What's Going On: May 2021
Are you online?
The Ace and Aro Alliance of Central Ohio hosted an Aromanticism Panel alongside the Kenyon Queer and Trans Studies Conference on April 12th. You can watch it online and enjoy hearing some arospec individuals chat about being aro!
For all you emoji users it probably isn’t a surprise to hear that there are only two pride emojis: the rainbow flag and the trans flag. If you want to see more pride flags all over your various media timelines - the aromantic flag in particular - here’s how you can get involved!
Here is the round-up for the April Carnival of Aros topic: Self-care, Self-love, and Aromanticism. There’s some lovely pieces submitted. We’re unsure if there is a May host as of yet, please let us know if you’ve seen anything. The Carnival has been running somewhat on autopilot for the last couple of months and there’s a possibility that no one is hosting right now. We’re hoping to hear soon that there is a host, but if you want to spontaneously take on May then the worst that happens is aros have two topics to write for.
Volunteer Calls
AUREA is currently recruiting for a number of positions on the AUREA team, as outlined on our Volunteers Page. Please note that these are all unpaid volunteer positions, and you would be expected to dedicate a certain amount of your free time to helping run AUREA. If you are interested in any of the listed roles and believe you have the relevant experience, we’d love to hear from you! Email us at contact@aromanticism.org, and include the role title you’re interested in in the subject line. We are looking to diversify in all positions, particularly with the following people:
AlloAros
Cis Men
Disabled people
People from countries outside of the U.S.
People of colour
Trans Men/Transmasculine
Trans Women/Transfeminine
Arocalypse is searching for moderators for Australian and East Asian time zones. If you are interested, you can find more information over at Arocalypse.
And Aces and Aros is looking for volunteers! This organisation is U.S. based but don’t let that stop you, they’re happy to have you no matter where you are. Their volunteer application can be found here, along with more information about the opportunity.
Aros in the media
Reading My Aromantic Hate Comments (Arophobia) by Yasmin Benoit
A sort-of sequel to my video reading my asexual hate comments, I thought I'd shine a light on how arophobia manifests as well!
If you’re ever after a bad time, this is the video. Whether you watch this one or not go leave Yasmin a friendly comment, activism is a nasty business.
Aromantic awareness and the trouble with amatonormativity by Jes Layton
The first time I became cognisant of the importance others placed on romance was when I transitioned from the children’s section of my local library to the teen section. Suddenly, all of the books were about falling in or out of love.
A relatable piece about struggling to know yourself and struggling with others about that process.
Oseman wins YA Book Prize for ‘Loveless’ by Books + Publishing
Alice Oseman has won the Bookseller’s 2021 YA Book Prize for Loveless (HarperCollins), a ‘joyful’ coming out story about a romance-obsessed teenager who realises she is aromantic and asexual.
What it says on the tin. Progress can be slow, but it’s always deserved.
The Bone People by Keri Hulme
The powerful, visionary, Booker Award–winning novel about the complicated relationships between three outcasts of mixed European and Maori heritage.
We’ve got ourselves a story about an aromantic, part Maori, part European women, written by an aromantic part Maori, part European women. And with a title like that, how could we say no!
Love, Relationships, Aces, and Aros by GoodTherapy
There are many different words people use to identify and describe themselves. When new (or new to us) terms come to our attention, it’s helpful to do a little digging to understand better what people are trying to express when they use these terms.
A 101 piece about aromanticism and asexuality on a website dedicated to providing mental health practitioners.
Here’s a handful of articles that mention aromanticism casually:
From Best Friends to Platonic Spouses by Danielle Braff
Maybe Marriage Has Always Been Platonic by Kayla Kibbe
Willow Smith details her lifestyle on 'Red Table Talk': What you should know about polyamory by David Oliver (ad blockers aren’t allowed on this one)
Trans streamers are creating the visibility Twitch won’t give them by Jay Castello
Aromantics Address
This month is all about aro run surveys! Thank you to the individuals who took on this workload out of sheer curiosity.