heavily hyping a feud between Reed and Superstar Billy Graham, a former WWF champion who was staging a comeback after hip-replacement surgery. Graham's condition was such that he could no longer handle the physical demands of being a wrestler, so Reed and Slick's newest acquisition, the One Man Gang, "injured" Graham in a sneak attack that was used to explain his permanent retirement. Graham began managing the man who came to his aid, Don Muraco, with Muraco immediately entering into a rivalry with Reed. The enemies were on opposing teams in the main event of the first Survivor Series (Muraco took Graham's place on Hulk Hogan's team); Reed (a member of André the Giant's team), was the first elimination of the match, by Hogan.


title: Butch Reed

text: Reed competed in (and was the first wrestler eliminated from) the first Royal Rumble match in January 1988. Two months later, he was eliminated in the first round of the WrestleMania IV championship tournament in the first round by eventual tournament winner Randy Savage. Reed dominated most of the match against Savage, but spent too much time mouthing off to Savage's manager (and real-life wife) Miss Elizabeth while climbing to the top turnbuckle. Savage caught Reed, threw him off for a slam and immediately hit his Diving elbow drop off the top turnbuckle for the win. This first round loss at WrestleMania IV was Reed's final match for the WWF.


title: Butch Reed

text: On September 9, 2007, Reed made a cameo appearance backstage at the September 14 edition of WWE "SmackDown!", during a segment involving his former manager and SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long.


title: Butch Reed

text: Shortly after WrestleMania IV, Reed and the WWF parted ways, Reed's manager Slick stayed with the WWF while Reed struck out on his own once more. Butch Reed resurfaced in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions as "Hacksaw" Butch Reed. He more or less immediately resumed his Mid-South feud with The Junkyard Dog. He was briefly managed by J. J. Dillon before his contract was "sold" to Hiro Matsuda's "Yamasaki Corporation". Reed did not see much success in the early parts of his run with JCP; his biggest match was a loss to Sting at the Chi-Town Rumble on February 20, 1989. During the summer of 1989, he floundered in the mid-card as Jim Crockett Promotions grew to become a national wrestling organization.


title: Butch Reed

text: The Steiner Brothers were involved in an angle with Woman who promised "Doom" for the two brothers but never specified exactly what this meant. She unveiled her promise at Halloween Havoc 1989, a couple of brawny, hard hitting masked African-Americans. It was obvious to most wrestling fans that Ron Simmons and Butch Reed were under the masks — they had both been on WCW television shortly before Doom debuted, and they were the only two African-American wrestlers in the company with the same massive physical appearance — but the announcers were made to keep up the storyline (although Jim Ross accidentally exposed Reed's identity on commentary during Starrcade 89: Future Shock). Doom won their debut match against the Steiners when one of the members of Doom pinned Rick Steiner after a headbutt with an illegal object in his mask. Doom followed up on this success by defeating Eddie Gilbert and Tommy Rich at Clash of the Champions IX, looking very strong in the process.


title: Butch Reed

text: Doom's next PPV outing did not come with the same success. Along with the Steiner Brothers, The Road Warriors, and the Samoan Swat Team they were entered in a one night, tag team round robin tournament. They did not score a single point, ending dead last in the tournament. Doom's misfortune continued as Woman soon dropped the team and left the federation. Then on February 6, 1990, at Clash of the Champions X, Doom were defeated by the Steiner Brothers and as a result of the stipulation were forced to unmask.


title: Butch Reed

text: Doom beat the Steiner Brothers at Capital Combat; at that point in time, the Steiners didn't lose very often. Doom won the tag team titles and quickly set about defending them against the former champions the Steiners as well the rest of WCW's very talented tag team division. In the fall of 1990, Doom soon feuded with The Four Horsemen and defended against them in two inconclusive tag team title matches at Halloween Havoc 1990 and Starrcade 1990. At Clash of the Champions XIV, Doom lost a non-title match to Sting and Lex Luger in a match that foreshadowed the trouble that lay ahead.


title: Butch Reed

text: On February 24, 1991, at WCW's WrestleWar PPV, Doom took on former tag team champions The Fabulous Freebirds and lost due to miscommunication between Reed and Simmons. After the Freebirds left the ring, Reed turned on Simmons and beat him up; this turned Simmons face and ended the team of Doom forever. Teddy Long sided with Butch Reed as the former Doom partners engaged in a short but intense feud. The feud culminated at SuperBrawl I where Ron Simmons pinned Butch Reed in a Steel cage match (referred to as a "Thunder-Doom" cage match). After the PPV, Reed left the company for a short while only to return in 1992 siding with The Barbarian and Cactus Jack. Reed and the Barbarian teamed up to defeat Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham at Clash of the Champions XX but left WCW for good shortly afterwards.


title: Butch Reed

text: After leaving WCW, Reed went to the United States Wrestling Association where he resumed feuding with Junkyard Dog. Reed beat him for the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship on October 12, 1992. He held the title for a week before he lost it to Todd Champion. He left the promotion before 1992 ended.


title: Butch Reed

text: Reed next appeared for a notable promotion in 1994, the Global Wrestling Federation in its last days. He became the penultimate GWF North American champion on June 4, 1994, when he beat Rod Price for the held-up title. It had been held up the previous day after a match he had with Price got out of hand and ended inconclusively. He held it for almost a month before losing it to "Gentleman" Chris Adams, who was the last GWF North American champion.


title: Butch Reed

text: Reed continued to work on the independent scene on a part-time basis so that he could participate in the rodeo circuit in Kansas City. In 2000, he started working for Harley Race's WLW promotion. He beat Luminous Warrior for the WLW Heavyweight Title on March 31, 2001 and held the title until Dennis McHawes beat him for it on January 25, 2002. After losing the title, he retired from wrestling.


title: Butch Reed

text: After being retired for three years, Reed returned in 2005, appearing several times for Mid States Wrestling and eventually defeating Heavyweight Champion "Mr. Saturday Night" Michael Barry on November 11, 2005, for the Mid States Wrestling Heavyweight title. He also participated in the "Legends of Wrestling" tour in 2006. On August 18, 2007, he lost to Steve Williams at NWA Legends Fanfest.


title: Butch Reed

text: Reed's last match was on May 18, 2013, teaming with Bob Orton Jr and losing to Flash Flanagan and Ron Powers at SICW in East Carondelet, Illinois.


title: Butch Reed

text: In July 2016, Reed was named part of a class action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE. In September 2018, the lawsuit was dismissed by US District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant.


title: Butch Reed

text: On February 5, 2021, an Instagram post from Reed's official account announced his death from complications of two heart attacks that occurred in January. Some relatives attributed his death to COVID-19, and said he tested positive around January 12. He was 66.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: Discrimination against asexual people, also known as acephobia or aphobia, encompasses a range of negative attitudes, behaviours, and feelings toward asexuality or people who identify as part of the asexual spectrum. Negative feelings or characterisations toward asexuality include dehumanisation, the belief that asexuality is a mental illness, that asexual people cannot feel love, and the refusal to accept asexuality as a genuine sexual orientation. Asexuality is sometimes confused with celibacy, abstinence, antisexualism, or hyposexuality.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: There have been efforts to combat anti-asexual discrimination through legislation or education (such as through workshops on asexuality).


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: Behaviours and attitudes that are considered discriminatory include the idea that asexuality is a mental illness, that asexuality is a phase or a choice, the idea that asexual people cannot feel love, and those that make asexual people feel dehumanised. Aspects of discrimination experienced can depend on other parts of one's identity. Despite an increase in media attention over the years, asexuality remains widely poorly-understood; one Sky News survey found that 53 per cent of 1,119 respondents felt confident in defining asexuality, but that 75 per cent of this group did so incorrectly, or defined asexual people as simply lacking a libido.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: Asexual people sometimes face discriminatory or dismissive attitudes or behaviours both within and beyond the LGBT community. In 2011, LGBT activist Dan Savage stated that asexuality was a choice, describing it as "choosing not to have sex" and deeming it unworthy of attention.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: Ruth Westheimer, a sex therapist, professor, and author, also faced criticism by some for her view that the ability to achieve orgasm would mean that a person could not be asexual, and was further criticised by some in 2015 for implying that asexuality was a problem in need of solving. A study on 169 asexual people published in April 2016 by Yale University found that many encountered dismissal and scepticism on coming out. There have been efforts to stop the exclusion of asexuals from LGBT pride events.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: Asexual people whose asexuality has been accepted only because there is no other explanation for their lack of interest in sexual activity have come to be known as "unassailable asexual[s]". Disbelieving attitudes towards asexuality can leave asexual people afraid to come out.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: A 2017 LGBT survey conducted by the Government of the United Kingdom found that despite just two per cent of more than 108,000 respondents identifying as asexual, they had the joint-lowest (alongside pansexual people) average life satisfaction of any sexual orientation amongst cisgender respondents. The results of the survey also showed asexual people to be the least comfortable cisgender LGBT group within the United Kingdom, and 89 per cent of cisgender asexual respondents – the highest percentage of any group surveyed – were reluctant to be open with their identity for fear of negative reactions.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: Asexual people may be socially discriminated against due to beliefs of heterosexuality being the default sexuality, or the belief that asexual people are just gay or lesbian people in denial of their "real" identity. Some asexual people have even been known to experience gay bashing due to their asexuality being misperceived as homosexuality. Asexuality has also been used as a tool in anti-blackness to "de-sexualise" some black people through racist stereotypes, such as in the mammy archetype in the United States.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: Two studies found that asexual people are more dehumanised than heterosexuals, homosexuals, and bisexuals, often being compared to animals or robots due to their sexuality.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: Having emerged more recently as an identity, asexual people often have less legal protection than gay, lesbian, and bisexual people, although in New York, the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act categorises asexuals as a protected class. Asexuals have also been known to have been subjected to corrective rape. They may be pressured into engaging in sexual activity, and into going to a doctor to have their asexuality "fixed". A 2015 survey found that 43.5 per cent of the almost 8000 asexual people polled had encountered sexual violence, despite the misconception that asexual people never encounter or are involved in sexual situations and are therefore unable to be sexually assaulted.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: Some, such as the sociologist Mark Carrigan, believe that discrimination against asexual people has more to do with marginalisation than the typical hatred associated with other forms of sexuality-based discrimination such as homophobia, and that much discrimination against asexual people results from a lack of understanding and awareness of asexuality.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: A study of 248 asexual college students shows that some asexual people do not identify with the LGBT umbrella. There is also controversy over the inclusion of asexuality in the LGBT and queer umbrellas for a variety of reasons, including the belief that asexuals do not experience oppression akin to homophobia and transphobia, and the belief that asexuality is not a sexual orientation. Sherronda J. Brown of "Wear Your Voice" stated that some people who oppose the inclusion of asexual people in the LGBT community have been known to argue that asexuals are not discriminated against at all, and that asexual people experience straight privilege. Brown criticised this view as erasing the asexual identity on the assumption that asexual people are fraudulent infiltrators of the LGBT community, and because it assumes that everyone is straight unless proven otherwise.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: A study of 148 undergraduates at a Canadian university found evidence to suggest that negative attitudes towards asexuals were higher than that of homosexuals and bisexuals. The study also showed that participants were less likely to rent to asexuals than their heterosexual counterparts. However, they were more likely to rent to asexuals than bisexuals. In addition, the study found a positive correlation between right-wing authoritarian identification and negative attitudes towards asexuality.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: In another study, 101 participants (none of whom belonged to a sexual minority) were asked to complete an online survey on SurveyMonkey. To rule out unfamiliarity as the cause of negative attitudes, they included questions on sapiosexuals. The study showed that people were less familiar with sapiosexuals. However, attitudes towards asexuals were less positive than that of sapiosexuals which suggests that unfamiliarity may not play a significant role in aphobia.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: In March 2018, the Dutch Council of State refused an asylum application by an Algerian national who feared being persecuted due to his asexuality, stating that asexuality does not fall under the LGBT exception to the safe country of origin concept because it is not punishable in Algeria and that asexual people are not discriminated against there. The ruling was overturned by the District Court of The Hague, who said that asexuality does fall under the exception because they considered "social discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation" to include "deviation from traditional relationships" as well as sexual acts.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: In the same year, the UK's LGBT Foundation stated that, because of a lack of awareness and apprehension, asexual communities are frequently overlooked in the LGBT community.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: A study published by Nova Science Publishers found little evidence of institutional discrimination against asexuals because of their asexuality. The authors of the study theorised that this may be because most sexual orientation-based discrimination is religious in nature, while asexuality may be considered "morally justifiable given that a lack of sexual attraction/desires has been considered a desirable state by many religious institutions for hundreds of years."


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: In some jurisdictions, marriages can be voided if not legitimised by consummation. This has been viewed as discriminatory to asexuals. Sex education programmes in schools have also been known to discriminate against asexuals.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: In early 2015, Russia passed a law banning, amongst others, people with "disorders of sexual preference" from obtaining driving licences. The Association of Russian Lawyers for Human Rights stated that it effectively banned "all transgender people, bigender, asexuals, transvestites, cross-dressers, and people who need sex reassignment" from driving.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: Asexuals are less-well represented by mainstream media and services, facilitating hostility and prejudice towards asexuals, and can lead to their rejection from both the straight and LGBT communities. Some online dating services, including Bumble, and Match.com lack the option for users to identify as asexual, which obstructs their ability to find romantic partners.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: Asexuality is sometimes represented in media as undesirable. In 2012, the TV medical drama "House" was criticised for its portrayal of asexuality within the medical profession and encouraging scepticism on the legitimacy of asexuality. The storyline centred on the assumption that the asexuality of the episode's patients – a married asexual couple – was the result of a medical condition, with one asexual character being described as a "giant pool of algae" and the titular character betting $100 on finding a medical reason behind another's asexuality; the show was criticised by AVEN founder David Jay for its depiction of asexuality as a "problematic and pathological" medical condition. In 2017, the decision to turn the character Jughead in "Riverdale" (a television programme based on "Archie Comics") from asexual to heterosexual was met with disapproval, with one branding it "asexual erasure".


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: In 2019, the video game "Death Stranding" was criticised for portraying asexuality as a lifestyle, implying that whom one is attracted to is a choice, mistaking asexuality for not wanting emotional bonds, and insinuating that asexuality is responsible for the decline of the birth rate in its world. When the game released a director's cut version in 2021, the data log describing these views is updated and contains an addenum that notes the log "advances a controversial thesis widely regarded as unsubstantiated and discriminatory". This change was praised by critics for acknowledging the criticism that the game originally had, correcting their mistake, and further expanding on why the original log was problematic.


title: Discrimination against asexual people

text: In New York, the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act categorises asexuals as a protected class.