Asexual Awareness Week

Asexual Awareness Week is approaching! From October 22^nd to October 30^th marks the 13^th annual Ace Awareness Week. Despite its long history, asexuality isn’t very well known. Here is some helpful information for you as you learn more about Asexuality and its history. From what asexuality is, why this awareness week matters, and the numerous struggles asexual face due to their sexuality.

Firstly, Asexuality is a label used to define a spectrum for people that experience little to no sexual attraction to others. It’s an umbrella term with many smaller labels like; demisexuality, gray-asexuality, ace-flux, etc. 

Asexuality is not to be conflated with aromantic, which means little to no romantic attraction. While similar in the fact that there is a lack of attraction, they are different and exist separately from one another. Someone who is asexual may experience other types of attraction like romantic attraction, and thus may affix homoromantic, heteroromantic, biromantic, or other prefix-romantic to their asexual label to help specify where they feel most represented. This can be done in reverse for aromantics and sexuality. For example: heterosexual aromantic, homosexual aromantic, bisexual aromantic, etc.

Asexual Awareness Week, also shortened to Ace Week, is designed to bring awareness, education, and attention to the diversity of asexuality as both a singular label and a spectrum. Ace Week encourages asexual individuals and others in the spectrum to speak up about their experiences and bring visibility to this largely ignored sexuality. Ace Week also encourages open discussion about the many issues and discrimination that asexuals face.

Asexuals as well as their aromantic counterparts face a type of discrimination called acephobia. Acephobia is dismissal, discrimination, or prejudice against asexual or aromantic people. Acephobia goes hand in hand with biases and stereotypes like-

• Asexuals can’t feel emotion
• Asexuality is not “normal”
• They’re just traumatized
• That they “lack the right hormones”
• That they haven’t met the right person
• They can be “corrected”
• They’re confused and going through a phase
• They’re just a prude
• Asexuals don’t face oppression

Because asexuality is not as visible as homosexuality or bisexuality, anti-asexual hate crimes are more likely to happen when the two people, the perpetrator and the victim, know each other. Anti-ace crimes span the range of verbal abuse and violence, to unwanted sexual touches or advances from friends, acquaintances or family and partners. This also includes threats of “corrective” rape, an attack meant to “fix” the person’s sexual orientation.

Acephobia is not as prominent as homophobia or biphobia, but it exists nonetheless and it exists within the LGBTQIA+ community.

Since asexuality and aromanticism do not fall under the “normal” definition of heterosexual, they belong in the LGBTQIA+ community. Asexual and aromantic people are sometimes refused entry to LGBTQIA+ spaces or given distasteful treatment by LGBTQIA+ services. Many others in the community advocate for asexuality to be excluded from the LGBTQIA+ umbrella, reusing old rhetoric that once excluded trans and bisexuals from the lesbian and gay movement of years past.

The key to being an ally is to recognize when asexuals or aromantics are being excluded, and advocate and speak out when you see it. Organizations should ensure that asexuals and aromantics are not excluded from inclusion and diversity discussions, and that when they speak up they are being heard.

Another way you can help is by recognizing and understanding that discrimination is intersectional, and that a person can be oppressed within multiple demographics. An asexual person could also be black and transgender, and thus face racism, acephobia and transphobia all at once. Fully understanding how systems of oppression intersect with one another is vital to understanding how to be a true ally not only to asexuals, but to any and everyone who needs it.