Ace Week

[Image description: An image that says "Announcing Community Survey for Autistic Aces and Aros" on a black background with a green and purple border and a rainbow infinity symbol in the middle. The Asexual Outreach logo is at the bottom.]

Calling all Autistic aces and aros! Do you want to contribute to the inclusion of Autistic folks in aro and ace community spaces?

If your answer is yes, fill out our survey! form.jotform.com/221497455800256

Hello, I'm glad to hear that those stories were meaningful to you! They were written for Disabled Ace Day, on Wednesday of Ace Week - this year was the first year, and it was founded by Courtney Lane (@/NeverForgetCL on twitter). You can learn more and see more stories here.

A compilation of links to ace readings, analysis, and discussion of fiction and fan communities, including essays about interpreting individual characters as ace, evaluating canon portrayals of asexuality, and identifying ace-related themes.

In this series, we interview a variety of Disabled Aces with diverse backgrounds in honor of #DisabledAceDay and in conjunction with Ace Week.

Emphasizing a diversity of disabled opinions is a priority for our Disabled Ace Day initiative, and the invisible disability experience is a vital one, yet sadly, it is often overlooked. In this interview, we are joined by Adam Myers from Mayrland who tells us of some of his personal struggles with mental disabilities and what that means for his asexual identity.

Please introduce yourself! How do you identify in terms of asexuality, disability, passions, professions, or anything else you’d like to share with us?

Hi, I’m Adam. I’m a touch-favorable, sex-averse heteroromantic asexual with adhd, chronic depression, chronic anxiety and autism. I’m a storyteller, and I tell those stories through writing, acting, singing and dabbling in much, much more.

In this series, we interview a variety of Disabled Aces with diverse backgrounds in honor of #DisabledAceDay and in conjunction with Ace Week.

For this chapter of our Disabled Ace Day series, I had the joy of interviewing Amaranthe Rae Zinzani (who specifies that her first name is pronounced “A-muh-ranth”). Amaranthe is from Chicago and is both married and gray-asexual. If you enjoy reading about her experiences as much as I did, she has multiple blogs covering a wide range of topics, so make sure to check them out, because there is more where that comes from!

Please introduce yourself! How do you identify in terms of asexuality, disability, passions, professions, or anything else you’d like to share with us?

Hi! My name is Amaranthe. I am polyromantic gray-asexual; the only person I have ever been sexually attracted to is my wife, with whom I have been with for a little over three years. I am polyromantic in that I am romantically attracted to multiple genders; I am not interested in people whose gender identity is entirely “man,” but there’s no label for that.

In this series, we interview a variety of Disabled Aces with diverse backgrounds in honor of #DisabledAceDay and in conjunction with Ace Week.

For this edition of our Disabled Ace Day Interview Series, I had the privilege of speaking with Amber from the Midwestern U.S. state of Michigan. Amber (they/them & she/her), who also goes by the name of Beanie, shares many excellent insights about the intersections of disability, asexuality, and biphobia as well as personal anecdotes pertaining to infantilization and not fitting into societal norms that I think many in the broader asexual community will be able to relate to. I hope you enjoy their interview as much as I did!

Please introduce yourself! How do you identify in terms of asexuality, disability, passions, professions, or anything else you’d like to share with us?

I identify as biromantic asexual/acespec and queer, and I have cerebral palsy and am neurodivergent (ADHD and possibly other disorders). I'm currently a first-year university student studying sustainability, although I am looking for a different major. I enjoy drawing and doing digital art, listening to music (usually k-pop, emo music, or musicals), reading, watching anime, D&D, and am in too many fandoms to list here.

In this series, we interview a variety of Disabled Aces with diverse backgrounds in honor of #DisabledAceDay and in conjunction with Ace Week.

Coming to us all the way from Newcastle, NSW, Australia, we have a brilliant interview with Belinda Downes AKA Bel. 50 year olds are not often featured in asexual spaces, nor are facial differences spoken about as often as they should in disability contexts, but Bel has the experience to give us a unique insight into both of these identities. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing from her and I’m sure you will too!

Please introduce yourself! How do you identify in terms of asexuality, disability, passions, professions, or anything else you’d like to share with us?

I’m definitely Ace. I came out to some colleagues at work about 10 years ago. I’m currently thinking about whether I’m aromantic or not, I’ve recently been challenged on this point and well, I’m thinking about how I’ve defined ‘romantic’. I’m a Linguist/Language Scientist by profession so defining things is part of my jam. I’ll get there.

In this series, we interview a variety of Disabled Aces with diverse backgrounds in honor of #DisabledAceDay and in conjunction with Ace Week.

I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity to interview Irene Wolf AKA Nene from The Netherlands. Not only did she provide us with a great point of view to add to this series, but she gave us a reason to be even more excited for Halloween than we already were! Make sure to watch out for her webcomic Halloveen coming out in just a few days!

Please introduce yourself! How do you identify in terms of asexuality, disability, passions, professions, or anything else you’d like to share with us?

I'm Irene, or Nene, a 23 year old Dutch artist. I am a sapphic asexual. I am autistic, have ADHD and have fibromyalgia and a chronic fatigue syndrome. I studied to become a makeup artist at the age of 17, but I am not able to work and am on disability benefits. I rediscovered my passion for art about three years ago as well as a new found love of writing. Last year I decided to combine the two and I'm launching my first webcomic, Halloveen, this halloween!

In this series, we interview a variety of Disabled Aces with diverse backgrounds in honor of #DisabledAceDay and in conjunction with Ace Week.

In this interview, we’re delighted to hear from Megan Snyder of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania! We’re thankful she contributed to this interview series along with so many wonderful Disabled Aces

Please introduce yourself! How do you identify in terms of asexuality, disability, passions, professions, or anything else you’d like to share with us?

My name is Megan. I’m 28 years old. I have Cerebral Palsy. I have Epilepsy. Currently, I tutor English/Reading, Student Success (Study Skills Organization), and Career Help. (Resume work and job search)

In this series, we interview a variety of Disabled Aces with diverse backgrounds in honor of #DisabledAceDay and in conjunction with Ace Week.

For our next interview in this series, we will hear from Quentin AKA Mel Hémery (He/They) from France. Like many Disabled Aces, he has multiple diagnoses and subsequently, many thoughts and experiences with how their disabilities and sexuality intersect.

Please introduce yourself! How do you identify in terms of asexuality, disability, passions, professions, or anything else you’d like to share with us?

Hello, my name is Quentin ( or Mel),  I'm a french queer and neurodivergent artist. In terms of asexuality, I'm identifying mainly as a bi/panromantic ace,  with grey/demiromantic. I am also neurodivergent, since High School as HQI and with dys troubles (dyspraxia and dyslexia)  and I'm also questioning about having ADHD and maybe being in the autistic spectrum.

It can be difficult to navigate the twists and turns of the roads of Disability and Asexuality on their own. What happens when you come to the point in the road in which Disability Dr. & Asexuality Ave. meet? As a disabled ace, I know this intersection all too well.  It’s a tricky one. As a community, we need to talk more about how it feels to be at this intersection.

Navigating a disability or asexuality on its own is more than difficult enough. When you combine the two, it can feel futile. In part, this is because the disability community has spent so many years fighting eugenics. Our community has especially challenged the eugenics idea that all disabled people are asexual. This idea is simply not true: plenty of allosexual people are disabled.  Unfortunately, some disabled people believe that aces like me are “part of the problem.”