The idea that we all have a fixed sexual identity has created a toxic environment for learning about asexuality and aromanticism, Attraction is far too complex to be constrained within the Western labels created to define (and pathologize) our experiences.
An absence of sexual and/or romantic attraction does not imply that a person has "no attraction" or desires lifelong solitude. Attraction functions on multiple levels and in a multitude of ways.
β’Sexual attraction: sexual desire based on attraction to another person
β’Romantic attraction: desire to form a romantic relationship based on attraction to another person
An absence of these forms is not an absence of attraction. Relationships also dont have to be sexual/romantic.
The idea of "romance" itself is a social construct relative to how Western society has defined courtship practices. "Love" (an equally complex, yet broader, concept) should not be conflated with "romance." Romance should not function as an expectation of a "healthy" relationship.
The naturalization of (hetero)sexual and (hetero)romantic expectations (that this form of sexual/romantic attraction and desire are natural and "normal") came to be as a result of colonialism. What society sees as human "truths" are largely accepted products of violence.
Recognizing how a societal expectation has become naturalized (rather than just accepting it) is important because it's important to ask why things are the way that they are when what is now understood to be "natural" negatively constricts the complexity of human experience.
