Misplaced Pages

Aromanticism

Definition	Lack of romantic attraction to others; low or absent desire for romantic activity
Abbreviations	aro
Flag
Flag name	Aromantic flag
Meaning	Green for aromantic spectrum, white for platonic love and friendship, grey and black for sexuality spectrum

Part of a series on
LGBTQ topics
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer
Sexual orientation and gender Aromanticism Asexuality Gray asexuality Aceflux Demisexuality Fraysexuality Biology Bisexuality Pansexuality Demographics Environment Gender fluidity Gender identity Gender role Gender variance Homosexuality Intersex Non-heterosexual Non-binary gender Queer Queer heterosexuality Questioning Sexual identity Sex–gender distinction Trans man Trans woman Transgender Transsexual Two-spirit
History General Timeline Same-sex marriage Homosexuality Movements Gay liberation Same-sex unions Stonewall riots Identities Lesbian Gay men Bisexuality Transgender Intersex
Culture Business Coming out Community African-American Dyke March Events Awareness periods Largest events Gay village Media Films New queer cinema Periodicals LGBTQ culture in New York City Pride Pride Month Parade Queer art QPR and QPP Same-sex relationship Slang Polari Socialization Subcultures Symbols Flags Takatāpui Moe aikāne Tourism
Rights Adoption Civil union Decriminalization Gender self-identification Intersex human rights Legal recognition of non-binary gender Marriage Military service Parenting Rights by country or territory Right to sexuality Transgender rights Yogyakarta Principles
Health MSM and Blood donation restrictions / HIV LGBTQ medical organizations Reproduction Transgender health care Suicide Detransition
Social attitudes 2020s anti-LGBTQ movement in the United States Allonormativity Amatonormativity Cisnormativity Heteronormativity LGBTQ rights opposition Mixed-orientation marriage Media portrayal Religion and homosexuality / trans people Sexual diversity Stereotypes
Issues Acephobia Arophobia AIDS stigma Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric Grooming conspiracy theory Biphobia Bullying Censorship Closeted Outing Comphet Criminalization Domestic violence Erasure Straightwashing Bisexual Lesbian Trans Gay bashing Gayphobia Heteropatriarchy Heterosexism Homophobia Liberal Intersex discrimination Legality of conversion therapy Lesbophobia LGBTQ youth Suicide Vulnerability Migration Racism Sexualism Transphobia Non-binary people Trans men Trans women Violence Trans people
Academic fields and discourse Communism and LGBT rights Gender studies Lesbian feminism Lavender linguistics LGBTQ conservatism LGBT conservatism in the United States Queer anarchism Queer studies Queer theory Social construction of gender Socialism and LGBT rights Transfeminism Transgender studies Travesti
LGBTQ portal
v t e

Aromanticism is a romantic orientation characterized by experiencing little to no romantic attraction. The term "aromantic", colloquially shortened to "aro", refers to a person whose romantic orientation is aromanticism.

Definition, identity and relationships

Aromanticism is defined as "having little or no romantic feeling towards others: experiencing little or no romantic desire or attraction". The term aromantic was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2018.

The opposite of aromanticism is alloromanticism, defined as a romantic orientation in which one experiences romantic love or romantic attraction to others. Some individuals who fall on the aromantic spectrum of identities describe themselves as having experienced romantic love or romantic attraction at some point. Such aromantics may adopt labels for more specific identities on the aromantic spectrum, such as "grayromantic" (romantic attraction rarely experienced or only weakly experienced) or "demiromantic" (only experiencing romantic attraction after a strong emotional bond has been formed with the target). As the experience of romantic attraction is subjective, some aromantic people may find it difficult to determine whether they experience romantic attraction. As such, those who are aromantic may have trouble distinguishing platonic affection from romantic affection.

Aromantic people can form non-romantic relationships of all types, as well as being able to enjoy sexual relationships. They may also choose to have children, and studies indicate that aromantic individuals are no less likely to have children than alloromantic individuals. This is because aromanticism is independent of sexuality or libido, and while many aromantic people are asexual, many are also allosexual. Aromantic individuals who are allosexual are called aromantic allosexuals or aroallos. Due to this, aromantic people who are not asexual can also identify with other sexual orientations, such as "aromantic bisexual" or "aromantic heterosexual". This split between romantic and sexual orientation is commonly explained as the split attraction model, which states that romantic and sexual attraction are not strictly linked for all people. Aromantic asexual people are colloquially known as "aro-ace" or "aroace".

Aromantic individuals are also able to experience platonic love and may have committed friendships, and some form intimate non-romantic partnerships called "queerplatonic relationships". Individuals who don't experience platonic attraction are named as aplatonic. Aromantic indivuduals are also able to experience sensual attraction. Those who do not experience sensual attraction are called asensual. Of those who responded to the Aromantic Census 2020 14.6% had been in a non-romantic partnership.

Some have argued that aromanticism is under-represented, under-researched, and frequently misunderstood.

In society at large, aromantic people are often stigmatized and stereotyped as being afraid of intimacy, heartless, or deluded. Amatonormativity, a neologism coined by philosopher and professor Elizabeth Brake, defined as "the widespread assumption that everyone is better off in an exclusive, romantic, long-term coupled relationship, and that everyone is seeking such a relationship", can be particularly damaging to aromantics. Amatonormativity is said to be connected to devaluing familial, platonic, and queerplatonic friendships/relationships damaging to aromantics.

In the initialism LGBTQIA+, the A stands for aromanticism, alongside asexuality and agender.

Identities on the aromantic spectrum

As aromanticism exists as a spectrum, commonly referred to as the aromantic spectrum, there are varying identities or labels that people on the aromantic spectrum identify with.

• Aromantic – someone who experiences little to no romantic attraction.
• Grayromantic – someone who may be experiencing romantic attraction rarely, only under certain circumstances, or only weakly.
• Demiromantic – someone who experiences romantic attraction but only after forming a close non-romantic bond with the person.
• Aegoromantic – someone who does not feel romantic attraction, but enjoys the depiction of romantic love.
• Lithromantic – someone who experiences romantic attraction, but does not want it to be reciprocated and may lose that attraction if it is reciprocated.
• Cupioromantic – someone who does not experience romantic attraction, but desires a romantic relationship.
• Aroflux – someone who experiences their romantic attraction to be shifting on the aromantic spectrum.
• Frayromantic – someone who only experiences romantic attraction towards people they do not know and may lose romantic attraction towards them if they form a deeper connection with them.
• Quoiromantic – someone who is uncertain if they experience romantic attraction or cannot tell if their feelings are romantic, sexual or platonic in nature.
• Placioromantic – someone who feels little to no desire to receive romantic acts but has interest in performing them to someone else.
• Apothiromantic – someone who does not experience romantic attraction and feels repulsed by romance or averse to romantic activities.

Beyond the above listed commonly used terms that people on the aromantic spectrum may use to identify with, there are also a series of newer emerging terms that are not yet commonly used by the community.

Community

One of the earliest uses of the modern term "aromantic" dates back to 2005. The early online community around aromanticism formed on the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN), an online community around asexuality, and social media platforms such as Tumblr.

Since then a dedicated online community centered around aromanticism has formed online on Arocalypse.com as well as other social media platforms.

In order to gain wider acceptance and recognition, a volunteer formed organization, the Aromantic-spectrum Union for Recognition, Education, and Advocacy (AUREA), was formed to increase recognition of and education on aromanticism and help people on the aromantic spectrum gain wider acceptance by the general public. AUREA is also the leading organizer of the annual Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week held in February.

Another community organization, The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project (TAAAP), focuses on providing resources around both asexuality and aromanticism to the public. They do so by creating and hosting workshops, developing educational materials, and engaging in outreach within the LGBTQIA+ community and general public. The organization has also written a book titled Ace and Aro Journeys: A Guide to Embracing your Asexual or Aromantic Identity that was published in April 2023.

Symbols

The Aromantic Pride Flag was created in 2014 by Cameron Whimsy. The main color, green, was chosen as it is the opposite of red, which is most commonly associated with romantic love. The two shades of green represent the aromantic spectrum, white represents platonic love and friendship, and grey and black represent the different parts of the sexuality spectrum.

A white ring may be worn on one's left middle finger to indicate one's identity on the aromantic spectrum. This was chosen as the opposite of the ace ring which is a black ring worn on the right hand.

Another symbol often used by aromantic people is arrows or an arrow, as the word arrow is a homophone to the shortened word "aro" used by aromantic people to refer to themselves.

• The aromantic pride flag
• Aro ring, a white ring most commonly worn on the left middle finger
• A pin depicting an arrow with the fletching representing the aromantic pride flag colors

Events

Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week

Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week (ASAW) is held annually during the first full week after Valentine's Day (beginning on Sunday). In 2025, it will be observed from February 16–22.

The event was first recognized from November 10–17, 2014, and was subsequently moved to February in 2015 to be held the week after Valentine's Day. It is an awareness period that was created to celebrate, raise awareness of, and bring acceptance to aromantic spectrum identities and the issues people on the aromantic spectrum face. ASAW is led and organized by the Aromantic-spectrum Union for Recognition, Education, and Advocacy (AUREA) and members of the aromantic community.

ASAW has been officially recognized by a handful of states in the United States including Washington State.

Aromantic Visibility Day

The first annual Aromantic Visibility Day was held on 5 June 2023. It was organized by a call to action on Twitter to give visibility to people on the aromantic spectrum using the Hashtag #AromanticVisibilityDay and spread across social media including Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, reddit and various online forums and a cover interview by Hello! magazine with aromantic-asexual author Alice Oseman.

Cultural representation

Aromanticism is rarely depicted in media, but is slowly gaining more widespread acceptance and representation.

Books and literature

As aromanticism is slowly becoming more widely recognized and accepted, additional literature about it is being published. TAAAP created a list of book recommendations as part of the Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week 2022.

Fiction

For a series of fictional books and comics depicting aromanticism, see fictional aromantic characters.

Non-fiction

A series of non-fiction books concerning aromanticism have been published since 2023:

• Sounds Fake But Okay: An Asexual and Aromantic Perspective on Love, Relationships, Sex, and Pretty Much Anything Else (February 2023)
• Ace and Aro Journeys: A Guide to Embracing Your Asexual or Aromantic Identity (April 2023)
• Hopeless Aromantic: An Affirmative Guide to Aromanticism (July 2023)
• Ending the Pursuit: Asexuality, Aromanticism, and Agender Identity (February 2024)

Journals

The interdisciplinary journal known as AZE, created by Michael Paramo in 2016, showcases the works and experiences of aromantic, asexual and agender people.

Online media

The podcast Sounds Fake but Okay by Sarah Costello and Kayla Kaszyca focuses on aromanticism and asexuality and has been credited with helping increase public representation of the aspec (aromantic and asexual) community and has won the 2020 Discover Pods Award for best LGBTQ+ Culture Podcast.

Popular YouTube animator Jaiden Dittfach published a video in March 2022, coming out as aromantic asexual, also known as aro-ace.

Aromantic people

For a list of people that have come out as aromantic, see List of people on the aromantic spectrum.

Discrimination and cultural erasure

Part of a series on
Discrimination
Forms Institutional Structural Statistical Taste-based
Attributes Age Caste Class Dialect Disability Genetic Hair texture Height Language Looks Mental disorder Race / Ethnicity Skin color Scientific racism Rank Sex Sexual orientation Species Size Viewpoint
Social Arophobia Acephobia Adultism Anti-albinism Anti-autism Anti-homelessness Anti-drug addicts Anti-intellectualism Anti-intersex Anti-left handedness Anti-Masonry Aporophobia Audism Biphobia Clannism Elitism Ephebiphobia Social determinants of health Social determinants of health in poverty Social determinants of mental health Fatphobia Gayphobia Gerontophobia Heterosexism HIV/AIDS stigma Homophobia Leprosy stigma Lesbophobia Discrimination against men Misandry Misogyny Nepotism Pedophobia Perpetual foreigner Pregnancy Sectarianism Supremacism Aryanism Autistic Black Chauvinism Female Illusory Jewish Male Nordicism Tigraynization Ultranationalism White Transphobia 21st-century anti-trans movement in the United Kingdom Non-binary Transmisogyny Trans men Vegaphobia Xenophobia
Religious Atheism Exclusivism Baháʼí Faith Buddhism Christianity Persecution Catholicism Eastern Orthodoxy Jehovah's Witnesses LDS or Mormon Protestantism Tewahedo Orthodoxy post–Cold War era Falun Gong Hinduism Persecution Untouchability Islam Persecution Ahmadiyya Shi'ism Sufism Sunnism minority Muslim Judaism Persecution Neopaganism Rastafari Sikhism Yazidism Zoroastrianism
Ethnic/national Afghan African Albanian Arab Armenian Asian France South Africa United States Assyrian Australian Austrian Azerbaijani Black people African Americans China South Africa Bengali Bulgarian Catalan Chechen Chinese Colombian Croat Dutch English Estonian Filipino French Fulani Finnish Georgian German Greek Haitian Hazara Hungarian Igbo Indian Indigenous people Australia Canada United States Iranian Irish Italian Japanese Jewish Antisemitism New Korean Kurdish Lithuanian Malay Māori Mexican Middle Eastern Mongolian Montenegrin Nigerian Pakistani Palestinians Pashtun Polish Portuguese Quebec Romani Romanian Russian Scottish Serb Slavic Somali Spanish Tatar Thai Turkish Ukrainian Uyghur Venezuelan Vietnamese Welsh
Manifestations Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric SPLC-designated list of anti-LGBTQ hate groups Anti-LGBTQ movement in the US Anti-trans movement in the UK Anti-Zionism Blood libel Bullying Cancel culture Capital punishment for homosexuality Compulsory sterilization Corrective rape Counter-jihad Cultural genocide Defamation Democide Disability hate crime Dog whistle Domicide Economic Education Employment Eliminationism Enemy of the people Ethnic cleansing Ethnic conflict Ethnic hatred Ethnic joke Ethnocide Excellence Gender-based dress codes Cosmetics policy High heel policy Forced conversion Freak show Gay bashing Gendercide Genital modification and mutilation Genocide examples Glass ceiling Hate crime Violence against LGBTQ people Hate group Hate speech Homeless dumping Housing Indian rolling Kill Haole Day Lavender scare LGBTQ+ grooming conspiracy theory List of people killed for being transgender Lynching Mortgage Murder music Native American mascots Occupational segregation Opposition to immigration Paper genocide Persecution Pogrom Political repression Purge Racialization Religious persecution Religious terrorism Religious violence Religious war Scapegoating Segregation academy Sentencing disparity Sexual harassment Sex-selective abortion Slut-shaming Trans bashing Victimisation Violence against women White flight White genocide conspiracy theory Wife selling Witch hunt
Policies Age of candidacy Blood purity Blood quantum Crime of apartheid Disabilities Catholic Jewish Gender pay gap Gender roles Transphobia in the US House of Representatives Gerontocracy Gerrymandering Ghetto benches Internment Jewish quota Law for Protection of the Nation LGBTQ rights opposition MSM blood donation restrictions No kid zone Numerus clausus (as religious or racial quota) One-drop rule Racial quota Racial segregation Jim Crow laws Nuremberg Laws Racial steering Redlining Same-sex marriage (laws and issues prohibiting) Segregation age racial religious sexual Social exclusion Sodomy law State atheism State religion Ugly law Voter suppression
Countermeasures Affirmative action Anti-discrimination law Anti-racism Constitutional colorblindness Cultural assimilation Cultural pluralism Diversity, equity, and inclusion Diversity training Empowerment Fat acceptance movement Feminism Fighting Discrimination Hate speech laws by country Human rights Intersex human rights LGBT rights Nonviolence Racial integration Reappropriation Self-determination Social integration Toleration
Related topics Allophilia Amatonormativity Bias Cisnormativity Civil liberties Criminalization of homosexuality Dehumanization Diversity Multiculturalism Neurodiversity Ethnic penalty Figleaf Gender-blind Heteronormativity Historical eugenics Internalized oppression Intersectionality Masculism Medical model of disability autism Net bias Oikophobia Oppression Police brutality Political correctness Polyculturalism Power distance Prejudice Prisoner abuse Racial bias in criminal news in the United States Racism by country Racial color blindness Religious intolerance Reverse discrimination Reverse racism Second-generation gender bias Snobbery Social equity Social exclusion Social identity threat Social model of disability Social privilege Christian male white Social stigma Speciesism Stereotype threat The talk
v t e

Discrimination, fear and prejudice against aromantic people, commonly referred to as "arophobia", or when directed at both aromantic and asexual (aspec) people, "aphobia" is prevalent in both the general public as well as within the LGBTQIA+ community.

Elizabeth Brake coined the term amatonormativity in the book Minimizing Marriage, meaning "the pressure or desire for monogamy, romance, and/or marriage". As aromanticism is directly counter to many western societal expectations, aromantic people face continued pressure and prejudice to conform to the "social norms" and form permanent romantic relationships.

Although aromantics and asexuals have existed for as long as humans have, the terminology and openness has only gone mainstream more recently.

Aromantic people are often left out of discussions and representations, including within the LGBTQIA+ community itself. This extends to some people's and media organizations misuse of the expanded LGBTQ acronym LGBTQIA+ acronym itself wherein some people mistakenly claim that A in LGBTQIA+ stands for ally. In actuality, the A in LGBTQIA+ represents aromanticism, asexuality and agender.

This erasure extends into modern TV media, very prominently that of the character Jughead Jones, who is asexual and aromantic: in the 2017 television show Riverdale, the writers chose to depict Jughead as a heterosexual despite pleas from both fans and Jughead actor Cole Sprouse to retain Jughead's asexual aromantic identity to allow the community to be represented.

To counteract the stigma and discrimination against aromantic people, various community and health and wellness organizations have published articles and educational materials to educate the public.

The English aromantic and asexual activist Yasmin Benoit called out that this erasure expands to official government offices, such as the Government Equalities Office not yet acknowledging aromanticism in their latest LGBT Survey and people having to label themselves under "other" instead.

It is worth noting that sometimes this erasure of aromantic identities even happens within the aspec community itself, with people assuming that aromanticism and asexuality are the same thing, when in actuality they are different things and many aromantic people do not identify as asexual.

In the Aromantic Census 2020, 82.43% of respondents reported not being taken seriously, being ignored, or being dismissed by others. 48.34% reported having experienced attempts or suggestions to "fix" or "cure" them. 70.51% of respondents indicated some impact of discrimination against their aromantic identity.

Research

As the general term of aromanticism is still relatively young, studies on aromanticism in the scientific research field are still scarce and under-researched and of the few studies that exist, many treat aromanticism as a sub-set of asexuality.

In April 2023 two University of Toronto professors launched the Asexuality and Aromanticism Bibliography to better collect and track academic articles on asexuality and aromanticism.

The concept that there is a distinction between romantic and sexual orientation has not been studied extensively yet, but the diversity of attraction has been progressively recognized in newer studies.

A 2022 study on concordance between romantic orientation and sexual attitudes found that while there is some concordance between romantic orientation and sexual orientation, the two were not a complete match, suggesting that the experience of split attraction between romantic and sexual orientation exists both in allosexual as well in asexual people. The authors also note that they were surprised that out of their sample population, as compared to asexual participants, only few allosexual people self-identified as aromantic and hypothesize that this may be due to the unfamiliarity with the concept and term.

According to Debra Laino, an AASECT-certified clinical sexologist and relationship coach, one of the most common misconceptions around aromantic people is that they do not want to have sex. She explains that "aromantic people can still feel sexual attraction, but they might not identify with the way romance is often present in current media and culture."

A research article from 2021 discusses zines and their role within the aromantic and asexual community to help people navigate their identity and the authors note that aromanticism is "too often explored as a tag-on to asexuality".

Prevalence

The representation of aromantic people within the general population is not yet well understood. Of the population of asexual people, which is believed to be approximately 1% of the general population, about 26% also identified as aromantic. There is however not much qualitative or quantitative research around how many allosexual people also identify as aromantic, thus making it hard to say how much of the general public identifies as aromantic.

One study of 414 American adults found that about 1% of participants indicated that they were not romantically attracted to either sex (i.e. aromantic). The study also found that about 10.6% of participants had discordant (different) romantic and sexual orientations.

One population-based survey of sexuality in Japan found that 1.6% of participants did not report either romantic attraction or sexual attraction and 0.8% of participants have sexual attraction but do not have romantic attraction.

Calls for more research on aromanticism

Aromanticism as its own term originated within the asexual community online, but newer research is acknowledging that romantic and sexual orientation are not one and the same and attitudes towards recognition of this separation and difference are changing. A contributing factor to this is that many people have difficulty distinguishing between romantic and sexual attraction as they intertwined for most people and that between 19% and 28% of asexual individuals do also identify as aromantic.

Calls for more research around aromanticism and asexuality are highlighted by a recent study centered on the thematic analysis of online communications within the aromantic and asexual community, which highlights that allonormativity is prevalent in the field of communication studies and needs to be combated in order to provide qualitative academic work around aromanticism and asexuality.

In January 2024, PRIDEnet, a project of Stanford University School of Medicine, published a report as a result of a series of research community listening sessions with members of the aromantic community held in 2023 in recognition of the need for more affirming research related to the aromantic community to "address the lack of information surrounding the social, mental, and physical health of aromantic people and help us understand the challenges faced by and the resilience of the aromantic community".

Community research

The Aromantic-spectrum Union for Recognition, Education, and Advocacy (AUREA) is supporting researchers interested in studying the field of aromanticism and hosts an archive of research on aromanticism. Some of the research listed is peer-reviewed, but the organization has also supported some community surveys.

A census was performed by AUREA in 2020 to gather information of the aromantic community. The census received 9,758 responses from aromantics around the world. Of the respondents, a majority identified as asexual, but about a third of respondents did not identify as asexual, highlighting that aromanticism is not strictly a subset of asexuality and should not simply be categorized as such. The census authors acknowledged that the respondent participant pool was overrepresented by people identifying as asexual as well as other geographic, demographic and linguistic skews as the census was only available in English and due to the predominantly online recruitment method. The organization is planning to repeat the census on a semi-annual basis, but has not yet released the 2022 census.

Another community survey was performed in 2021 within the aromantic community specifically targeting the allosexual aromantic community to highlight the existence of aromantic people that are not asexual. The survey had 647 responses; the majority of respondents identified as queer at 43% and only 8.8% as heterosexual.

See also

• Asexuality
• List of people on the aromantic spectrum
• List of fictional aromantic characters
• Platonic love
• Queerplatonic relationship
• Romantic orientation

References

1. ^ "whoops yeah i just realised i never actually made a proper post for this version of the flag with meanings and stuff (Origin of the Aromantic Flag)". tumblr. Cameron Whimsy. November 16, 2014. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
2. ^ "What is the aromantic flag". lgbtqnation.com. June 2022. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
3. Bougie, C. (2021). Composing aromanticism (Thesis thesis). University of Missouri--Columbia. p. 8. doi:10.32469/10355/85832. Archived from the original on 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
4. "5 things you should know about aromantic people". Stonewall. 2022-02-18. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
5. "Never Been Interested in Romance? You Could Be Aromantic". Psych Central. 2021-10-29. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
6. "Definition of AROMANTIC". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
7. ^ Josh Salisbury. "Meet the aromantics: 'I'm not cold – I just don't have any romantic feelings' | Life and style". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2021-04-07. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
8. ^ Przybylo, Ela; Gupta, Kristina (2020). "Editorial Introduction: The Erotics of Asexualities and Nonsexualities: Intersectional Approaches". Feminist Formations. 32 (3): vii–xxi. doi:10.1353/ff.2020.0034. ISSN 2151-7371. S2CID 235009367. Archived from the original on 2022-03-06. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
9. "Aromantic Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster". Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
10. "Oxford English Dictionary: New words list June 2018". June 2018. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
11. Micomonaco, Mikayla (June 28, 2017). "I'm Tired Of My Queer Identity Being Ignored & Erased On TV". Bustle. Archived from the original on 2019-08-15. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
12. "AUREA - Aromantic Identity Terms". AUREA. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26. Retrieved 2022-02-26.
13. ^ Lang, Christina (2018-05-01). "Intimacy and Desire Through the Lens of an Aro-Ace Woman of Color". Honors Theses. Archived from the original on 2022-05-19. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
14. Janet W. Hardy; Dossie Easton (2017). The Ethical Slut: A Practical Guide to Polyamory, Open Relationships and Other Freedoms in Sex and Love. Ten Speed Press. pp. 98–. ISBN 978-0-399-57966-0. Archived from the original on 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
15. Julie Sondra Decker (13 October 2015). The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality Next Generation Indie Book Awards Winner in LGBT. Skyhorse Publishing. pp. 44–. ISBN 978-1-5107-0064-2. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
16. ^ Dedeker Winston (7 February 2017). The Smart Girl's Guide to Polyamory: Everything You Need to Know About Open Relationships, Non-Monogamy, and Alternative Love. Skyhorse Publishing. pp. 113–. ISBN 978-1-5107-1209-6. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
17. ^ Antonsen, Amy N.; Zdaniuk, Bozena; Yule, Morag; Brotto, Lori A. (2020-07-01). "Ace and Aro: Understanding Differences in Romantic Attractions Among Persons Identifying as Asexual". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 49 (5): 1615–1630. doi:10.1007/s10508-019-01600-1. ISSN 1573-2800. PMID 32095971. S2CID 211476089. Archived from the original on 2023-04-29. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
18. ^ Plonski, Logan (February 23, 2018). "7 Facts You Should Know About Aromantic People". them. Archived from the original on 2020-01-11. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
19. Pinto, Stacy Anne (2014). "ASEXUally: On being an ally to the asexual community". Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling. 8 (4): 331–343. doi:10.1080/15538605.2014.960130. S2CID 144192002.
20. Project, The Ace and Aro Advocacy (2023-04-21). Ace and Aro Journeys: A Guide to Embracing Your Asexual or Aromantic Identity. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-83997-639-1.
21. Miller SJ, ed. (2016). "Glossary of Terms: Defining a Common Queer language" (PDF). Teaching, Affirming, and Recognizing Trans and Gender Creative Youth. London: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 299–309. doi:10.1057/978-1-137-56766-6. ISBN 978-1-137-56766-6. S2CID 156912799. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
22. Kliegman, Julie (2021-10-29). "What Does AroAce Mean? Not Everyone Who's Aromantic Is Asexual". Bustle. Archived from the original on 2022-07-28. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
23. Jenkins, Nathan Bernstein, Maximus (2024), "A Brief Manifesto Against Asexual Respectability Politics", Asexualities, Routledge, pp. 111–118, doi:10.4324/9781003178798-10, ISBN 978-1-003-17879-8, retrieved 2024-05-15{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
24. ^ "The Aro Census 2020 Report". July 2021. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
25. "How Pop Culture Denies Aromantic Asexual Existence". The Mary Sue. 2016-02-19. Archived from the original on 2021-04-06. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
26. Nicola Pardy. "What Is Asexual - People Share Asexuality Experiences". Refinery29.uk. Archived from the original on 2018-09-06. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
27. Yeow Kai Chai (2017-10-04). "Singer-songwriter Moses Sumney does not mind flying the freak flag, Entertainment News & Top Stories". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 2019-12-02. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
28. Nivea Serrao (2017-07-10). "Tash Hearts Tolstoy author on depicting asexuality in YA fiction". EW.com. Archived from the original on 2019-12-01. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
29. ^ Brown, Sherronda J. (2017-12-26). "Romance is Not Universal, Nor is it Necessary". Wear Your Voice. Archived from the original on 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2018-04-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
30. ^ "GLAAD - A is for Asexual, Agender, Aromantic". 11 February 2015. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
31. "LGBTQIA Definition & Meaning". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
32. "Spectrum 101 - The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project". May 2021. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
33. ^ "AUREA - Aromantic Identity Terms". October 2021. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
34. "Ace / Aro Spectrum Definitions - Oxford University LGBTQ+ Society". Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
35. McCreary, Kylie (2023-03-02). "What It Means To Be Cupioromantic (& How It Differs From Being Aromantic)". The List. Archived from the original on 2023-05-29. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
36. Fine, Julia Coombs (2019-03-07). "Performing graysexuality: A segmental and prosodic analysis of three voices employed in the construction of the graysexual self". Journal of Language and Sexuality. 8 (1): 1–29. doi:10.1075/jls.18003.coo. ISSN 2211-3770. S2CID 150456875. Archived from the original on 2023-11-03. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
37. Barron, Victoria (2023-06-21). Amazing Ace, Awesome Aro: An Illustrated Exploration. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-83997-715-2.
38. "Aromantic History - AUREA". October 13, 2019. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
39. "FAQ: Orientation - The Asexual Visibility & Education Network (AVEN)". February 9, 2005. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
40. "Your Everything-to-Know Guide on What It Means to Be Aromantic". Cosmopolitan. 20 May 2022. Archived from the original on 3 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
41. "Why Coupling Is No Longer Compulsory". Psychology Today. 20 February 2021. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
42. ^ "Aromantic Definition - What it Means & How It Differs From Asexuality". Women's Health. 25 April 2022. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
43. "Resources To Learn About the Aromantic Spectrum For Aromantic Awareness Week". HER. 23 February 2023. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
44. ^ "About ASAW". arospecweek.org. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
45. ^ "Are you ready for Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week?". lgbtqnation.com. 15 February 2021. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
46. "About TAAAP - The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project". Archived from the original on 2023-03-26. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
47. ^ The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project (21 April 2023). Ace and Aro Journeys: A Guide to Embracing Your Asexual or Aromantic Identity. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1839976384. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
48. ^ Brown, Lauren (20 February 2023). "Jessica Kingsley Publishers unveils five new books on asexuality and aromanticism". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 2023-05-29. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
49. "Queer Community Flags". queerevents.ca. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
50. Gillespie, Claire. "22 Different Pride Flags and What They Represent in the LGBTQ+ Community". Health.com. Archived from the original on 19 July 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
51. "Aromantic Ring?!". March 29, 2015. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
52. "All about beautiful ace and aro rings". July 30, 2022. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
53. "Aromantic flag and symbols explained". 6 June 2020. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
54. "Washington Becomes 5th State to Recognize Aro Week". February 25, 2021. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
55. "Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week". lgbtq.wa.gov. Archived from the original on 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
56. "Heartstopper's Alice Oseman on asexuality, young fame and surviving social media". HELLO! magazine. 6 June 2023. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
57. "How Pop Culture Denies Aromantic Asexual Existence". The Mary Sue. February 19, 2016. Archived from the original on April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
58. Kyle, MacNeill (2024-02-14). "The new aromantics flying the flag for the misunderstood identity". Planet Woo, ITV. Retrieved 2024-02-18. Mexican-American writer Michael Paramo is one of the globe's leading aro academics... they published Ending the Pursuit, a book questioning society's normative views on sex, gender and romance.
59. https://bookshop.org/lists/aromantic-spectrum-awareness-week
60. Costello, Sarah; Kaszyca, Kayla (21 February 2023). Sounds Fake But Okay: An Asexual and Aromantic Perspective on Love, Relationships, Sex, and Pretty Much Anything Else. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1839970016. Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
61. Rendle, Samantha (21 July 2023). Hopeless Aromantic: An Affirmative Guide to Aromanticism. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1839973673. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
62. Paramo, Michael (2024-02-08). Ending the Pursuit: Asexuality, Aromanticism and Agender Identity. Unbound Publishing. ISBN 978-1-80018-286-8.
63. "The "A" in LGBTQIA+". psychcentral.com. 26 October 2021. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
64. "Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week 2023 - Resources on Aromanticism". seattlepride.org. 13 February 2023. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
65. "About AZE". AZE journal. Archived from the original on 2023-04-14. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
66. ^ Moen, Matt (March 23, 2022). "YouTuber Jaiden Animations Comes Out as Aroace". Paper Magazine. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
67. "These Podcasts Are Paving the Way for Aromantic and Asexual Representation". 20 February 2020. Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
68. "Announcing the winners of the 2020 Discover Pods Awards". 9 November 2020. Archived from the original on 17 February 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
69. Henderson, Taylor (March 21, 2022). "YouTuber Jaiden Animations Comes Out as Aroace, Here's What That Means". Pride. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
70. van der Velde, Issy (March 23, 2022). "Jaiden Animations' Coming Out Video Perfectly Treads The Line Between Public And Private". TheGamer. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
71. ^ "Aphobia, understanding the discrimination and effects". 29 January 2023. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
72. ^ "Why aromantic and asexual people belong in LGBTQIA+ community". July 6, 2021. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
73. Mercado, Mia (June 8, 2017). "Equinox Gym's Pride Video 'The LGBTQ Alphabet' Leaves Out An Important Letter". Bustle. Archived from the original on 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
74. Dastagir, Alia E. (June 15, 2017). "LGBTQ definitions every good ally should know". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2021-04-04. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
75. "Why the A doesn't stand for Ally". 19 May 2020. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
76. "Riverdale's' Asexual Erasure Can be Harmful". April 14, 2017. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
77. "Aphobia: Common Attitudes and Expressions" (PDF). ourspectrum.com. Waterloo Region's Rainbow Community Space. October 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
78. "Aromantic Resources - PFLAG". Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
79. "Activist shares her story for Aromantic Awareness Week". SWLondoner. 21 February 2023. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
80. "Aromanticism: What Does It Mean? - WebMD". 27 June 2021. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
81. "What Does it Mean to be Aromantic - Shape". 28 December 2021. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
82. ^ Brandley, Ben; Dehnert, Marco (17 March 2023). ""I am not a Robot, I am Asexual": A Qualitative Critique of Allonormative Discourses of Ace and Aro Folks as Robots, Aliens, Monsters". Journal of Homosexuality. 71 (6): 1560–1583. doi:10.1080/00918369.2023.2185092. PMID 36929881. S2CID 257583622. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
83. Carvalho, Ana Catarina; Rodrigues, David L. (2022). "Sexuality, Sexual Behavior, and Relationships of Asexual Individuals: Differences Between Aromantic and Romantic Orientation". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 51 (4): 2159–2168. doi:10.1007/s10508-021-02187-2. hdl:10071/25315. PMID 35334025. S2CID 242569971. Archived from the original on 2023-03-26. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
84. Aschaiek, Sharon (11 April 2023). "English scholars develop unique resource for asexuality and aromanticism research". University of Toronto. Archived from the original on 2023-05-29. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
85. Johnson, Olivia (17 May 2023). "Resources on asexuality and aromanticism studies are more accessible than ever". xtramagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2023-05-17. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
86. ^ Bogaert, Anthony F. (9 August 2012). Understanding Asexuality. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1442200999.
87. ^ Lund, Emily M.; Thomas, Katie B.; Sias, Christina M.; Bradley, April R. (21 November 2016). "Examining Concordant and Discordant Sexual and Romantic Attraction in American Adults: Implications for Counselors". Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling. 10 (4): 211–226. doi:10.1080/15538605.2016.1233840. S2CID 151856457. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
88. ^ Clark, Alyssa N.; Zimmerman, Corinne (5 April 2022). "Concordance Between Romantic Orientations and Sexual Attitudes: Comparing Allosexual and Asexual Adults". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 51 (4): 2147–2157. doi:10.1007/s10508-021-02194-3. PMID 35380311. S2CID 247955047. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
89. Przybylo, Ela; Jacob, Kaiya (1 February 2021). "The Erotic Worldmaking of Asexual and Aromantic Zines". QED: A Journal on GLBTQ Worldmaking. 8 (1): 25–48. doi:10.14321/qed.8.1.0025. S2CID 238938385. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
90. Hiramori, Daiki; Kamano, Saori (2020-03-13), Understanding Sexual Orientation Identity, Sexual/Romantic Attraction, and Sexual Behavior beyond Western Societies: The Case of Japan, doi:10.31235/osf.io/ds8at, retrieved 2024-11-24
91. "Never Been Interested in Romance? You could be Aromantic". 29 October 2021. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
92. Zheng, Lijun; Su, Yanchen (30 January 2018). "Patterns of Asexuality in China: Sexual Activity, Sexual and Romantic Attraction, and Sexual Desire". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 47 (4): 1265–1276. doi:10.1007/s10508-018-1158-y. PMID 29383460. S2CID 254266864. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
93. "Community Listening Sessions with Aromantic People: Summary and Recommendations Report" (PDF). Stanford University School of Medicine. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
94. "Allo Aro Survey Results". 2021. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2023.

External links

• Aromantic-Spectrum Union for Recognition, Education, and Advocacy (AUREA) – Resources on Aromanticism
• Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week (ASAW)
• The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project (TAAAP)
• Aromantic Resources by PFLAG
• Arocalypse.com – An online forum centered on people on the aromantic spectrum

v t e Aromanticism
Part of a series on LGBTQ topics
General	Amatonormativity Coming out Discrimination and cultural erasure Flag Identities on the aromantic spectrum Queerplatonic relationship Split attraction model
Community	AUREA Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week (ASAW) AVEN Aze Cultural representation Demographics Free From Desire Sounds Fake but Okay Symbols Flag Ring
Aromantics	People Yasmin Benoit Sarah Costello Julie Sondra Decker Jaiden Dittfach Keri Hulme Aline Laurent-Mayard Michael Paramo more In fiction Lilith Clawthorne Gwenpool Jughead Jones more
Category LGBTQ portal

• Aromanticism
• 2005 neologisms
• Asexuality
• Romantic orientation
• LGBTQ studies