ACE ON ACE Volume 2 Issue 1
ACE ON ACE
A monthly newsletter brought to you by Ace Los Angeles
Vol. 2, Issue 1
Hello Aces, Aros, and Allos!
Welcome back to Ace Los Angeles’s monthly newsletter, I, your lovely editor, apologize for the extended absence, which was sadly unavoidable. For the new year I’m trying something a little different with this. I thought now would be a good time to reiterate what the point of this all is. This newsletter is an attempt to collect relevant meaningful asexual and aromantic news, highlights, essays, etc. as well as connect you all with projects and opportunities that might otherwise slip through the cracks. Our community is currently a bit small and isolated, lets see if we can’t change that.
I hope you enjoy this new appraoch because I’m not changing it back. -V
Now for our requisite disclaimers and updates:
February is Aromantic Awareness Month.
February 7th is Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.
February 19th-25 is Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week & Black Queer History Week.
As of June 2023, Ace LA will alternate between outdoor in-person (weather permitting) and virtual meetups. For in-person meetups and volunteering, you will be asked to mask unless eating or drinking and will be required to sign a waiver stating you understand the risk of exposure, and that you absolve Ace Los Angeles of any liability. Masks are available on request.
Ace LA has social meetings the second Sunday of every month.
1:30pm - New Member Meeting
2pm - General Meeting The next meeting is on February 11th at Grand Park.
Ace LA’s Business meetings are online, the first Wednesday of every month. 7:00pm - Business Meeting The next meeting is on February 7th.
All meetings are open and we hope to see you there!
Our Ears Are Burning!
This section is where we link you to articles and studies on asexuality and aromantisim.
This section will probably be the least affected by the changes to our newsletter, it will continue to be the place I bring you any ace or aro related news as well as any publicly available research on related topics.
The Scientific American has published an overview of the state of asexuality research and understanding in academic and medical fields. While it doesn’t go too in-depth it does nicely explain the problem with only considering asexuality for patients who already use the label.
The amazing Yasmin Benoit writes about the challenges aces, particularly women face, and taking acephobic discrimination seriously.
I don’t have a link for this one (everything I could find was behind a paywall). A bill was introduced into the Delaware house of representatives that seeks to include asexuality and pansexuality in the state’s definition of sexual orientation. This would specifically prohibit discrimination of asexuals in housing, employment, and insurance.
Finally, here’s a Spanish language article on a recent ruling in Mexico, affirming the medical rights of asexual people. Let’s celebrate an international victory for the asexual community for legal protection and recognition.
Tell Me a Story...
In this section we will spotlight an asexual or aromantic character in media and media related news.
My hope for this section moving forward is to bring you ace media news and content in a variety of mediums, including music and games. I would also love to be able to help promoting new independent asexual and aromantic media projects and potentially bring them to a larger audience.
Next time, I promise I will get back to highlighting asexual characters in media (mostly television).
An interview with asexual poet Kelly Weber (Ode to Asexual Libido) where she discusses her writing, queer poetry, and other poets.
Take a look at some 2024 book releases featuring ace/aro-spectrum characters and maybe you’ll add something to your reading list.
qplus magazine brings you a list of favorite asexual characters from other aces.
Asexual writer Amanda DeWitt writes about her book and writing about asexual people not asexuality.
And rounding out the book news for you: Indie Ink Awards 2023, which features and celebrates “books by marginalized authors, self-published books, and books by small presses” and includes the category: Writing the Future We Need: Asexual or Aromantic Representation, check out the 10 finalists.
If you have a spare hour, this video essay on asexuality and romance paths in video games is worth watching as it dives into not just how these games fail aces players but also the underlaying problems with how video games structure sex and relationships. (I’m not a gamer so my only note regarding this video is that I think there is a significant difference between modding a explicitly queer character for heterosexual romance and modding a straight character to allow for queerness)
Polygon has an article from an asexual writer about the lack of asexual representation in television and the problems with current ace tv characters. As with many articles surrounding asexuality on television, I have a few notes. But what I really would like to stress here is that we (ace people, aro people, queer people) need to stop using the word less when we should use more. Don’t ask for less coming out stories, less aromantic aces, less white aces, less women or men aces, less robots or aliens. Demand more! More stories, more characters, more diversity, more variety, more! There isn’t a limit on what we can or should get in our media, so say more.
In Our Own Words:
This section is where we will feature personal essays, reflections, and stories.
I am committed to continue to bring you writing and videos about asexuality and aromanticism from ace and aro people in this section, I think speaking on our own experiences is so important. Moving forward I will not be including works that function primarily in the space of explaining asexuality or aromanticism to allosexuals. Those articles serve a purpose , however, I don’t believe this space is the audience for them.
Vice interviewed an allo-gray ace couple about their relationship, they discuss kink, queerness, non-monogamy, and communication.
Asexuality has become a bit more visible in recent years, Erica reflects on the personal challenges of finding asexuality 10 years ago.
If your looking for more ace content on social media @indianasexuals on twitter regularly posts short videos discussing various ace and aro topics and issues.
The More You Know
In this section we will provide links to articles and resources designed to educate and inform on asexuality and aromanticism.
On a similar vein to the section above, I am limiting the amount of label introduction and 101 education in this section (unless I get feedback asking for me to reinstate it). I will include those types of articles or pages when they serve as an update to an organization’s resources or inclusion policy. Still, I hope I will be able to continue to provide educational material here.
QLife, an Australian peer support phone line, has put together a guide for service providers on asexuality.
Body+Soul has a nice exploration of the value culture places on sex in relationships, including the tendency to problematize the lack of sex, even in other peoples relationships.
Mashable talks with sex & relationship experts about qpr’s.
Over on twitter, asexual writer, @scretladyspider wrote a thread on the dehumanization and discrimination aces experience.
We Want You!
This section is for informing you of requests for participation of aces and aros by other organizations, including studies, surveys, archive efforts, media projects, interviews, and policy / community feedback.
For now I don’t see a need to change this section, in fact my only hope is that it will get bigger. If you’re looking for a way to be involved in the ace/aro community or contribute in some way, this is a great place to start!
Both AVEN AND AUREA are looking for volunteers:
AUREA is seeking analysts and a census co-coordinator to help with the data from their 2023 cenus.
And AVEN is looking for more volunteers to help out in this new year.
There are also a few surveys coming your way:
Towsun University is looking for Asian American asexuals to discuss intersectionality and family relationships.
University of Southeren Queensland is doing a study on psychedelic drug use among queer people.
AUREA (Aromantic-Spectrum Union for Recognition, Education, and Advocacy) is asking for your experiences as part of a book project on aromantisim and intersectionality.
For anyone looking for creative opportunities:
AZE Journal has open submissions for asexual, aromantic, and agender writers exploring colonialism. Submissions can include many different kinds of written or non-written work and are open until February 15th.
Aro Soulmates Fest is a fanfic writing event to create soulmate stories with an aromantic lens, submissions are open until March 17 2024.
Call for submission for Carnival of Aros February 2024, this month’s theme is “The Meaning of Romance Across Time and Place”. Any format is acceptable, submissions are due February 29th.
And finally:
A-specs Committed to Anti-Racism has a living document Actionable Ways to Support Palestinians in Gaza 115 days into a genocide.
What’s the Word?
This last section is dedicated to featuring the definition of a word or phrase to encourage broader understanding and discussion of asexual and aromantic topics.
Language is about communication, an agreed meaning between people, it is by nature imperfect. And as long as people are using it, it will continue to evolve and change, and so will our understanding of ourselves and others . Which is just a fancy way of saying words don’t always mean the same thing, and nobody agrees 100% of the time on what they do mean. This section is an attempt to bring you concepts and words that help define our community and our experiences, and in my best attempt to accomplish that I will offer multiple different definitions from multiple sources, because I believe that the best way to understand something is describe it from multiple angles.
Last time I choose the phrase sex-favorable, which is often overlooked and replaced with the phrase below. I think it is especially important in the asexual community to understand and differentiate sex-favorable and sex-positive as these are concepts that are very relevant, not only to our experience but our ability to communicate.
Our Word of the Month is Sex Positivity:
a philosophy that is accepting of traditional and nontraditional sexual activity, avoids repression and shame, and advocates all consensual exploration of human sexuality. (dictionary.com)
an attitude towards human sexuality that regards all consensual sexual activities as fundamentally healthy and pleasurable, encouraging sexual pleasure and experimentation. (Wikipedia)
Harboring positive attitudes towards sex, regardless of one’s own desire or lack of desire for sexual activity. (Oxford University LGBTQ+ Society)
the idea that people should have space to embody, explore, and learn about their sexuality and gender without judgment or shame. It involves being nonjudgmental and respectful regarding the diversity of sexuality and gender expressions, as long as there is consent. (Healthline, Goody Howard & Aida Manduley)
We love to hear from you! Letters to the editor can be sent to asexalitylosangeles@gmail.com
And to keep your lovely editor from feeling unappreciated and full of melancholy, please tells us what you loved (or hated) or think we missed.