#beyond awareness

[queerplatonicpositivity]

When ace people are in relationships with allosexuals, there are lots of ways people can come up with creative ways to address sex. And while a lot of times, we see these talking about how aces can provide consent without necessarily experiencing sexual attraction, it's also true that allosexual people can choose to not have sex, despite experiencing sexual attraction. Ace people aren't obligated to always "be the one to compromise."

[asexualawarenessweek]

[ID: A graphic in various shades of purple that says "Ace Week" in large letters with "October 24th-30th, 2021" in small text below. At the bottom, there is an ace flag speech bubble in the style of the Ace Week logo.]

Ace Week is approaching! Are you ready?

Ace Week 2021 will be taking place from October 24th - 30th. Check out aceweek.org and stay tuned to our social media to learn more about how you can get involved!

[featheredadora]

Happy Ace Week!

To all the Ace (and questioning!) people out there: You deserve more than just awareness/acceptance! Your voices deserve space, your struggles deserve change, and your identity is something to be celebrated!

[dudedudeduda]

Just casually screaming this song in my bedroom like my family isn't in the next room

[dragon-ace-in-space]

[queerplatonicpositivity]

[ Image Description: A quote image with purple-hued wet paint-like background with pale lavender text on a dark square. At the bottom is a dark purple band and the attribution: "Angela Chen, Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex."

The quote reads: “Ace men tell me that people of all genders assume that they are secret incels who hide behind a made-up identity. Such is the trap: Even when a man doesn’t want sex, he can be lumped in with the men who will kill in their desire to have it. Men cannot be simply uninterested; there must always be something else at work.”

End Image Description ]

This is not positivity in the strictest sense, but it's really important to identify and name the societal expectations around men and sex, especially when there can be a disproportionate emphasis on women and sex.

So to add some overt positivity: It's okay to be an ace man. You don't have to have any reasons for not wanting sex other than simply not wanting it. There doesn't have to be anything else at work.

[queerplatonicpositivity]

[ Image Description: Two quote images. Both have the same purple-hued clouds in the sky background with pale lavender text on a dark square. At the bottom is a dark purple band and the attribution: "Angela Chen, Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex."

The first quote reads: “Liberated sexuality—that is, sexuality free from social shaming—can look like promiscuity or it can look like celibacy.”

The second quote reads: “Touch doesn’t have to be a hierarchy, and sex doesn’t have to be the only, or even the best, way of achieving intimacy.”

End Image Description ]

[queerplatonicpositivity]

[ Image Description: Two quote images. Both images have the same purple-hued marbled background with pale lavender text on a dark square. At the bottom is a dark purple band and the attribution: "Angela Chen, Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex." The first quote reads: “Normal is often treated as a moral judgment, when it is often simply a statistical matter. The question of what everyone else is doing is less important than the question of what works for the . . . people in the actual relationship. It matters that everyone’s needs are carefully considered and respected, not that everyone is doing the same thing.” (The last sentence is bolded.) The second quote reads: “Difference can be a gift. Being ace can mean less interpersonal drama and more freedom from social norms around relationships. It is an opportunity to focus more on other passions, to be less distracted by sexuality, to break the scripts, to choose your own adventure and your own values.” End Image Description ]