An Introduction to Asexuality and Aromanticism - Presentation

This is a brief introductory presentation about the asexual and aromantic spectrums. It covers:
- Asexuality and the asexual spectrum
- Aromanticism and the aromantic spectrum
- Behaviour/attitudes to sex and romance
- Some aspec identities
- Issues affecting the aspec population
- Being aspec-inclusive
This version only includes the presentation slides, not the speaker notes.

Transcript

1. AN INTRODUCTION TO ASEXUALITY AND AROMANTICISM Cyril Leonard
2. Outline 27.02.2022 Asexuality and the asexual spectrum Aromanticism and the aromantic spectrum Behaviour/attitudes to sex and romance Some aspec identities Issues affecting the aspec population Being aspec- inclusive Introduction to Asexuality and Aromanticism
3. Asexuality/The Asexual Spectrum ◦ “an asexual is a person who does not experience sexual attraction” (AVEN) ◦ "asexual, or "ace", refers to people who do not experience sexual attraction toward others. It is also used by people whose asexual identities are conditional, unreliable, or atypical to societal expectations, and by people who simply do not wish to label it further. Asexuality is a sexual orientation,not a gender identity, behavior, or medical condition. Some asexual people choose to engage in sexual activities for various reasons despite not experiencing sexual feelings and desire toward any particular person. Asexuality is part of the asexual spectrum (abbreviated "ace-spec"), an umbrella term and a broad community of identities that are closely related to asexuality when placed on a spectrum ranging from asexual to [allo]sexual." (LGBTQIA+ wiki) 27.02.2022 Introduction to Asexuality and Aromanticism
4. Aromanticism/The Aromantic Spectrum ◦ The aromantic spectrum, abbreviated as aro-spec, refers to romantic orientations that are aromantic or are closely related to aromanticism when placed on a spectrum ranging from aromantic to alloromantic. Alloromantic (or zedromantic) refers to people who are not on the aromantic spectrum and experience romantic attraction. (LGBTQIA+ wiki) ◦ It is also used by people whose aromantic identities are conditional, unreliable, or atypical to societal expectations, and by people who simply do not wish to label it further. Identities under the aromantic umbrella are closely connected as part of a broad community. (LGBTQIA+ wiki) 27.02.2022 Introduction to Asexuality and Aromanticism
5. Behaviour/attitudes to sex and romance ◦ “aspec” doesn’t say anything about how the person feels about sex or romance ◦ Sex-favourable/-neutral/-repulsed: terms for how someone feels about themselves having sexual interactions ◦ Sex-positive/-negative: terms for how someone feels about sex generally ◦ Romance-favourable/-neutral/-repulsed: terms for how someone feels about themselves having romantic interactions or relationships ◦ Romance-positive/-negative: terms for how someone feels about romance generally 27.02.2022 Introduction to Asexuality and Aromanticism
6. Some aspec identities ◦ Asexual ◦ Demisexual ◦ Greysexual or grey-asexual ◦ Fraysexual ◦ Aegosexual 27.02.2022 Introduction to Asexuality and Aromanticism
7. Some arospec identities ◦ Aromantic ◦ Demiromantic ◦ Greyromantic or grey-aromantic ◦ Frayromantic ◦ Aegoromantic 27.02.2022 Introduction to Asexuality and Aromanticism
8. Issues affecting the aspec population ◦ Amatonormativity ◦ Compulsive sexuality/sex-normativity ◦ Amisia in both queer and mainstream spaces, including healthcare settings ◦ Mononormativity 27.02.2022 Introduction to Asexuality and Aromanticism
9. Amatonormativity ◦ Expectation that everyone should be and wants to be in a monogamous romantic relationship which is central to their lives ◦ Affects especially arospec people, but also those of other orientations who are single by choice or those who are polyamorous/polyaffectionate: ◦ People prioritise their romantic partners over friends, siblings, and other relationships ◦ No societal provision for those who do not desire a central romantic monogamous r’ship ◦ Social stigmatisation and exclusion of single people ◦ Pathologising of especially arospec identities 27.02.2022 Introduction to Asexuality and Aromanticism
10. Compulsive sexuality ◦ The assumption that everyone wants to and should have sex/engage in sexual activities ◦ The assumption that a good relationship must include a sexual component ◦ →Invalidation and devaluation of non-sexual relationships ◦ → Violence toward aspecs such as “corrective” rape ◦ →Pathologisation of especially acespec identities 27.02.2022 Introduction to Asexuality and Aromanticism
11. Amisia/Aphobia ◦ Exclusion of aspec individuals and identities from queer spaces ◦ → Higher risk of loneliness and other mental health issues ◦ Invalidation of aspec identities, including in healthcare settings ◦ Pathologisation of aspec identities, including in healthcare settings ◦ → Higher risk of being offered conversion therapy 27.02.2022 Introduction to Asexuality and Aromanticism
12. Mononormativity ◦ The assumption and expectation that everyone should and wants to be in a monogamous romantic- sexual relationship that’s central to their lives ◦ Affects those who don’t desire this at all, who desire multiple relationships of this kind, and those who desire one central relationship but want it to not be a romantic-sexual one ◦ No societal provision for those who want to live in ways that aren’t a two-person couple with family: ◦ Living arrangements/cost of living ◦ Legal system ◦ Healthcare system ◦ Social stigmatisation of those who want to and do live differently 27.02.2022 Introduction to Asexuality and Aromanticism
13. Being aspec-inclusive ◦ Language: ◦ Explicitly mention asexual-spectrum and aromantic-spectrum on your materials and in your sessions ◦ Use correct terms – don’t say “asexual” when you mean “sex-repulsed”, for example ◦ Be mindful of teaching amatonormativity/compulsive sexuality! ◦ Awareness: ◦ Don’t assume people’s attitudes or desires from their aspec identity ◦ Don’t assume aspecs aren’t your target audience! 27.02.2022 Introduction to Asexuality and Aromanticism
14. Resources ◦ LGBTQIA+ wiki https://lgbtqia.fandom.com/ ◦ The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project http://taaap.org/ ◦ Asexuality: ◦ AVEN https://www.asexuality.org/ ◦ Aromanticism: ◦ Arocalypse https://www.arocalypse.com/ ◦ AUREA https://www.aromanticism.org/ 27.02.2022 Introduction to Asexuality and Aromanticism
15. Thank you! ◦ https://arobydesign.wordpress.com/ ◦ https://twitter.com/arobydesign ◦ https://www.instagram.com/arobydesign/ ◦ https://www.facebook.com/cyrilbydesign/ 27.02.2022 Introduction to Asexuality and Aromanticism