spacepunkstevie:

*intro music* Time for one of my ADHD-friendly rants (this basically means that everything is categorized and there are clear headings and lots of bullet points). This one is called

People Continue to be Assholes: Acephobia Edition

So the logics behind excluding those on the aro-ace spectrum can be divided into three basic assumptions, broadly;

1. Aro-ace people aren’t oppressed
2. Aro-ace people benefit from oppression of queer people (where queer is defined – incorrectly – to not include aro-ace people)
3. The inclusion of aro-ace people in the LGBTQIA community dilutes that community

These three will be addressed in turn.

1. Aro-ace people are oppressed

Evidence of aro- and acephobia is pretty fucking easy to find and has been reiterated again and again and include such extraordinary feats of assholery as:

• “Corrective” rape
• A long and deplorable history of these identities being regarded as disorders
• The pervasive cultural notion that something is “wrong” or “unnatural” with being on the aro-ace spectrum

You’ll notice that these examples of oppression are also frequently shared by other queer identities. Almost like they all belong in some broader community to defeat this oppression, or something.

2. Aro-ace people do not benefit from oppression of queer people

This requires a concise explanation of the mechanics of oppression:

In brief, oppression works by creating an “in group”, which is defined by how it is different (and, if this group is successful in claiming a dominant role in cultural ideology, how it is superior) to those outside the group. This process is known as “othering” those outside the group.

The “in group” in this case encompasses those a) who’s gender matches their biological sex, and b) who are sexually and romantically attracted to the “opposite” gender in a binary system.

Trans, sga, and those on the aro-ace spectrum are all outside of this group. The “cishet ace” that people are metaphorically reaching for their pitchforks to defend themselves against, for example, are not sexually attracted to the opposite gender because they’re not sexually attracted to anyone. Jesus. This isn’t fucking hard.

3. The inclusion of aro-aces in the LGBTQIA community is not going to damage the community

There is a lot of fear in the LGBTQIA community that there are straight people swooping in and wearing the queer tag as a fashion statement. This is the source of the infamous “special snowflake” accusation; that certain identities are less legitimate and only worn for the purpose of seeming special.

There is a long history of the LGBTQIA community using this as a weapon to apply the othering process to certain groups within this community;

1. Gay and lesbian people excluding bi people from queer spaces for being “straight people pretending to be queer”
2. Gay, lesbian, and bi people excluding other multisexual identities for being “made up identities appropriating queer struggles”
3. Identities based on sexual orientation excluding trans people for “not being part of the queer struggle”
4. Trans men and women excluding non-binary people for being “made up identities appropriating trans struggles”
5. SGA identities excluding those on the aro-ace spectrum for being “made up identities and/or straight people appropriating queer struggles”

Many of these debates have long since been settled, but some clearly haven’t. I’d like to think we’ve learnt a lesson by now but apparently not. Either way, everone in the LGBTQIA community agrees that exclusion and erasure are forms of oppression – all identities in the LGBTQIA community have faced/are facing this very problem – which makes it difficult to understand why they’re doing the same thing to those on the aro-ace spectrum.

The explanation lies in the gradual way queer people have been accepted in society, starting from white, cis gay men and slowly developing from there. In short, those who exclude aro-ace people are not seeking to overthrow the oppression, but to extend the advantaged “in group” to include themselves.

Tl;dr: There is no legitimate reason to exclude aro-ace people from the LGBTQIA community. Doing so is part of the same damaging process of oppression that oppressed and continues to oppress other queer groups. In sum; this is another of those long political posts that amount to can the LGBTQIA community please stop fighting with itself this is just making things worse.

Sincerly, (because I know someone will accuse me of being cishet or something) your local angry pan.