aspecs unite!

• she/her • 20 somthing • arospec asexual lesbian • ➳ ♤ Hello, wonderful people! have a complementary slice of cake 🍰✨ (TERFs or any other any kind of bigot = Blocked) •

[theartofmadeline]

have a rootin’ tootin’ pride from this asexual cowboy

[purple-mothman-majesty]

what do you mean, the fact that your ship would only die for each other confirms they're in love because people wouldn't do that if they were just friends? what do you mean the fact that they love each other more than anyone else in the world confirms that it's romantic? what do you mean it must be romantic because the bond between them is deeper than their bonds with everyone else and since romantic love is the most profound love ever, they couldn't just be friends? what do you mean them being the most important person in each other's lives means it's definitely, without a doubt, not platonic? what do you mean they wouldn't be this upset if their friend was hurt/dead/in danger instead of their lover? what do you me

[diserbillyti]

As the United States continues to amp up its ableist policies, particularly regarding autism, with the characterization of autism being that of a high support needs, intellectually disabled child, I think it is of the utmost importance that low support needs people who, building from RFK Jr.'s definition of autism,

can pay taxes,

can hold a job,

can play baseball,

can write a poem,

have been on a date, and

who have used a toilet unassisted,

understand that "actually I've done those things and I'm autistic!" is not some defeat of ableist rhetoric. All you are saying is "well, he isn't talking about me!" and you're right, he isn't, he's talking about the people he meticulously described who, much to the frustration of low support needs autistic politics, do exist. They're out there. I've seen them. I've worked with them for years. They're often concentrated into institutionalized life and therefore extremely vulnerable.

You surely know who Hans Asperger was and what happened to the kids identified as Autism Flavour A, rather than Autism Flavour B.

In previous fascist and eugenicist movements, the scientific concensus shifting from curable to incurable was pretty fucking bad. Scientifically accurate in some respects, yes, but the thing about people being labelled as a useless eaters and then impossible to "fix" after "scientific" investigation, is that this creates an extremely tenuous situation where one of two things is going to happen: either the same fascist government that accepted a framing of eliminating the specific disabled population accepts they are incurable and decides to support them, or they investigate alternative solutions.

In about 1908, Eugen Bleuler defined "schizophrenia," and part of his definition involved schizophrenia's incurability.

By 1945, it was credibly believed there were no schizophrenics in Germany.

These are dangerous times, and dangerous concepts. Even if they say "cure" now, know embracing the framing of life unworthy of life and applying it to people who DO exist, sets the precedent for darker times ahead.

When you say that "well I'm autistic and I can do that!" you contribute less than nothing to the conversation. This is not an act of resistance, this is an act of classifying oneself as Autism Flavour A, when what you need to do is defend the people of Autism Flavour B.

I could give a fuck less if you can write a poem, Kyle.

Make it clear you'll protest on behalf of the kid who can't.

[specialagentartemis]

I see a lot of people ask “how do I make it CLEAR that my character is aromantic and/or asexual? How do I show it to make that representation unambiguous?” It makes sense as a question; it so often feels like trying to prove a negative.

My first answer is, you can’t. You can’t make it so unambiguous that everybody understands and gets it and respects it. There will always be people who don’t get it and people who refuse to get it, people who don’t think aromanticism or asexuality is a real or meaningful thing and think that every character is automatically more realistic and more interesting if they have romance and sex. You’re not writing for those people. You’re writing for the people who are open to Getting It.

You want to write an aro or an ace character. Awesome! I love seeing more aro and ace characters.

You could have them identify themselves directly using the words “aromantic” or “asexual” or other terms like “demisexual” or “sex-repulsed” or “aro-allo” or “quoiromantic.” Tried and true and certainly unambiguous. However, what I always think about in such scenes:

What social circles is this character in that they know these words? In a realistic contemporary setting, identifying with these labels implies a source of connection with (usually young-skewing) queer communities, and/or an active online presence. “Asexual” has had more awareness-raising outside of internet spaces than “aromantic” has, but both raise the question of, where dod this character learn these terms? How did they come to connect and identify with them? What is their engagement with queer spaces and queer community like? It implies a certain positionality!

If they are telling another character they are aromantic or asexual: why? What is the context of this scene? Why did they bring it up? Would THIS character bring it up THIS way? Tailor the discussion to the character’s personality, what they want from this interaction, how they feel about their identity, how they feel about telling personal things to the person they’re talking to, IF they consider it a personal thing.

If it’s a fantasy or sci-fi setting: do they use the same sexuality words we do? Why? What is their framework for understanding identity, attraction, desire, sexuality? The answer can be “yes, they do so because I want them to” but I never like it when the answer is “yes, because that’s the singular correct way to understand sexuality and identity, we’ve solved it”

Thinking about these things makes such scenes stronger and feel less contrived than just dropping “by the way, I’m aromantic” or the Asexuality 101 Speech.

If you’re writing in a historical, fantasy, or sci-fi setting where they don’t use the same sexuality words or frameworks, or the character is just not the type of person to tell someone “I’m aromantic asexual” straight up, other character aspects have to do that work. But there are plenty of ways to portray this!

A character pledges herself as a virgin priestess of a virgin goddess. Instead of finding it sad or difficult, she finds it freeing or relieving. Her relationships with the other priestesses in the temple community are fulfilling and what she wants.

A character wanted to become a priest, monk, or nun at one point in their life, and found the “no sex or marriage” aspect a plus rather than a strain. If they ended up not going through with it, it was because of loss of faith, finding a different passion, converting to a different religion, flaking out of seminary, being queer and finding that irreconcilable, or realizing they didn’t want the actual duties expected, not because of the sex/marriage thing.

A character lives alone, and it may be a struggle, but finding a partner to live with would feel worse.

A character is a spaceport bartender who is friendly with all the spacers coming and going; one spacer is their ex, the last person they dated. It was decades ago, and they struggled with the relationship before realizing that it wasn’t going to work out, and they thought that the long-distance thing would be the hard part but actually the erratic long-distanceness was kind of appealing because it allowed them to put off thinking about what in the relationship was a struggle and ultimately that it wasn’t really what they wanted. Now they’re single and have been for decades, and are happy that way, happier than they were in the relationship, and they might be on fond and friendly terms with their ex or they might be awkward about it.

A character has a casual-sex relationship with a friend, and they both agree at the outset that it will stay casual and friendly and will not become a romantic Dating Relationship. Character 1 catches feelings anyway, and expects Character 2 to reciprocate them; Char2 doesn’t, and says, we agreed this would not become romantic! Even if Char1 is hurt, the narrative is sympathetic to Char2 and Char2 does not “come around” to entering a romantic relationship with Char1. Or maybe they feel guilted into doing so and it goes badly and ruins their friendship with resentment until they break up. The narrative should be sympathetic to Char2’s desires regardless.

A character breaks up with their partner to go on an Adventure and realizes they like being single more than they like having a partner (not just this partner, any partner at all), and don’t want to seek out a partner either on the adventure or after they return.

Character 1 feels romantic attraction/desire for Character 2. Character 2 feels strongly for character 1, but has no romantic feelings for them whatsoever. They both spend their relationship arc figuring out what their relationship should be, because they are important to each other but in different ways and they don’t want to lose each other as they navigate asymmetrical feelings.

In a setting where having children is considered a very important life goal and priority, a character deals with their conflicting desires to have children (whether they actually want children or want the social respectability that brings) vs. their complete lack of desire for sex.

A character skips sex scenes in media, and/or complains about or heckles the ubiquity of poorly written romantic drama.

A character lives with roommates and is happy with that and doesn’t want that to change; or, when their roommate leaves to move in with a romantic partner, they feel a loss and fear of being left behind.

A character has experienced sexual attraction/desire only once before, to a previous partner after knowing them for a long time; now they are with a different partner and experience no sexual attraction/desire for them, and either they or the partner are feeling uncomfortable about that. Ideally this doesn’t resolve in an “aha!” moment where they finally feel sexual attraction/desire after all because I think it’s an underexplored demisexual narrative of having felt sexual attraction to a previous partner you’re no longer with, but not your current partner, and having to deal with the fact that it doesn’t mean you love them any less, you’re just asexual spectrum and don’t control when the attraction/desire hppens.

A character is just, happily single through the whole story and not looking.

These are just a few ideas. Big things or small, personality tidbits or whole story arcs, there are plenty of ways to make your ace and aro characters feel real and lived-in in their identities. And, like with any demographic, you want to write a character who is ace, or a character who is aro, not just hit a few representation checkboxes and call it a day. Your character should be a person, and asexuality and/or aromanticism should be facets of that person.

[purple-mothman-majesty]

[prettyasapic]

Every person need to be taught disability history

Not the “oh Einstein was probably autistic” or the sanitized Helen Keller story. but this history disabled people have made and has been made for us.

Teach them about Carrie Buck, who was sterilized against her will, sued in 1927, and lost because “Three generations of imbeciles [were] enough.”

Teach them about Judith Heumann and her associates, who in 1977, held the longest sit in a government building for the enactment of 504 protection passed three years earlier.

Teach them about all the Baby Does, newborns in 1980s who were born disabled and who doctors left to die without treatment, who’s deaths lead to the passing of The Baby Doe amendment to the child abuse law in 1984.

Teach them about the deaf students at Gallaudet University, a liberal arts school for the deaf, who in 1988, protested the appointment of yet another hearing president and successfully elected I. King Jordan as their first deaf president.

Teach them about Jim Sinclair, who at the 1993 international Autism Conference stood and said “don’t mourn for us. We are alive. We are real. And we’re here waiting for you.”

Teach about the disability activists who laid down in front of buses for accessible transit in 1978, crawled up the steps of congress in 1990 for the ADA, and fight against police brutality, poverty, restricted access to medical care, and abuse today.

Teach about us.

[dragonofeternal]

Oh! Oh! I got one! Meet Edward V. Roberts-

Ed Roberts was one of the founding minds behind the Independent Living movement. Roberts was born in 1939, and contracted polio at age 14, two years before the vaccine that ended the polio epidemic came out (vaccinate your kids). Polio left Roberts almost completely paralyzed, with only the use of two fingers and a few toes. At night, he had to sleep in an iron lung, and he would often rest there during the day as well. Other times of the day, he breathed by using his face and neck muscles to force air in and out of his lungs.

Despite this being the fifties, Roberts' mother insisted that her son continue schooling. Her support helped him face his fear of being stared at and ridiculed at school, going from thinking of himself as a "hopeless cripple" to seeing himself as a "star." When his high school tried to deny him his diploma because he had never completed driver's ed, Roberts and his mother fought the school and won.

This marked the beginning of his career as an activist.

Roberts had to fight the California Department of Vocational Rehabilitation for support to attend college, because his counselor thought he was too severely disabled to ever work or live independently. Roberts did go to school, however, first attending the College of San Marino. He was then accepted to UC Berkeley, but when the school learned that he was disabled, they tried to backtrack. "We've tried cripples before, and it didn't work," one dean famously said. The school tried to argue the dorms couldn't accommodate his iron lung, so Roberts was instead housed in an empty wing of the school's Cowell Hospital.

Roberts' admittance paved the way for other disabled students who were also housed in the new Cowell Dorm. The group called themselves "The Rolling Quads," and together they fought and advocated for better disability support, more ramps and accessible architecture like curb cut outs, founded the first formally recognized student-led disability services program in the country, and even managed to successfully oust a rehabilitation counselor who had threatened two of the Quads with expulsion for their protests.

After graduation from his master's, he served a number of other roles- he taught political science at a number of different colleges over the years, served on the board for the Center for Independent Living, confounded the World Institute on Disability with Judith E. Heumann and Joan Leon, and continued to advocate for better disability services and infrastructure at his alma mater of UC Berkeley.

Roberts also took part in and helped organize sit ins to force the federal government to enforce section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which stated that people with disabilities should not be excluded from activities, denied the right to receive benefits, or be discriminated against, from any program that uses federal financial assistance, solely because of their disability. The sit-in occupied the offices of the Carter Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare building in San Francisco and lasted 28 days. The protestors were supported by local gay rights organizations and the Black Panthers. Roberts and other activists spoke, and their arguments were so compelling that members of the department of health joined the sit in. Reagan was forced to acknowledge and implement the policies and rules that section 504 required. This national recognition helped to pave the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990.

Roberts died of cardiac arrest in 1995 at the age of 54, leaving behind a proud legacy of advocacy and activism. Not bad for a "hopeless cripple" whose rehab counselor thought he was too disabled to ever work.

[egg-squid]

Partners in Time

Visit the post for more.

Here is a great online course for disability history!!

[cwipple]

“Black Panthers saved the 504 sit-in.” – Corbett O’Toole, participant in the 1977 504 protest in San Francisco

”Along with all fair and good-thinking people, The Black Panther Party gives its full support to Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act and calls for President Carter and HEW Secretary Califano to sign guidelines for its implementation as negotiated and agreed to on January 21 of this year. The issue here is human rights – rights of meaningful employment, of education, of basic human survival – of an oppressed minority, the disabled and handicapped. Further, we deplore the treatment accorded to the occupants of the fourth floor and join with them in full solidarity.” – Black Panther Party media release on the protest, from website Disability Social History (click thru to see pictures of BPP news about the success of the protest!)

According to disability rights activist Corbett O’Toole, these advocates “showed us what being an ally could be. We would never have succeeded without them. They are a critical part of disability history and yet their story is almost never told.⁠”

They were running a soup kitchen for their black community in East Oakland and they showed up every single night and brought us dinner. The FBI [guarding the building entrance] was like, “What the hell are you doing?” They answered, “Listen, we’re the Panthers. You want to starve these people out, fine, we’ll go tell the media that that’s what you’re doing, and we’ll show up with our guns to match your guns and we’ll talk about who’s going to talk to who about the food. Otherwise, just let us feed these people and we won’t give you any trouble” – and that’s basically what they did.

Please read up on the Black Panthers' involvement in the 504 movement, they were integral to the occupation lasting as long as it did and were INCREDIBLY ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS! They are more than a footnote in that part of disability history, and I want more people to know this part of their legacy!

Read about Bradley Lomax (and his aid and fellow organizer Chuck Johnson, who I've struggled finding sources on outside of articles on Mr. Lomax :( ) here and here! Together the two were integral in bringing Black Panther Party organizing and activism to the disability rights movement!

I wish there were more information on Mr. Johnson, as his work is dear to my heart as someone who also requires caregiving. ;3; <3 Considering how little information there even was available online for Mr. Lomax just ten years ago I am hoping we get more coverage of Mr. Johnson's contributions to this important part of disability history sooner rather than later. I do not want his activism ignored!

Do not let the full richness of our history be whitewashed! The Black Panthers kept the protestors fed, they HEAVILY publicized the protests in their paper The Black Panther and agitated on the protest and protestors behalf, and paid organizers' way to Washington to pressure the HEW secretary to actually sign the damn act. In turn, the Panthers did this because the Oakland ILC did outreach to them, and helped Mr. Lomax with transportation. This is solidarity buried under focus on the white organizers. Please please please cherish it. Keep it close to your heart, read about it, celebrate it, share it!

Obviously there were more Panthers who helped but I have already lost the first draft of this and I'm starting to fade -- here's two more detailed sources to read for more, and I highly recommend you do!

The Intersections and Divergences of Disability and Race

Lomax's Matrix: Disability, Solidarity, and the Black Power of 504

[moonshinemagpie]

The Capitol Crawl was so bad-ass and I wish it were taught in schools as one of the pivotal 20th-century American protests (it led to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990)

Disability Activism History: The Capitol Crawl | Accessible Web

The Capitol Crawl would go on to become one of the most visible and emotionally impactful demonstrations for disability rights to date.

[natequarter]

[guy who is aromantic voice] sexual attraction just makes more sense than romantic attraction. like ok, you want to fuck someone. this is quantifiable. it is quite easy to grasp what "i want to fuck someone" looks like, even if you have no idea what it feels like. romantic attraction, though? this is a nebulous construct which seems to largely be "glorified friendship with sex" in the popular imagination. what even is the difference between friendship and romance? the line between friendship and sexual attraction, though both can coexist, is that when there's sexual attraction present, you want to fuck someone. the line between friendship and romantic attraction, so far as i can perceive it within a heteronormative, amatonormative framework, is that it is... friendship where you want to fuck someone. what?

[scribbleymark]

[Guy who is aromantic and asexual voice] sexual attraction doesn't make any more sense then romantic attraction. Okay, so you want to fuck someone? What does that even feel like? How do you know the difference between sexual attraction and romantic attraction? Can you quantify that difference as someone who doesn't experience romantic attraction? What if someone disagrees with your definitions? What if they describe the feelings differently using different words? In actually, neither romantic attraction or sexual attraction are universal experiences with universal definitions for all people. I don't experience either, so both concepts and feelings are equally foreign. I can tell you I have no innate desire to engage in sex, nor have I ever felt that compulsion toward another person. You can try to explain to me a feeling I've never had, but your experience isn't more real than mine just because you articulate it with conviction. You can't make me feel something I don't experience by insisting it makes more sense than another thing I don't experience. Either way, your outlook has little to do with being aromantic and more to do with devaluing and denigrating other people's relationships and experiences as a way of validating your own. And by insisting that sexual attraction is somehow more innately understandable just because you experience it? You're dehumanizing an entire group of marginalized people because they don't and mocking queer people for whom their attraction has more to do with emotional connections than sexual ones. It might make more sense to accept that sexuality and romance are varied and diverse experiences, rather than trying to frame one state of being as innately more "sensible" or "natural" than another, but that would take a level of empathy and an appreciation of diversity that you might also lack. What ?

[leotanaka]

reposted from: therealntumba (august 17, 2025)

[orangep0p]

if you want to help the victims of sexual violence in Congo, you can donate to Panzi Hospital and Foundation based in Bukavu, Sud-Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo.

your outrage doesn't have to be selective. you can give to people who need it. this is your opportunity.

[sky-scribbles]

My book on asexuality and aromanticism, Love Expanded, is released today!!

When I first started writing, I thought it would just be a book explaining what ace and aro identities are. But the more I wrote, the more it became a book about how allonormativity hurts everyone. 

It encourages everyone to believe they’re fundamentally incomplete without a romantic partner.

It makes people think a romantic partner is the only intimate, nurturing relationship they need, leaving them without a support network if that relationship fails.

It can lead to people feeling obliged to consent to sex they don't actively want, because it's the "normal" thing to do.

It means anyone perceived as “abnormal” gets desexualised by society (disabled people, neurodivergent people, fat people, etc).

It makes people afraid to leave abusive relationships because they’ve been told ‘love conquers all’ or that singledom is even worse than abuse.

It makes everyone think the default way for humans to live is in self-contained family units… when there’s no reason we shouldn’t live with friends, or have friends co-parent our children, and many many more options.

So if you’re interested in a book unpacking all of this and talking about the steps we can take to fix it, please do check it out! And happy Pride and Aro day <3

(US readers: because of some complicated publishing stuff ™ , physical copies won’t be available in the US until next spring. Some US people have been able to order copies either by changing their location or by using Amazon, though I understand many of us. Do Not Want to do that. :'D Ebooks should be available now though, or at least very soon!)

[riding-with-the-wild-hunt]

a whole bunch of gazan mutual aid projects and nonprofits. if the decision of which individual fundraiser to give to feels too daunting, or if you just want to help as many people as possible in one go, these are great initiatives to support.

care for gaza - focuses on providing food and essential supplies. donate here or here.

connecting humanity - securing internet access via donations of virtual sim cards (esims). if you can't afford a whole plan yourself, crips for esims is a communal pool that will use your donation to purchase and maintain esims

gaza soup kitchen - provides food, medical care, and classes for children. also has a gofundme

glia gaza medical support initiative - provides medical care through field clinics and tents at hospitals. donations can also be sent through their website.

ele elna elak - provides clean water, food, clothing, and shelter. they also have a gofundme

life for gaza - raising money for the gaza municipality to repair water and waste management infrastructure

taawon - partners with local civil organizations to provide food, water, medical care, shelter, and basic supplies

the sameer project - running various initiatives providing tents, medical care, and necessities. they have their own encampment project focused on sheltering families with children, sick and disabled members, or members in need of perinatal care

islamic relief worldwide's gaza emergency appeal - provides food, water, hygiene kits, medical supplies, and psychological support

baitulmaal - provides a variety of necessities, including food, water, shelter, and medical supplies

gaza mutual aid fund - distributes food, hygiene products, water, and other essential supplies, including financial support. run by @/el-shab-hussein's amazing friend Mona. updates can be found on her instagram.

hygiene kits for gaza - provides hygiene supplies including menstrual products, wipes, and toothbrushes/toothpaste

anera - provides a variety of necessities, including food, water, hygiene supplies, medicine, blankets and mattresses, and psychological care

palestine children's relief fund - provides supplies and support with a focus on children. also has an initiative for lebanon

dahnoun mutual aid - provides water, food, tents, baby supplies, financial support, and other necessities. updates can be found through their instagram

certainly this is not an exhaustive list, so please feel free to add on other projects or organizations that i didn't include. and as always, please take the time to donate if you can and share. it truly makes all the difference.

[queerum]

Free (mostly academic) ace theory resources

On asexuality

Asexuality: What It Is and Why It Matters - Anthony Bogaert

Asexuality: Classification and Characterization - Nicole Prause et al.

Asexuality - Luke Brunning et al.

Biological Markers of Asexuality: Handedness, Birth Order, and Finger Length Ratios in Self-identified Asexual Men and Women - Morag A. Yule et al.

Crisis and safety: The asexual in sexusociety - Ela Przybylo

On asexuality and HSDD

Reconsidering Asexuality and Its Radical Potential - CJ DeLuzio Chasin

Asexuality: An Extreme Variant of Sexual Desire Disorder? - Lori A. Brotto et al.

Asexuality: Sexual Orientation, Paraphilia, Sexual Dysfunction, or None of the Above? - Lori A. Brotto et al.

Asexuality vs. sexual interest/arousal disorder: Examining group differences in initial attention to sexual stimuli - Julia Bradshaw et al.

On the Split Attraction Model

Splitting Attraction: Differentiating Romantic and Sexual Orientations Among Asexual Individuals - Canton Winer

Ace and Aro: Understanding Diferences in Romantic Attractions Among Persons Identifying as Asexual - Amy N. Antonsen

On acephobia

“I don’t know if this counts but…” A report on acephobia in 2021. thank you to @plum-petunia for finding this <2

Examining the Social Tabooisation of Asexuality: The Underpinnings of Anti‑Asexual Bias - Grigoropoulos Iraklis

Chasing Aces: Asexuality, Misinformation and the Challenges of Identity - Adrienne Colborne

An Intersectional Exploration of Outness, Encountered Discrimination and Violence, and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury among Asexual Youth across Gender Identities - Zurong Liang

LGBTQ Minus: Predictors of Anti-Asexual Bias Among Straight, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals - Nicholas A. Ashenfelter

“And Now I’m Just Different, but There’s Nothing Actually Wrong With Me”: Asexual Marginalization and Resistance - Kristina Gupta

On the ace community

Asexuality: A Mixed-Methods Approach - Lori A. Brotto et al.

‘”Asexual” Isn’t Who I Am’: The Politics of Asexuality - Matt Dawson et al.

Asexuality is inversely associated with positive body image in British adults - Viren Swami et al.

“What Can Asexuality Offer Sociology ? Insights from the 2017 Asexual Community Census” thank you to this anon on my main blog for finding this <2

Establishing Asexual Identity: The Essential, the Imaginary, and the Collective - Agata Pacho

2022 Ace Community Survey Summary Report - Ai Baba et al.

Belonging to the Ace Spectrum: Correlates of Cognitions, Feelings, and Desires of Ace Individuals - A. Catarina Carvalho et al.

There’s more to life than sex? Difference and commonality within the asexual community - Mark Carrigan

The lives of asexual individuals outside of sexual and romantic relationships: education, occupation, religion and community - Esther D. Rothblum

On asexuality and the queer community

Queering Asexuality: Asexual-Inclusion in Queer Spaces - Dominique A. Canning

What Asexuality Contributes to the Same-Sex Marriage Discussion - Kristin S. Scherrer

Asexual and Non-Asexual Respondents from a U.S. Population Based Study of Sexual Minorities - Esther D. Rothblum et al.

“I Didn’t Know Ace Was a Thing”: Bisexuality and pansexuality as identity pathways in asexual identity formation - Canton Winer

(A)Sexuality Online: Self-Discovery, Exclusion, and Community in the Digital Age of Asexuality - Lauren Kauenhofen

Too Queer to be Queer? Revisiting the Metaphysics and Epistemology of Asexuality - Abigail Klassen

Uncertain Belonging: Asexuality and Queer Nightlife - Canton Winer

Asexual Borderlands: Asexual Collegians’ Reflections on Inclusion Under the LGBTQ Umbrella - Amanda L. Mollet

On asexuality in different parts of the world

Patterns of asexuality in the United States - Dudley Poston

Patterns of Asexuality in China: Sexual Activity, Sexual and Romantic Attraction, and Sexual Desire - Lijun Zheng et al.

Constructions of Asexual Identity in China: Intersections of Class, Gender, Region of Residence, and Asexuality - Day Wong et al.

Seeing the Invisible: Asexuality in the South - Ellie Campbell

On intersectionality

Asexuality in disability narratives - Eunjung Kim

You have to be normal to be abnormal: an empirically grounded exploration of the intersection of asexuality and disability - Karen Cuthbert

Asexuality and epistemic injustice: a gendered perspective - Karen Cuthbert

“When We Talk about Gender We Talk about Sex”: (A)sexuality and (A)gendered Subjectivities - Karen Cuthbert

Theorizing Conscious Black Asexuality through Claire Kann’s Let’s Talk about Love - Brittney Miles

Variations in suicidality across multiple social identities in asexual people: An intersectionality analysis - Sinéad Kelleher

Contested Intersections: Asexuality and Disability, Illness, or Trauma - A. Kurowicka

Does Everyone Have a Gender? Compulsory Gender, Gender Detachment, and Asexuality - Canton Winer

The Intersection of Gender Diversity and Asexuality Psychotherapy with TGNC Individuals Who Identify as Ace - Katherine Rachlin

Beyond the Label: Asexual Identity Among Individuals on the High‑Functioning Autism Spectrum - Scott T. Ronis et al.

Sexual, Romantic, and Community Experiences of Individuals at the Intersection of Autism and Asexuality - Randolph C. H. Chan

On researching asexuality

Understanding asexuality: A sociological review - Canton Winner

Methodological Issues for Studying Asexuality - Andrew C. Hinderliter

A Validated Measure of No Sexual Attraction: The Asexuality Identification Scale - Morag A. Yule et al.

What can Asexuality do for Queer Theories? - Anna Kurowicka

On asexuality and relationships/sex

Asexuality and relationship investment: visible differences in relationship investment for an invisible minority - Jared M. Edge

Asexual scripts: A grounded theory inquiry into the intrapsychic scripts asexuals use to negotiate romantic relationships - Haefner, Carol

The nuances of intimacy: Asexual perspectives and experiences with dating and relationships. - Brooke Higginbottom

Ace of (BDSM) clubs: Building asexual relationships through BDSM practice - Lorca Jolene Sloan

Sexual Fantasy and Masturbation Among Asexual Individuals: An In-Depth Exploration - Morag A. Yule et al.

Patterns of Genital and Subjective Sexual Arousal in Cisgender Asexual Men - Malvina N. Skorska et al.

Physiological and Subjective Sexual Arousal in Self-Identified Asexual Women - Lori A. Brotto et al.

Deepening Sexual Desire and Erotic Fantasies Research in the ACE Spectrum: Comparing the Experiences of Asexual, Demisexual, Gray‑Asexual, and Questioning People - Filippo Maria Nimb

Asexuality, Affect Aliens, and Digital Affect Cultures: Relationality with the Happy Objects of Sexual and Romantic Relationships - Charnell Peters

Other interesting ace related reads

Contradictions in the Representation of Asexuality: Fiction and Reality - Gwendolyn Osterwald

Asexuality and the Potential of Young Adult Literature for Disrupting Allonormativity - Patricia Kennon

A mystery wrapped in an enigma – asexuality: a virtual discussion - C. J. Bishop

‘You have to coin new things’: sexual and gender identity discourses in asexual, queer, and/or trans young people’s networked counterpublics - Zach Schudson

Asexuality, the Internet, and the Changing Lexicon of Sexuality - Jo Teut

“I am not a Robot, I am Asexual”: A Qualitative Critique of Allonormative Discourses of Ace and Aro Folks as Robots, Aliens, Monsters - Ben Brandley

Other lists of ace resources

Asexual theory 101 by @leikeliscomet. thank you to @plum-petunia for finding this <2

The Asexuality and Aromanticism Bibliography

If you know of any other free ressource about asexuality please consider adding to this list

Free (mostly academic) aro theory resources

[queerum]

Free (mostly academic) aro theory resources

On Amatonormativity

Amatonormativity, Aromanticism, and What Defines a Relationship - Rilee Granger

Amatonormativity in the Law: An Introduction - Silver Flight

"Allonormativity and Compulsory Sexuality" (chapter 6 of Encyclopedia of Queer Studies in Education) - Stephanie Anne Shelton

'I Dont Want To be a Playa No More': An Exploration of the Denigrating effects of 'Player' as a Stereotype Against African American Polyamorous Men - Justin L. Clardy

On Relationship Anarchy

The short instructional manifesto for relationship anarchy - Andie Nordgren

The Relationship Anarchy website

Thinking Relationship Anarchy from a Queer Feminist Approach - Roma De las Heras Gómez

Beyond romantic love – an analysis of how the dilemma of closeness vs. autonomy is handled in relationship anarchy discourse - Ricardo Guillén

The Ethics of Relationship Anarchy - Ole Martin Moen

On community

Examining aromantic and asexual inclusion in queer-serving organizations - based on Lauren Lichty's work

Exploring Aromanticism Through an Online Qualitative Investigation With the Aromantic Community: “Freeing, Alienating, and Utterly Fantastic” - James Fowler et al.

Community Listening Sessions with Aromantic People: Summary and Recommendations Report

Aurea Aro Census

Sexuality, romantic orientation, and masculinity: Men as underrepresented in asexual and aromantic communities - Hannah Tessler

On QueerPlatonic Relationships

Queerplatonic Zucchinis: A Short Primer - Omnes and Nihil (unsure)

Queering the Nuclear Family - Katie Linder

Queer(ing) consensual nonmonogamies, queering therapy: queer intimacy, kinship, and experiences of CNM in LGBTQIA+ lives - Christian Klesse et al.

On intersectionality

Intimacy and Desire Through the Lens of an Aro-Ace Woman of Color

Being Aroflux & Black - Kimberley Butler

Transitioning into Aromanticism as a Trans Student - Amethyst

Existing and Defying Stereotypes as an A-spec Disabled Person - Sapphire Crimson Claw

A Reflection on the March Carnival of Aros (several testimonies by aros of color and non-cis/non-het aros are linked in this article)

Other aro-related interesting reads

New Dimensions, New Directions: Asexualities and Aromanticism in the 21st Century - Megan Carroll et al.

Enriching the Story: Asexuality and Aromanticism in Literature - Adrienne Whisman

The Importance of Representation for Lesser-Known Sexual Identities on the Example of Asexuality and Aromanticism - Jasmin Kiechle

Experiences of Italian Asexual and Aromantic Individuals in Healthcare Settings: from Explicitly Aggressive to Affirming Interactions

Other lists of aro-related ressources (not all sources listed in these are free though)

by Aurea

The Asexuality and Aromanticism Bibliography

If you know of any other free ressource about aromanticism please consider adding to this list

[kattheamazingcat]

Sign the Petition to Make Global Change Requiring All Sidewalk Curbs to Be Wheelchair Accessible this Disability Pride Month!

Can you spare a minute to help this campaign?

Require all sidewalk curbs to be wheelchair accessible

Hi everyone. My friend and I started this petition after my wheelchair was almost thrust into oncoming traffic a couple days ago after attempting to avoid a large sidewalk curb. It was one of the scariest times in my life.

Disabled people deserve to be safe when going out, it's a basic human right. We also deserve to easily access public spaces. Please reblog this and sign the petition today! 🥰

[kattheamazingcat]

This is really important!! Please reblog

[lesboevils]

idk im really tired of 15-17 year olds who have never interacted with the gay community irl and spend too much time on tiktok trying to act like the authority on all that is lgbt+ 

[lesboevils]

  mean this in the kindest possible way. if you are too young and unsafe to go to your gay community center or pride here’s some ways you can connect to gay history.

the oral history project from act up

the lesbian herstory archives

the transgender archives of the university of victoria

the digital transgender archives

glbt historical society (digital)

lgbtq digital collaboratory

[lesboevils]

since it was suggested in the tags

anything that moves

the bisexual manifesto

[lesboevils]

the Samuel Proctor oral history project

a masterpost of lesile feinberg’s works by @genderoutlaws

more to come

[lesboevils]

the queer zine archive

the dyke march compilation 

paris is burning 

how to survive a plague

united in anger: a history of ACT UP

one archives

new york public library lgbtq archives

[theartofmadeline]

new zine about asexual history! this one's been rattling around my head for awhile

[purple-mothman-majesty]

"Trump canceled pride month".............................. Wait- What?? Oh sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of my rainbow hair tinsel and Pink Pony Club playing through these bad boys:

[status-quo-hater]

I need perisex people to understand that the 'corrective' surgeries done on intersex children are nothing like bottom surgeries for trans people. Not just because of the lack of consent, but also because it is literally not the same surgery.

[status-quo-hater]

Bottom surgeries for trans people are done with the intent to maintain function and sensation in line with what the individual wants, they are functional just as much as they are cosmetic.

IGM on the other hand is purely cosmetic. It is done for the comfort of the parents due to the violent biases against intersex people sterily written into medical protocols. Visibly intersex genitalia is seen as already being faulty and disgusting; therefore anything done to change it would be an improvement, regardless of the side effects.

[status-quo-hater]

I need you to understand how they speak about what they do to us.

[status-quo-hater]

I'm 20 years old and I'm new to official queer activism. I'm young. I'm uneducated about the medical field, something which deeply fascinates me. I have a deep respect for doctors and what they do. But I know this is wrong. I know this is wrong. I know this is wrong. I wish the world would listen.

[felix-01000101]

"...leads to great distress in the family" Pause. Why do the family matter?

"It is not a medical problem" Pause. Then why is it an issue?

[status-quo-hater]

Because perisex people's feelings matter more than intersex people's rights to keep our organs inside our bodies and our flesh intact.

[status-quo-hater]

I can understand why, so I'd like to explain.

In cases of ambiguous genitalia, these surgeries are required to issue a legally recognized birth certificate. Everyone must be sorted into M or F.

The thought of just.. not assigning a sex to a child & thus violating the sex binary, is more horrific to perisex cis people than the thought of literally mutilating that child.

This is what the core of medical intersexism is. An unwillingness to question the social construct of binary sex categorization.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

It's also worth mentioning that there are a lot of cases of parents being straightup lied to, either told that the surgery is medically necessary or beneficial, or sometimes even lied to about what the surgery is via claims that their child has some unrelated health defect.