pride month questionnaire!! 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 24, 26, 28, 29, and 30
1. what is your sexuality? Asexual, specifically gray ace
2. what do you identify as? Aroace/gray aroace
4. do you have any preferences? You said I could say preferences on literally anything, but I’m gonna do something pride-realted. So, aspec headcanons! I’ve noticed that I tend to more often write Tycho and arospec and Wedge as acespec, though I’m totally open to either being either/both.
5. share a positive memory about coming out! Gotta be when I finally wrote out a long email explaining everything and sent it to my grandma, and when we talked after, she told me she’d discussed it with my grandpa and he said “not everybody feels that sort of thing.” So just, shocking grandpa coming in with the understanding!!
6. how do you feel about pride month? I’m having kind of a hard time with it currently becuase there’s so much going on in the world, but I think it’s great overall, and I look forward to celebrating many more.
7. do you participate in pride related events? any other events? I guess not a lot? I’ve been to an ace group a couple of times, but that’s about it. I definitely want to do actual pride events in the future, y’know, when everything isn’t cancelled.
8. how do you feel about lgbtqa roles in media? There needs to be more of them! Especially more aspec stuff, especially more aro stuff. And please please textual qprs!
9. do you feel pride in who you are? Pride is still a bit hard, but I think I’m pretty well along the road of acceptance, at least. :)
10. who has been your supportive idols in your self discovery? @aphorisnt @aphorisnt @aphorisnt best queer mentor!!! It was her asking me “do you think you might be on the asexual spectrum?” that got the ball rolling for me at all.
12. what sort of advice to have you lgbtqa teens? Something like don’t feel pressured to fit into a certain group. You don’t have to be straight or cis or allo just because it seems like “everyone” else is. There are people out there like you, and though the journey may be hard, you will find happiness and acceptance.
13. have you come out to friends and family? I’m out to my closest friends and family, so a handful of people. All the ones who really matter to me.
14. how do you feel about the term “coming out”? I don’t mind it.
16. any tips on coming out? If I could advise my past self, I’d say don’t put it off because you’re afraid of how it might go. I was lucky enough that it went very well, and I spend a lot of extra time agonizing over it that I didn’t need to.
17. what’s your biggest pet peeve when it comes to lgbtqa characterization in media? Aromantic people basically not existing. Ace people not existing outside of books.
18. what’s your favorite parts of lgbtqa characterization in media? When actual identity words are used (asexual, aromantic, bi, pan, etc). I respect that some real people prefer not to use labels, but especially in the case of asepc identities, a lot of readers/viewers aren’t going to know that’s what’s going on unless it’s spelled out. And it makes it impossible for bigots to insist it isn’t there to begin with.
24. how do you feel about the term “queer”? I like it and freely use it for myself.
26. favorite lgbtqa actor/actress? Can I say IDK about actors and replace it with every aspec author to ever write an own voices book?
28. what’s the most annoying question you have ever gotten? Dear jesus. I mentioned aromanticism to a coworker today (at the time in the context of a character rather than myself) and got both “is that like objectophilia?” and “is it because they love themselves too much?” *massive eyeroll*
29. how do you feel about receiving questions about your sexuality/idenity? I don’t mind them all as long as they’re respectful and well-intentioned.
30. what is your romantic affiliation? I’ve been assuming heteroromantic (and heterosexual), but the longer I identify as aspec, the more I wonder if I’m really just not attracted to anyone at all of any gender.