#asexual stereotypes

[scriptlgbt]

Hi there!

I’m currently in the mid-stages of plotting out a sci-fi series with an lgbtq+ protagonist, who is specifically asexual and lesbian, so she has a female love interest but isn’t interested in sex nor does she experience sexual attraction to any gender. I’m having a few doubts about how to properly represent this character without enforcing any stereotypes about ace people.

For some background, my character is a woman in her late 20s in a sci-fi future where sexual orientations aren’t really a big deal, so people can date/marry/have sex with any gender. But I am worried that because of her personality and situation, her being asexual might come off as a very poor sterotype. She lives mostly alone and has no friends or family at first, and also does not trust other people becaue of events in her past and the grim world she lives in, where crime is very high. She’s also socially awkward due to her lack of interaction with people on a personal level, and is very closed off at first.

However, as the series progresses, she learns to trust others and work with a team, and she becomes more outgoing and less awkward, and never questions her sexuality along the way since she’s an adult and has known that she’s homoromantic/ace for a long time.

I’m worried that these traits may come off as harmful despite her positive character development, the explicit repetition of her sexuality (aka it never changes nor do other people try to change her) and my best intentions. Do you have any advice as to how to ensure she isn’t falling into this stereotype?

- thanks, <3

In general if you're ever worried about depicting one character as a stereotype, having other characters of the same or similar identities (like in this case having someone who is aro or ace who experiences attraction of some other genre besides their aro or aceness would probably work) who do not share the qualities you're worried about is a good call.

But largely I also want to point out that a stereotype becomes a problem when you divorce it from humanity. If you've researched the different ways someone can experience asexuality and written this person as a whole person, and made it clear in-text that these aren't related traits, I think you're golden.

That said: this is probably just a minor wording issue or lack of info given here, but I want to mention that lots of ace people do have interest in sex, whether academic or as a hobby or whatever else. Not having an interest in having sex is a part of many people's asexuality, but it is not a universal default experience. It's the presence of attraction or not which defines asexuality.

mod nat

[prototypesteve]

In fairness, “Asexual Graphic Designer” is pretty much a dead giveaway that I’m the kind of person who’s going to build an indoor thunder cloud and stick googly eyes on all the wire-strippers.

Idk maybe reducing people to their labels and judging their character based on that instead of their actions is getting us absolutely nowhere in terms of social progress

[wiretism]

hcing a character as aroace bc i relate to them but shaking my head so you know it's not because of stereotypes

[cosmicredcadet]

Some of you people need to stop acting so shitty over aspec stereotypes because it's starting to get to a point that you are just shitting on the people who experiences match the stereotypes and it's hurting a lot more aspects than it's helping.

[pigeonmilk117]

When I’m in a being a stereotype competition and my opponent is the characters who aren’t bisexual and straight in the helluverse:

[starshapedk0ffin]

*In librarian outfit* I am NOT an asexual stereotype! Now excuse me while I go draw respectful nude anatomy studies while horror and sexuality video essays play and I listen to The Magnus Archives! NYAH!

[r3golith2]

Friendly reminder that not all aroace people are completely repulsed.

Everyone's experiences with being aromantic/asexual vary a lot & that's okay.

Nobody can dictate who's actually aromantic/asexual because sexuality is a fluid thing.

[tangents-within-tangents]

Yellow = yellow

Bananas are yellow, does this mean that yellow = banana?

No, yellow = yellow

Yellow =/= banana, does this mean bananas aren't yellow?

Lemons are yellow, does this mean lemon = banana?

Lemon =/= banana, does this mean lemons aren't yellow?

Some apples are yellow, does this mean yellow = apple?

Some apples are red or green, does this mean apples can't be yellow?

Some apples are red, some apples are yellow, does this mean red = yellow?

Lemons and apples are round but bananas aren't, does this mean bananas aren't yellow?

Apples and bananas are sweet, does this mean lemon's aren't sour? Or that sourness is bad?

Bananas, lemons, and apples are fruit, does this mean mustard isn't yellow?

No, yellow = yellow

A category groups things that share a commonality despite their differences. The differences coexist within that commonality without redefining the category.

Other similarities coexist within, and without, the commonality without redefining the category either. The fact that it doesn't redefine the category does not mean those similarities don't hold significance of their own.

If not for the commonality, it wouldn't be a category. If not for the differences, it wouldn't be a category either.

Okay? Cool

Asexuality = experiencing little to no sexual attraction

[stellewriites]

wip wednesday

tagged by @red5tars <3

snippet from a personal piece; aromantic gaz and asexual reader, qpr’s and learning to figure shit out at your own pace

his phone pinged on the coffee table in front of you and you snickered when you saw johnny's name. "looks like you'll owe johnny fifty quid in about an hour," you said and kyle groaned into his hands.

curled over with his elbows on his knees you rubbed his back

"guess pizza's on me next time then," you said and he looked up at you with unimpressed eyes.

"you're meant to say my team will pull through, babes. win at the last second," he huffed.

"i don't like to lie to you," you simpered sarcastically. you nudged him playfully when he rolled his eyes.

he looked at you then, your glistening eyes and teasing smile, and leant down for a soft kiss, his tongue making an eager appearance but barely brushing against your lips before he was pulling back.

he hovered close and you giggled quietly, cut off when he dipped back in, firmer this time. you kissed him back just as encouraging, held him close by the shoulders and licked into his mouth before he got the chance to tease.

you didn't know how long you sat there for, separating for quick moments to catch your breath before going back for more, magnetised and desperate to be close.

when you finally took a minute to break free, breathless and giddy, you gained the courage to joke with him. "so what are we?" you asked with a put on voice and an exaggerated expression. you broke after a moment and snorted a soft laugh.

kyle however had frozen. "uh, friends still?"

hope you guys like this one when it’s out!!

npt (sorry for any doubles!): @3amfanfiction @syoddeye @ohlawdthebirds @400badrequest @pricegouge @tempfrangit @dwarvenagenda @gloard :3

[starcallstorm]

Hahaha I'm taking creative license on behalf of all ace peeps on here, in regards to that one co-creator announcing that he envisioned Viktor as Ace by saying:

We thank you, but we'll take it from here. So maybe he's ace? A valid theory. But then maybe he's acespec/ace umbrella. Let's see him Grey Ace! Let's see him Demi! Let's see him AroAce, Cupio, or Litho! Creatively, having a character as Ace restricts nothing. I'm Ace, with a romantic partner I love dearly -- and yes, romantically. Ace people can experience romantic attraction. Sex positive and sex neutral Aces can also engage in sex. Or they can experience no attraction at all and love like family. They still have emotions and compassion and kindness.

Viktor being dubbed Ace as a way to quell the JayVik discourse seems reductive, especially by a man who doesn't understand the intricacies of being asexual himself.

Maybe Viktor is Ace. But that certainly doesn't invalidate all the fanworks that give him a life partner.

I hope we create many more. 😤

[bigmack2go]

Why do disabled people, fat people, authistic ppl and nonbinary always get hc’ed as asexual?

Dgmw have your headcannons, some of them i have too but it’s like all of them are fanon ace? Like i love the representation but is it really representiom if it’s just a concstant stereotype thats e v e r y w h e r e? And mostly no one else gets hc’ed as aro/ace it too! Like do you think just because i’m authistic and disabled and nonbinary i’m ow so innocent and i can’t have sex??? What??

[wishchip106]

gonna need to see this Erik in this outfit.maybe now?? pls 😿🙏

maybe people need to stop being cowards and put comic book movie characters in skintight bodysuits (men specifically‼️‼️)

sometimes we need slutty men to go hand in hand with the slutty women 😔

[vyingeyes]

Happy belated Ace Day of Visibility! I should've posted something yesterday but I kept trying to wait until the boys got their paint before I posted anything with them in it. Unfortunately, the 2014 tumblr asexuality discourse has found its way to Twitter (in large part thanks to a certain disgraced author) and I had to turn my chair and make this real shitty overlay from a panel Monarch drew 90 years ago because she's too swamped for me to request a dedicated piece of her son. So, have her boy you haven't met yet (his name is Meter, he is lovely, and he is aroace) and a boy you have (Course is probably most like me of my sons, and therefore has inherited the asexuality umbrella). Bonus Myth in the background (not ace, but very supportive 😌).

For those curious, this likely takes place around chapter 7/8ish? It gets fuzzy with an intermission after chapter 6.

[mx-myth]

Cannot explain how fast I would sign the fuck up for an aro/ace/aroace dating/qpr/friend app

[givemebishies]

It’s a harmful stereotype in media that asexual people are all cold emotionless robots/aliens

Spock: Sexual attraction is a primitive and illogical human instinct

God he’s so right

[anistarrose]

This isn't even the main problem with the rhetoric of "you can't headcanon that autistic character as asexual because it's infantilizing," but do people saying that ever realize that, like. If a character has even the lightest seasoning of neurodivergent-coding on them, certain people will infantilize them Regardless of whether ace headcanons are in the picture. People will see a grown adult character who's socially awkward but knowledgeable about a certain topic, and without hesitation decide to write them as an allosexual who barely knows what sex is. Quit blaming ace-spec autistics in fandom for the weird ableists.