It's Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week, so let's go over some arospec/aspec terms and definitions!
(I'm including some important acespec terms here too, because understanding both asexuality and aromanticism helps to also dispel the notion that they are the same)
Split Attraction Model/SAM: The idea that romantic and sexual attraction can be experienced independently, so that a person can be aromantic, asexual, both, or neither.
Non-SAM: Someone who does not identify with the split-attraction model. For example, a non-SAM aro might not identify with allosexuality or asexuality, regardless of whether they experience sexual attraction, and a non-SAM ace might not identify with alloromanticism or aromanticism, regardless of whether they experience romantic attraction.
Aromantic/Aro: A romantic orientation where a person experiences little to no romantic attraction.
Alloromantic: Indicates that a person experiences a typical level of romantic attraction; the opposite of being aromantic
Asexual/Ace: A sexual orientation where a person experiences little to no sexual attraction. This is not the same thing as being aromantic.
Allosexual: Indicates that a person experiences a typical level of sexual attraction; the opposite of being asexual.
Aromantic Asexual/AroAce: A person who is both aromantic and asexual.
Alloromantic Asexual/AlloAce: A person who is alloromantic and asexual.
Aromantic Allosexual/AroAllo: A person who is aromantic and allosexual.
Aromantic Spectrum/Arospec: Describes the vast range of experiences of people who are aromantic, including those who experience little or no romantic attraction, experience fluctuating levels or romantic attraction, or only experience romantic attraction under specific conditions.
Asexual Spectrum/Acespec: Describes the vast range of experiences of people who are asexual, including those who experience little or no sexual attraction, experience fluctuating levels or sexual attraction, or only experience sexual attraction under specific conditions.
Anattractional Spectrum/Aspec: Describes the vast range of people who fall onto one or more of the following spectrums: aromantic, asexual, afamilial, aplatonic, asensual, atertiary, aqueerplatonic. Some people may include the agender community under the umbrella term of aspec.*
Romance Favorable: Someone who is personally receptive to the idea of romance. A romance favorable person may want to engage in a romantic relationship, regardless of whether they experience romantic attraction.
Romance Indifferent: Someone who is neither personally favorable nor repulsed by the idea of engaging in romance. A romance indifferent person may find a romantic relationship acceptable, regardless of whether they experience romantic attraction.
Romance Averse: Someone who is personally disgusted or repulsed by the idea of romance, but only when it involves themselves. A romance averse person may like romance for other people and in fiction, but feel disgusted when imagining themselves in a romantic relationship.
Romance Repulsed: Someone who is personally disgusted or repulsed by the idea of romance. A romance repulsed person may be disgusted by mentions or public displays of romance.
*Personally, I am agender, and I feel like that particular part of my identity is distinct from the aspec umbrella, but labels can be confusing and arbitrary and it is totally valid to consider agender as a part of the aspec umbrella, that just doesn't apply to me personally.
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