Growing and Cementing Aro Research
Written by the AUREA team
Word count: 1493 words
Estimated reading time: approx. 7 minutes
The first iteration of the aro census is coming to a close soon. The August 2020 Carnival of Aros focused on questions relating to aro research. With both of these things on our minds, the AUREA team has grown more and more excited about the future of aro research.
As aro-led research at the grassroots level has been on the rise over the past several years, it has made us wonder about its counterpart in academia. Beyond that, it has made us wonder what will happen as academics look more at aromanticism and local aromantics continue to do on-the-ground research. There is a potential for disparity to develop between these two groups, however, this can be prevented. The aro community is in a rare position at the moment to be involved from the beginning. With a blank slate, we can write our own presence into academia.
The Importance of Small Research Efforts
Before we delve into the monolith that is academic institutions, there is something to be said on behalf of smaller research efforts. When “aromantic” is still a word a large portion of academia is unacquainted with, it’s natural that aromantics want to take research into their own hands. The time it will take for academia to catch up on Aro 101 education could be spent probing the community. As has been seen over the years, aromantics have stepped up to the challenge.
The aro community is still growing and establishing itself, and as such, much of the research being undertaken has been exploratory. Topics have ranged from personal labels to friendship to romance to stigmatization and beyond. Surveys over the years have helped us learn more about ourselves: about our shared commonalities, our diversity, and our relation to other queer communities. Some aro research has aligned with community-wide discussions and coining of new terms, such as in the case of arogender and the aromantic gender experiences survey, whose coining and release both occurred around the same time in 2018. The aro community has grown alongside its research endeavors. This can be seen with new researchers joining the fray, with aro-centered research honing in on the experiences of particular sub-communities (such as allosexual aromantics), and communities that are not always captured in purely aro-centered research (such as quoiromantics).
Aromantics are now seeing themselves in aro-specific research in addition to broader a-spec research. The rise of aro research is mirroring the spread of aromanticism in general, and we have only brushed the surface. There may be many offline research endeavors that we haven’t discovered because they aren’t talked about online (in which case, please tell us, as we’d love to hear about and share those stories). There may be research endeavors in countries the AUREA team members aren’t in, whose languages the AUREA team doesn’t speak (the work of the French group @robase and their sondage sur la communauté aromantique comes to mind).
The value of continuing this kind of research cannot be understated. When aro research is led by aro efforts the questions are relevant, valid, and formed by experts of their own identity. There is a depth here that can be reached, one that non-aro researchers have no intrinsic access to. Access is paramount in research. Aros have connections to other aros and aro communities; and trust and rapport can easily be built on the basis that we’re all aro. But depth isn’t everything. Not all research needs to be big and generalizable. This is especially important in a queer community. With so much diversity and with so much changing so fast over time, it’s important to look into all the nooks and crannies to get a deep and complete picture. When those nooks and crannies are in our own space, it’s much easier to study them.
Why Our Presence in Academia Matters
It won’t be a surprise to hear that there are drawbacks to small research efforts. As research and community interest are topics open to all, a beautifully wide array of people will delve into these areas. As such, not all aros who lead research are trained in research methods, appropriate analyses, or ethical procedures. These things can raise questions about research reliability and legitimacy for some ‘official’ stakeholders who want to see accountability. While everyone has the freedom to enter, academia is no lawless land.
At this time in our community’s growth, and now in this trying time in the world, our work is confined to the internet. We know where to go to find aros and that is as much a plus as it is a minus. Online surveys have limited sample sizes because surveys are advertised in spaces the researchers have access to. As a result, it can be easy to miss crucial demographics that don’t frequent those spaces or that don’t have reliable access to online services (e.g., look at the demographics across most of the online surveys we’ve collected on our Research resources page - a large majority of people answering are young and white, which is not representative of the English-speaking population as a whole). It follows that it is difficult to expand the horizons of individual research when you’re largely unsupported. Aros undergoing their own research journeys are limited to their own time, workforce, and drive. Should aros want to study more extensive topics and investigate larger groups of people, there are limits to just how big these surveys can grow.
Although aros may be experts on aromanticism, they aren’t necessarily experts on other intersecting subject matter of interest. They also may not be up to date on relevant academic literature (e.g., mental health, queer theory). In a recent aro survey on mental health and suicidal tendencies in the aro-spec community some rather alarming results were found. A similar study could be built off of this that explores and expands on the how and why. To truly delve into all things aromantic we will need to explore the things in life that affect us. Aromantics do not exist in a vacuum, no matter how cut off from the ‘real world’ we may feel at times. Our research will reflect that.
On a less personal level, aro research held back by less personal institutions. Politicians and people in power sometimes don’t care to listen to small communities or random individuals (not unless they get a lot of boosting from a lot of people). But, they will listen to people with degrees, certifications, and other qualifications that make them seem more prestigious or trustworthy. In order to effect actual change we need people to listen and to integrate our research findings. We want to make systemic changes to policy and legislation. One way to do this is to promote more aro activism on the ground. Another way is to get qualified people who have built trust with policymakers/people in power to back aromantics. To be acknowledged on a political level, aro researchers will need to get political themselves.
Future aro research will inform medical professionals, law makers, policy makers, and so many others. We need support in these areas if we wish to live as freely as people of society. Once ‘qualified’ individuals join the charge, their voices will carry credence and things will begin the change. We will be recognised.
How We Get There
Every day more and more people learn about aromanticism. It can be difficult for non-aros to properly get to know aromantics, but that’s where our research comes in. It’s not difficult for each of us to take a few actions for far-reaching effects:
Educate academics. Keep spreading information about aromanticism via activism and advocacy
Participate in research studies. Prolific and MTurk are a couple of online methods, but there are always local professors, students, teachers, and market researchers on the lookout for more participants. Comment or email at the end of a study on how to better include aros so researchers can take that into consideration for their next study
If you’re in academia or know people in academia then advocate for aro inclusion in research (a.k.a. Operation Get More Aros Into Academia or Discover The Aros Who Don’t Know About Aromanticism Who Are Already In Academia)
Look for asexual research and get in contact the people in charge of that operation. People who are willing and, more importantly, interested in asexuality are likely to be open to researching aromanticism. They will also know other researchers who specialise in queer theory. Make those connections!
Get in touch with researchers who may be interested in aro research and collaborate with them when forming research materials. AUREA, TAAAP, and local advocacy groups are representatives who could lead these initiatives, as this is more group-led than something individuals can do
The goal is to get to a future where aromantics are included in research. Where aro research is a sub-section of queer studies with dedicated experts. Where academics and local aros are working together in long-term partnerships to address the needs of the local community. Research and partnerships have the potential to make progress the likes of which we can’t even imagine.