ACE ON ACE Volume 2 Issue 5
ACE ON ACE
A monthly newsletter brought to you by Ace Los Angeles
Vol. 2, Issue 5
Hello Aces, Aros, and Others!
Welcome back to Ace Los Angeles’s monthly newsletter. Not much to report for this month, I hope you enjoy. And to all my fellow aros have an excellent Aromantic Visibility Day.
As always -V
August is Transgender History Month
August 25th is Aromantic Visibility Day
Saturday August 10th is the annual Ace UnConference in Berkely, CA. Register to attend.
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 * Due to scheduling issues the next meeting is on August 4th 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 August 7th on zoom.
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.
Fluently Aspec and Gentle Giant Ace collaborated for a zoom info session on the process of getting Ace Week recognized by state governments
The state government of Tamil Nadu in India has drafted a policy to create a commission on Sexual and Gender Minorities.
A Delaware bill to include pansexual and asexual in the state code’s definition of sexuality, which covers anti-discrimination protections, has passed the state senate.
A German cross-sectional study on depression and asexuality highlights health vulnerabilities in asexual individuals and calls for furth study of ace communities.
A new paper from Ireland exploring spatiality in relation to asexuality, and how allosexuality and compulsory sexuality are reproduced and expected across various spaces.
Bella DePaulo writes about the fulfilling possibilities of single life.
Tell Me a Story...
In this section we will spotlight an asexual or aromantic character in media and media related news.
Eurogamer writes an ode to Parvati Holcomb, one of the few asexual video game characters.
The Gamer offers a list of 8 video games with asexual romance options for players.
AZE has published part 2 of it’s collection of submitted works on Deconstructing Love.
Chuck Tingle talks in a blog post about choosing to include a specifically asexual character and storyline in his new book Bury Your Gays.
Ace LA is happy to bring you an exclusive interview with asexual short film “Welcome to Celibacy Club" director Campbell Moore.
In Our Own Words:
This section is where we will feature personal essays, reflections, and stories.
Marina Delvecchio writes about her memoir, gatekeeping, and her ability to claim the asexual label.
Yasmin Benoit on asexuality, Blackness, and fashion.
Ace Dad Advice (Cody Daigle-Orians) answers a letter on internal-acephobic and wishing you weren’t asexual.
The More You Know
In this section we will provide links to articles and resources designed to educate and inform on asexuality and aromanticism.
In honor of last month’s nonbinary awareness week.
a brief twitter thread on the word “frigid” and the asexual community’s relationship with it.
Asexual twitter user elle rose, on disability and asexuality.
Finally, Dr. Canton Winer on asexuality and sexual liberation.
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.
Call for papers on Global Asexualities and Aromanticisms abstracts are due by September 30th, find more information here.
These surveys are ongoing:
University of Southern 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.
USC Sant Cruz researchers are looking for participants for a study on relationships and identity.
The 2024 Ace Community Survey is asking for both ace and allo participants to answer their survey.
Researchers at University of Iowa are looking for 500 people to participate in a study on asexuality and reproductive health.
And finally:
A-specs Committed to Anti-Racism has a living document Actionable Ways to Support Palestinians in Gaza on day 280 of the 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.
Our Word of the Month is Sex Neutral/Indifferent:
Someone who is neutral towards engaging in sexual activity. (Oxford University LGBTQ+ Society)
A sex stance that describes an individual who has no strong feelings regarding the act or concept of sexual interaction. Sex-indifferent individuals are not repulsed by sexual interaction or concepts, but they also do not have any favorable feelings towards them. Sex-indifferent individuals may choose to engage in sexual activities for the enjoyment of a partner, reproduction, economic reasons, artistic expression, etc. (LGBTQIA+ Wiki)
Someone who might be willing to compromise on a few things on an occasional basis, doesn’t enjoy sex much in a physical or emotional way but doesn’t feel distressed thinking about it, might be willing to give pleasure but doesn’t find it intimate (AVEN)
Thought of You…
This section is just for short videos, social media posts, etc. anything too short or trivial for other sections, a little offering of enjoyment to our readers.
art by https://x.com/AkhtsJrep
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.