#many more pending in my inbox in case anyone thinks I am ignoring them QUQ

[prince-liest]

Hello! In a recent ask you mention folks have thought asexuality is a hormonal disorder and frankly I admit I myself thought it was something of the sort because every information I’ve read on the topic is so stale and doesn’t dig into it at all. Is there a particular article or study or anything that you would recommend that you as an ace think explains it best for people who have had little to no exposure on the topic? I blame my Balkan upbringing lol. Is there a “the princeliest approved aroace guide for dummies” basically

Oh, god, I am so fucking behind on asks. Sorry!

To be perfectly honest...I don't have a specific article or study for you, because people don't really do articles or studies on aro/ace people. And if they do, they're usually from a medical perspective that is conflating aro/aceness with hormonal disorders, not one of actual sexuality. We live in a world where homosexuality was in the DSM as a disorder until 1987, and I know plenty of non-ace queer folks for whom the concept of simply not experiencing attraction to anyone at all is still a baffling fucking alien concept.

However, I do have a video for you! Jaiden Animations did a pretty well-known animation on her experience finding out she was aroace, and I think it's presented in a way that's really accessible to people who aren't familiar with the subject. Aro/aceness is a spectrum and this doesn't dive into the nitty gritty of it since it's about one person's experiences, but I think it does a good job covering the basics like you asked for I found this video extremely relatable on several fronts (clinically choosing someone to have a crush on because you're supposed to -> "Ugh, I guess nobody here is attractive! :/" pipeline lmao) and unrelatable in others (unlike Jaiden, I experience really strong aesthetic attraction to people and cartoon characters, let's be real).

All that said, it meant a lot to me to watch when my best friend first showed it to me and went, "Hey. Hey, you should take a look at this. I think this is you." I think it's a good way to approach the subject from the perspective of, hey, this is something real, personable people actually feel and experience, and it hits a lot of often-misunderstood aspects of being aspec!