Happy ASAW, Day Five! AUREA is working with Jessica Kingsley Publishers on a book about aromanticism. Find out more here, and consider donating to AUREA to help support our volunteers in this initiative. Keep an eye out for more opportunities to get involved.

Tell us below about your personal experiences as an aromantic person!

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中文(繁體): 你有什麼關於無浪漫傾向的個人經歷？

Nederlands: Wat zijn jouw persoonlijke ervaringen als aromantisch persoon? 

Español: ¿Cuáles son tus experiencias personales como persona arromántica?

Français: Quelles sont vos expériences personnelles en tant que personne aromantique?

Polski: Jakie są twoje osobiste doświadczenia jako osoby aromantycznej?

Svenska: Vilka är dina personliga erfarenheter som en aromantisk person?

Català: Quines són les teves experiències personals com a persona aromàntica?

Happy ASAW, Day Four! One of AUREA's goals is to support aro research. You can find some on our research page! AUREA also runs the Aro Census as an ongoing project. Consider donating to help us fund future research and comment below to tell us what you want to see.

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中文(繁體): 你認為無浪漫傾向社群應該研究什麼題目？

Nederlands: Welk onderzoek wil je in de toekomst zien voor de aro-gemeenschap? 

Español: ¿Qué investigación futura te gustaría ver para la comunidad arromántica? 

Français: Quelles recherches pour la communauté aro souhaitez-vous voir à l’avenir?

Polski: Jakie przyszłe badania chcecie zobaczyć dla społeczności aro?

Svenska: Vilken framtida forskning vill du se för aro gemenskapen?

Català: En el futur, quin tipus de recerca vols que es faci per a la comunitat aromàntica?

Amazing aromantic representation.

It's called I Want to be a Wall by Honami Shirono. A story about a platonic marriage between a gay man and an aromantic asexual woman.

Interesting side fact: in Japan "asexuality" is commonly defined as a lack of romantic attraction as well as a lack of sexual attraction. Whereas in English, a lack of romantic attraction is given it's own definition of aromanticism.

Happy ASAW, Day Three! Check out AUREA’s FAQ for answers to your questions about aromanticism. To keep AUREA’s FAQ and glossary up-to-date, consider donating.

Comment below on new things you’ve seen in the aro community that excite you.

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中文(繁體): 你近來對無浪漫傾向社群中什麼事最有興趣？

Nederlands: Wat vind je nieuw en spannend in de aro-gemeenschap? 

Español: ¿Qué hay de nuevo y emocionante para ti en la comunidad arromántica?

Français: À votre avis, quelles sont les choses nouvelles et passionnantes dans la communauté aromantique?

Polski: So jest nowego i ekscytującego dla was w społeczności aro?

Svenska: Vad är nytt och spännande för dig i aro gemenskapen?

Català: Què trobes que hi ha de nou i d'interessant en la comunitat aro?

Aromantic and Asexual are allowed to be used as umbrella terms. You don't have to use Arospec or Acespec if you don't want to

Using Aromantic or Asexual does not mean that you feel zero attraction

Using Aromantic or Asexual over spectrum terms does not mean you are "lying" about your identity

Happy ASAW, Day Two! Today we present to you our Challenging Amatonormativity workbook. Comment below to let us know what you think and what kinds of resources you need more of.

For more resources like this in the future, consider donating to AUREA.

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中文(繁體): 你最需要的無浪漫傾向資源是什麼？

Nederlands: Welke aro hulpbronnen heb je het meest nodig? Español: ¿Cuáles son los recursos aro que más necesitas? Français: Quelles sont les ressources aromantique dont vous avez besoin le plus? Polski: Jakich zasobów aro najbardziej potrzebujecie? Svenska: Vilka aro resurser behöver du mest?

Català: Quins són els recursos sobre l'aromanticisme que trobes que són més necessaris?

HAPPY AROMANTIC SPECTRUM AWARENESS WEEK.

I made a stained glass inspired art with different aro symbols to celebrate this week

Happy ASAW! Check out arospecweek.org for last year’s prompts and events going on in the community. Comment below to tell us what other events you would like to see.

Help us keep the site going by donating to AUREA.

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中文(繁體): 無浪漫傾向關注周快樂！你今年最期待什麼活動？

Nederlands: Fijne Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week! Naar welke evenementen kijk je uit dit jaar?

Español: ¡Feliz Semana de la Visibilidad del Espectro Arromántico! ¿Qué eventos esperas este año?

Français: Bonne semaine de sensibilisation au spectre aromantique! Quels événements retiennent votre attention cette année?

Polski: Szczęśliwego Tygodnia Świadomości Spektrum Aromantyczności! Na jakie wydarzenia czekacie w tym roku?

Svenska: Glad Aromantiska-Spektrum Uppmärksamhets Veckan! Vilka event är du exalterad för i år?

Català: Feliç Setmana de la Visibilitat de l'Espectre Aromàntic! Quines activitats d'aquest any t'interessen més?

Join The AUREA Team!

AUREA is looking to for new volunteer team members, especially Admin Assistant, Head of PR, News Feed writers, and Volunteer Coordinator (see thread below for brief descriptions). To view full descriptions, go to https://www.aromanticism.org/en/volunteer. We're particularly invested in bringing on BIPOC and racial/ethnic minority aros, aros from non-English-dominant countries (especially Asia, Africa or Latin America), aro men, trans-feminine aros, and aros from a variety of religious backgrounds.

Admin Assistant - help maintain file & email organization, ensure that emails are handled promptly. Requires approx 5 hrs per week.

Head of PR - responsible for maintaining a positive public image for the organization. Requires approx 5 hrs per week.

News Feed Team - help write & edit our monthly articles. Requires approx 5 to 10 hrs per week, depending on pace.

Volunteer Coordinator - help manage the specialist volunteers & be the first point of contact for current volunteers. Requires approx 5 to 10 hrs per week.

Join AUREA for our annual fundraiser on February 26th!

[Image Description: A white rectangle with curved corners overlaid on a graphic of an aromatic flag with wavy lines demarking each color of the flag. On the upper left corner of the rectangle, there is a large quotation mark. On the lower right of the rectangle, there is the AUREA logo. In the middle of the rectangle, there is text that says “Feb 26, 2pm (ET). Fundraiser Livestream, ASAW 2022. https://youtu.be/tT1GDtwfpvw. Featured guests: TeseThePoet, AUREA Team Q&A, Derelict.Specter"]

Next up in our Aspec Voices series is Aros who have been in or want romantic relationships! Thanks to everyone wo contributed, including @a-romantic–aromantic! 

These graphics feature some quotes from the article, which you can read in full here: https://taaap.org/2022/02/24/asaw-22-aros-romance/

[ID: “I really enjoy affection and the act of being cared for in a romantic way, but I also need my partners to understand that I don’t have relationship hierarchies in my head- I don’t value them more than my friends. “ - Alex. “Ideally I wouldn’t live with my partner, we’d have our own space, and they’d understand I’m seeking intimacy and closeness more than romance and sex.” - Ky. “I largely try to stay away from it, but I’ve seen quite a bit of anti-romance sentiment coming from some aro people, and I understand ranting about it, I understand wanting nothing to do with it, but the homophobic, racist, and ableist implications of being anti-romance make me uncomfortable.” - Magpie. 

“Being aromantic affects a lot of aspects of my relationships. Since I’m aroflux, my orientation switches around a lot. I’ll go from being romantically attracted to someone to suddenly wanting no romance at all.“ - Mars Naomi. “You don’t need to be hungry to think the cake looks delicious. You don’t need to feel a romantic attraction to want to do the cutesy mushy romantic stuff. - Amalthæ. “[Aromanticism] also means I am barely ever interested in someone despite pretty much constantly wanting to be which is frustrating.” - Theo. End ID.]

Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week is happening in less than 60 days! We have a guide for applying for a local or state proclamation up on our website: https://taaap.org/2021/12/25/asaw-proclamation-2022/

In 2021, there were a total of 6 states and cities that recognized Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week. While government recognition is not required for any community or their events, it helps to lay the groundwork for inclusive policy, and brings greater awareness to the public of the identity and community.

[ID: Two infographics with the heading "ASAW Official Recognition". The first one reads "Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week is coming up on February 20 - February 26, 2022! Official government recognition of ASAW can do several things: Raise awareness of aromantic identities among the public. Provide a building block to request future legislation cover aromantic people. Make aromantic people feel seen and accepted in their home!"

The second reads "If you want to apply for official recognition from your local government, just follow these simple steps: 1. Have an address in the relevant location. 2. Check the deadline for proclamation requests. 3. Contact any organization you would like to sponsor the proclamation. 4. Copy and paste our template into the request form. 5. Wait for a response, and follow up!" End ID.]

Reasons why someone might identify as “loveless” aromantic

Note: I don’t ID as loveless, this is just a collection of what I’ve seen loveless aros say. Add on if you’d like.

Remember that lovelessness is entirely valid. To not relate to the concept of love, or to simply not love, is okay, and you aren’t missing anything. The reasons why someone might ID as loveless aren’t really our business, so if they say they don’t love, respect that.

What is Love (An Arospec’s Perspective)

(This is a Really Long One, so full comic is under the cut)

Keep reading

If anyone's looking for some good allosexual-aro rep, i just finished The Liar's Guide to the Night Sky last night, and absolutely loved Jonah. Who is one of the main characters and pan, aro and polyam.

The book is about two characters trying to survive on a mountain after a mudslide and being separated from the rest of their group when they go try to find help.

Challenging Amatornomativity- A Beginner’s Guide

As aros, we tend to be quite aware of amatonormativity, but it might be hard to explain or give concrete examples of it, especially when explaining it to alloromantics. This guide and workbook aims to explain what amatonormativity is by giving examples of how it manifests and how it can be harmful. Through a series of exercises and reflections, people can learn to better identify and challenge amatornomativity. There are also a number of sources and narratives to help people understand its impact and learn from lived experiences. The worbook is aimed at (monogamous) alloromantic folks, but could be useful for aros who are struggling with internalized amatonormativity. 

There are currently five versions of the guide/workbook:

The workbook can be found on here on my WordPress. Feel free to share it, especially with people in your life who could benefit from learning about amatonormativity. 

A thanks and a shout-out to those who helped, including @aroace-avenue.

This is an amazing guide written by an amazing person! Finding ways to introduce alloromantics to amatonormativity and to have them actually spend time thinking about it deeply is really hard. This is a starting point to get them going!

Loveless aro survey

Hello! I have made a survey to gather data on the loveless aro community, which you can take HERE. There isn’t a set date for when the survey will be closed, as that depends on how much data I can gather. Results will be posted on this blog.

Both loveless aros and aromantics who do not identify as loveless can participate. Loveless aros will mainly be asked their reasons for using the loveless label, and a few personal opinions regarding the community. Non-loveless aromantics will mainly be asked about their opinions regarding the label of loveless aro. Both groups will be given demographic questions. In the case of loveless aros, the demographic questions aim to find trends within the loveless community, while the same demographic questions for non-loveless aros may serve as a control sample.

Also, as I’ve been asked this before, all people on the aromantic spectrum are welcome to participate, regardless of the specific labels they use.

Hey everyone! The Carnival of Aros is currently getting rebooted with a new site and management team (including yours truly). June’s theme is “Pride and Solidarity” and being hosted by the carnival itself.  We’re all excited to see the carnival continue and get to see everyone’s different thoughts and responses. Feel free to comment or email us with any questions or concerns!

Aromantics Create Pride, a celebration of the creativity of the aromantic community, is now an annual event! If you’re aro and have a piece of work you’re particularly proud of then this is the event for you.

[Image description: A black and white drawing of a hand holding a selection of craft supplies, including knitting needles, a spatula, a pencil, an eraser, a tube of paint, a paintbrush, and a crochet hook. Above the drawing are the words "Aromantics Create Pride". The whole image is overlayed on a dark green background covered with streaks of paint in the colors grey, white, black, and light green. Overlaid on top of the image are the words "AUREA- Aromantics Create Pride 2021"]

Pride Patch Tutorial: Aro Text, Part Five

Part five in this text patch miniseries provides a collection of patterns for pride flags with three, four and six horizontal stripes. Now an even greater diversity of aromantics can celebrate Aro Week by making their own cross stitch pride patches! 

Aromantic spectrum patterns available in this post include: “aro”, “aroace”, “aego”, “cupio”, “fray”, “lith”, “quoi” and “recip”, along with bonus patterns for “ace”, “apl” and “queer” … and a further list of identities that can be made by mixing and matching letters from different patterns. And many of the above patterns have stripe variations!

For a complete guide to the stitching process for text patches, please see part one of this miniseries, where I’ve posted step-by-step instructions for stitching text. All patterns in this series can be similarly modified in terms of letter spacing, adding/subtracting quarter stitches and layout.