I’m very excited to say Magni and I are almost done with the survey analyses. At some point we had to decide to not include every little component (we took on much more than we can chew - some of this data would take multiple dissertations to handle) and instead write the summary report with the most important components for each survey. We’ll keep the data for future reports and analyses, and if anyone wants to help with that, I am open to talking about data security to enable sharing it.
The results should be out soon, which I will link here on this blog. You should see the a-spec identity survey results first, as only the conclusions/summary are left to write up for that one. Then, you’ll see the aro-spec results shortly after.
Massive thank you to everyone who has been waiting for a year and a half for these results. I know I have personally been learning a lot more about inclusive research practices during this time (through looking back at these surveys, past surveys, and working with the aro census). I have a lot of thoughts about how future surveys and research work can do better.
Thank you again; I hope you are all holding up well.
This was a wide a-spec community survey on discovering one’s a-spec identity. @aromagni and I ran it in 2019.
There were 1070 responses to the survey. 744 of these responses were complete - these participants completed the survey in its entirety. A large portion of respondents in this survey (42%) identified as aroace. Most were white Americans. As such, there is a demographic skew and these results are not representative of the whole a-spec community.
The vast majority of respondents indicated they are single. For those in partnerships, a large portion (over 60%) indicated they were dating. Many others indicated they were in unlabeled partnerships or QPRs, with other types of relationships less common.
Almost half of respondents did not identify as queer/LGBTQ+ before discovering their a-spec identities. Interestingly, although the word “aromantic” has not been as popular as “asexual” in many spaces, the earliest respondents identified as either of these was very close, in the early to mid ‘80s. For those who identify as broadly a-spec, the earliest year was 2008. The vast majority of respondents (82.37%) indicated they discovered asexuality before aromanticism. Only 1.79% of respondents indicated they discovered aromanticism first. The remaining 15% reported discovering aromanticism and asexuality around the same time. Similarly, the vast majority of respondents (i.e., 69.58%) indicated identifying as asexual before identifying as another a-spec identity.
Of the a-spec respondents that label different types of attraction, the most common labels relate to platonic and aesthetic experiences. Sexual attraction was the least commonly labeled type of attraction for this sample. Many respondents also indicated that labeling specifically is difficult.
In this survey, we grouped different respondents into a-spec categories, but this is not necessarily a useful or accurate thing to do. Nevertheless, we found some differences between different a-spec people in terms of their experiences of attraction, their relationship status, and whether they identified as queer before identifying as a-spec. The sample size here is small, so further research into these differences is highly recommended.
Thank you very much to everyone who participated and waited for us to run our analyses. Huge thank you to @aromagni for helping with this.
The survey covered aro experiences of stigmatization and microaggressions. It was a follow-up survey to one run in 2018 by the same name. You can find results for that one in three parts: one,two, and three.
There were 358 responses to the survey. 240 of these responses were complete - these participants completed the survey in its entirety. The vast majority of respondents indicated they are aromantic or aro, followed by queer and aro-spec. More specific labels such as greyromantic, oriented aro, and et cetera were also present but not as common as the general ones. Most respondents were young (under 30 years old), non-binary/genderqueer, and white. This means the data in this survey was skewed towards these demographics and the results are not representative of the whole community.
No (n=0) participants indicated that they Never experienced any microaggressions against them personally at all. The top three most often experienced microagressions were:
I have felt alienated by society because I am aromantic
Others have told me that there is no such thing as discrimination or prejudice against aromantic people
I have felt alienated by LGBTQ+ or queer communities because I am aromantic
The top three most distressing microaggressions were:
I have been propositioned for a romantic relationship because I am aromantic
I have been threatened with harm because I am aromantic
People have not respected by aromantic identity (e.g., did not acknowledge boundaries, repulsion, etc.)
The most frequently reported discriminatory behavior toward aromantics was having the aromantic identity been made fun of, ridiculed, or been belittled by media or society at large (mean=4.21/6, a lot). The least frequently reported discriminatory behaviors toward aromantics were being denied a raise and being denied a job (mean=1.03/6, almost never)
Some aros with specific identities seemed to experience certain microaggressions more often than aros with other identities. Abroromantics, demiromantics, and nebularomantics seemed to be affected most.
Do you identify as asexual, aromantic, or on the ace-aro spectrum? Are you questioning whether you may be on the ace-aro spectrum? If so, you are invited to participate in a Yale University research study on sexual and relationship experiences in the ace-aro community. You may win $100 for your participation!
Please visit tinyurl.com/AceAroSurvey for more information and to participate, and check out our poster above! You must be 18 years of age or older to take this survey, but please note that you do not need to identify strictly/exclusively as ace-aro, nor do you need to have any relationship history or experience, to participate.
This study is being conducted by Iman Jaroudi, undergraduate researcher in Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies at Yale, as part of a senior thesis. It has received the approval of the Institutional Review Board at Yale University.
[id: a poster with purple, green, black, and white graphics and text stating: “Are you asexual, aromantic, or on the ace-aro spctrum? Take our survey! Participate in a Yale University research study on sexual & relationship experiences in the ace-aro community. You may win up to $100!” The survey url, tinyurl.com/AceAroSurvey, is also provided. There is also smaller text at the bottom of the poster providing further details on the $100 raffle prize: “The total funding pool for this raffle is $1,800. Funding sources include the Bruce L. Cohen Fund, the Yale University Department of Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies, and the Trumbull College Mellon Undergraduate Research Fund. The odds of winning a prize are between 7.2% and 9% depending upon the final sample size of this study, which will be between 200 and 250 participants. There will be no restrictions to qualifying for this prize.” / end id]
