know-your-paradoxes:

if you don’t see asexuality/aromanticism as struggles in and of their own right, get the fuck off of my blog.

examples of struggles within the community:

  • rape culture
  • peer pressure
  • media portraying romance and sexual relationships as things that heal people
  • media portraying romance and sexual relationships as the end-all be-all of everything
  • media portraying romance and sexual relationships as having “changed someone forever”
  • glorifying sexualization of women in advertising and media
  • needless romantic subplots in media that the story could do without
  • next to no representation (the only characters i’ve seen or heard in media that are confirmed as asexual (and only that – asexual. not aromantic) are bojack horseman, jughead jones, and raphael santiago, and even then, raphael is currently in a relationship with arguably the most sexually driven character on the show)
  • people claiming that sexual and romantic relationships are necessary for human beings
  • people claiming that sexual adversity is unnatural and wrong
  • forced relationships on aromantic people because “i’m the one that can change them”
  • domestic abuse against aromantic people because “they clearly don’t love me”, “they’re just using me”, “they don’t give a fuck about me”
  • calling nonbinary aces/aros “cishet” because they appear a certain way that aligns with their sex, and they feel attraction towards people that appear a certain way that aligns with the opposite sex
  • sexual abuse and rape because “they just need someone to show them the right way”, “i can turn them on”
  • those that are sex-neutral or sex-positive being invalidated because “if they were asexual, why did they want to fuck me?”, “why did you come last night during sex if you can’t get turned on?”
  • sex-repulsed asexuals redefining their identity and being told that they can’t suddenly realize that they have an attraction
  • romance-positive and romance-neutral aromantics being told that they can’t have queerplatonic relationships because it’s “basically dating”
  • constant oversexualization of teenagers in media, portraying many of them as sex-driven, horny maniacs that want to screw anything or anyone they can
  • sex-ed classes not even mentioning the idea that someone wouldn’t want to have sex once in their lives
  • romance-repulsed aromantics being told that they’re “rude”, “bitchy”, and “snobby” because they don’t want to pursue a romantic relationship
  • aromantic/asexual people being told they’re snooty because the person calling them snooty is angry that they don’t want to bang/become partners with them
  • being told that they “have too high standards”
  • being told they’re going to die old and alone because they won’t ever find someone
  • many telling them that procreation is the meaning of life, and that it’s programmed into everyone to want to have sex and make children
  • people not even knowing about the community
  • former abuse/trauma survivors turning sex-repulsed or romance-repulsed because of their former trauma/abuse and getting invalidated because of it
  • a-spec people getting cat-called on the streets because they happen to be wearing an outfit that people would say is “revealing”
  • a-spec people getting abused/raped/assaulted and their abusers saying that they were “asking for it”

notice how some of the above things can relate to the LGBTQIA+ community

don’t invalidate us if you don’t understand the struggles we go through.

to the aphobe that just reblogged it a while ago (i am not reblogging from you because i have you blocked don’t need that kinda negativity in my life binch bye!!!!)

i am not appropriating LGBT+ culture if i am actually LGBT+. i’m panromantic and nonbinary. that makes me LGBT+ anyway. also i LITERALLY SAID AT THE BOTTOM OF MY POST THAT SOME OF THESE THINGS INTERWEAVE WITH OTHER PARTS OF THE LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY!!!!! LEARN TO READ PLEASE!!!!!

plus, this is not what i would want to be called LGBTQ+ culture. this is not something i want to claim as my entire experience. this is not something to police. these crimes aren’t “culture”. these crimes are hate and that alone. and you can search for this kind of thing and for crimes against asexuals and aromantic people yourself.

google is a free fucking service, or you can refer to the aphobia masterpost that’s been going around on tumblr for actual sources on this sort of thing!!!