I went on a Twitter rant about asexuality and the assumptions people make about it(full transcript b

I went on a Twitter rant about asexuality and the assumptions people make about it

(full transcript below the cut)

Transcript:

I had an incident happen a couple days ago that really got me thinking about how the world views asexuality/the ace spectrum

I was playing a card game called Quick & Dirty with my friends, and a few of them thought all my filthy answers were “ironic” since I’m ace

Which is weird, because I’ve always looked at it the other way - it’s kind of “ironic” that I’m ace since I have such a lewd sense of humor

But in reality, a dirty mind and asexuality aren’t mutually exclusive. So it’s not ironic at all. And that really made me think…

Even though more people are talking/learning about asexuality, it’s still not well understood. Especially all the nuances of the spectrum

Many people confuse asexuality with other things: aromanticism, celibacy, hatred of sex, a disorder, innocence… just to name a few

But in reality, “asexual” just means you fall on a spectrum of feeling little to no sexual attraction to others. That’s literally it.

So why is asexuality so often confused with other concepts? And why do people make so many assumptions (most of them false) about aces?

The ace spectrum includes a diverse range of experiences. So how can anyone assume they know what a person is like just because they’re ace?

I don’t blame my friends - or anyone - for making these assumptions about aces. I made plenty of my own while I was still questioning.

The real problem isn’t the assumptions themselves - it’s the root cause, which is an appalling lack of sex education in our society

I remind myself of this whenever those assumptions get to me. (I try not to let them, but I’m only human, & sometimes they frustrate me)

More importantly, I ask myself what I can do about this problem. And I think I have an idea that will help, at least a little

I made an educational comic about discovering the ace spectrum and coming out, and it’s reached a lot of people: http://gckinsey.tumblr.com/post/148694750931/this-is-a-little-comic-i-made-about-the-journey-i

And this incident with my friends has inspired me to make a comic about what asexuality is not. I want to tackle those assumptions head-on.

So really, even though I felt weird about it, I have to thank my friends for calling my dirty sense of humor + my asexuality “ironic”

I think I’ve been subconsciously looking for a way to address those assumptions about asexuality for a while, & this has given me the push

So I’ll be making a comic about this soon - probably for release during Ace Awareness Week in October. But in the meantime…

Asexuality is NOT:
-fake
-hatred of sex
-celibacy
-innocence
-a disorder
-an automatic rejection
-aromanticism
-one size fits all
#ace#psa