arospec

The aromantic spectrum, abbreviated as arospec, refers to romantic orientations that are aromantic or are closely related to aromanticism when placed on a spectrum ranging from aromantic to alloromantic. It is also used by people whose aromantic identities are conditional, unreliable, or atypical to societal expectations, and by people who simply do not wish to label it further. Identities under the aromantic umbrella are closely connected as part of a broad community. - lgbtqia+ wiki

i identify with arospec in the sense of having a non-normative experience with whatever "romantic" is

arospec: a poem(?), a collection of ideas, things i have been thinking about, about relationships and the platonic/romantic binary

April 2, 2023

Poem made from screenshotted text from various websites, over a galaxy background.

view on tumblr

image text:

arospec, is an umbrella term
People on the aromantic spectrum may feel little to no romantic attraction, or feel romantic attraction differently, more rarely or
Loveless Aro describes someone who is some way disconnected from the concept of love, rejects the idea that they need to experience love
Quoiromantic (also called WTFromantic
experiences may include:
Finding the concept of romance to be inaccessible, inapplicable, or nonsensical.
the questioning itself
becomes the identity
Disidentifying with the concept of romantic attraction - either as a social construct or as something potentially applicable to oneself.
a disidentification with the romantic/nonromantic binary,
They may consider themselves relationship anarchists.
Amatonormativity
to describe the widespread assumption that everyone is better off in an exclusive, romantic, long-term coupled relationship, and that everyone is seeking such a relationship.
[elizabeth brake]
Due to the ambiguous nature of romantic attraction,
sometimes defined by the actions that one takes during a relationship, such as holding hands, kissing, or cuddling. However, none of these activities alone necessarily indicate romantic attraction.
The prefix nebula- comes from the Latin word nebulous, meaning “clouded” or “unclear”.
Queerplatonic relationships (QPR) and queerplatonic partnerships (QPP) are committed intimate relationshisp which are not romantic
This way of thinking is also one that places certain relationships above others, such as Romantic relationships being viewed as ‘above’ or 'superior’ to Platonic relationships. If two people are dating they are 'more than friends’. If they aren’t dating then they’re 'just friends’.
Amatonormativity prompts the sacrifice of other relationships to romantic love and marriage and relegates friendship and solitudinousness to cultural invisibility.
Amatopunk!
challenges amatonormativity, and how society views aspec people, polyamorous people, and others who do not fit into the “right” mold.
Relationship Anarchy (abbreviated RA) is the belief that relationships should not be bound by set rules, aside from the rules the individuals involved mutually agree upon.
sensualarians have relationships that are often “in between” typical relationships categories, whereas relationship anarchy completely breaks down all relationship categories
Relationship anarchy questions the idea that love is a limited resource
i want a world where friendship is appreciated as a form of romance. i want a world where when people ask if we are seeing anyone we can list the names of all of our best friends
[alok vaid-menon, friendship is romance]
queer liberation must abolish romance as its long term goal
aromantics aspire to:
view queer intimacies as web-like counter-publics that reinforce rather than compete with and enervate each other.
transform queer intimacy into political solidarity and action.
[aromantic manifesto]
Relationship anarchy (sometimes abbreviated RA) is the application of anarchist principles to intimate relationships. Its values include autonomy, anti-hierarchical practices, anti-normativity, and community interdependence. RA is explicitly anti-amatonormative and anti-mononormative and is commonly, but not always, non-monogamous.
With one’s relationships starting as a blank slate, the act of distributing physical intimacy, sexual intimacy, emotional intimacy, etc. is according to one’s desires rather than preexisting “rules”
Queerness is a longing that propels us onward, beyond romances of the negative and toiling in the present. Queerness is that thing that lets us feel that this world is not enough, that indeed something is missing.
[josé estabon muñoz, cruising utopia]

some citations: