Here is a rather interesting new media request. It is from a journalist called Emily, based in London, writing for a national newspaper in Singapore. Not only is it for an article to be published in a country that has not had much ace visibility yet, but Emily, the author, is especially interested in speaking to grey asexuals. I think this may well be the first article that has such a focus.
Emily says she…
… would like to speak to a few asexuals – including grey-As especially – based in the UK. If there are any asexuals based in Singapore/Asia in general as well, I would love to connect with some of them via phone/online.My deadline for the article is the end of the week, so if you could let me know as soon as possible that would be great.
Thank you!
If you are interested in this article and wish to have more information, please email the project team at aven.pt@gmail.com. If you’d like to volunteer, please email Emily at edthejourno@gmail.com (and cc in aven.pt@gmail.com so we know!)
Thank you!
Official details for AVEN Pride SF Shambangapalooza and Pride March are now available here: http://www.asexuality.org/en/index.php?/topic/75190-aven-sf-pride-info/
AVEN Digest - 4th June 2012
Requests:
An undergraduate student would like to interview asexuals aged 18 or over about their experiences of being in a relationship: http://www.asexuality.org/en/index.php?/topic/75116-call-for-participants-for-a-study-about-asexuals-in-relationships/
A journalist based in the UK but writing for a national newspaper in Singapore would like to interview asexuals (particularly Grey As) located in the UK or Singapore/Asia: http://www.asexuality.org/en/index.php?/topic/75276-calling-aces-in-the-uk-and-asia-esp-singapore-gray-as-in-particular/
Visibility:
A new asexuality zine, Taking the Cake, has been created by AVENite Anara, aimed at spreading visibility:http://www.asexuality.org/en/index.php?/topic/75077-new-zine-taking-the-cake-an-illustrated-primer-on-asexuality/
Project Team member michaeld recently appeared on South African talk radio to discuss asexuality:http://www.asexuality.org/en/index.php?/topic/75082-south-african-talk-radio/
Community:
The next Montreal meetup is scheduled for Sunday 10th June: http://www.asexuality.org/en/index.php?/topic/55438-montreal-asexual-discussion-group/page__view__findpost__p__2163167
AVEN Digest - 4th June 2012
Requests:
An undergraduate student would like to interview asexuals aged 18 or over about their experiences of being in a relationship: http://www.asexuality.org/en/index.php?/topic/75116-call-for-participants-for-a-study-about-asexuals-in-relationships/
A…
a couple ideas I’m throwing out there for the AVEN WP T-shirt designs
thoughts?
AVEN Worldpride T-Shirt Design ContestHave you ever wanted to get more involved in asexual visibility efforts? Ever wanted to have something you designed be seen by thousands of admiring eyes?
Well, we’re currently looking for creatively-minded individuals to submit t-shirt design ideas for the upcoming WorldPride march in London this summer! The results will be worn with pride by a contingent of aces and allies from all over the world as we march through London to prove to the world that yes, asexuals exist, and we’re pretty awesomely asexy!
Not an artist? Don’t have the means to create an actual image of your complete design? No worries - just send us a general description of your idea, and if it’s chosen, we’ll find a way to make it into reality!
For inspiration, try looking at our banner design or placard slogans!
If you have any questions about the contest, or for more information about WorldPride in general, please feel free to drop us a line at worldpride.aces@gmail.com, or check out the dedicated WorldPride subforum on AVEN for updates or ways to get involved.
Submission Requirements:
Designs should include a clearly displayed and readable reference to The Asexual Visibility and Education Network, and/or asexuality.org, as well as a reference to “Worldpride, London 2012” (or some variation thereof).
Maximum size for t-shirt designs is 40cm by 27 cm; one design for the front and one for the back. All designs should be at least 300dpi at the intended final size. Designs may use only two colors: ink color and background fabric color. final shirts will be purple and white.In addition, please keep in mind the style guidelines below when creating your entries.
The deadline for submission is June 2, 2012. All submissions should be sent to worldpride.aces@gmail.com, and should include a copy of your design, an email address that we can use to contact you, your name, and any other information you would like to include.
Design Guidelines:
~ Keep it relevant: designs should be asexuality-themed - for example, frogs may be cool, but they aren’t very relevant to the ace community. If you wish to use symbols not usually associated with ace pride or the ace community, please explain why you chose them!
~ Keep it simple: Try not to make the design too complex, and consider it practically. We want something that will be easily understandable at a glance, but still eye-catching. Try to avoid using photos or pictures
~Keep the message in mind: Be aware of the message your design conveys. Pride is huge opportunity to raise visibility, assert ourselves as legitimate and as representatives of our orientation, and designs should reflect that. Designs do not have to be super strict, but a design based on in-jokes like cake or Sherlock, for example, is unlikely to be taken as seriously by people not familiar with the asexual community.
~Keep it appropriate and legal: No profanity, swear words, or explicit content, please. In addition, please do not include copyrighted images or other trademarked logos or brands in your designs, with the exception of official AVEN symbols.
Even if your design is not chosen for the shirts, your idea may still be chosen for stickers, leaflets or other vis/ed materials.
Also, please note that all designs are not final and may be subject to changes made by the WorldPride committee. By submitting entries into this contest, you are giving permission to use, reproduce, or modify any designs submitted with the understanding that the final design will be paraded publicly and is likely to appear in photographs and film which may be broadcast or made available for viewing online.
WorldPride is both a fun event and a fantastic visibility opportunity, so send in your design ideas and help us make it even more awesome!
Shiny new zig-zag ace ring from target.
I’d like to point out that although the documentary appears to be on YouTube a week early, that’s because someone pirated it.
Which, of course, is so not cool. It wasn’t made by some multi-billion dollar mega-corp who’s out to gouge you for every penny they can, after all.
So I’m not watching it yet. I’m waiting until it is officially and legitimately released next week and I encourage the rest of you to support the filmmaker and do the same. If you want there to be more positive portrayals of asexuality in the media, stealing from the people who are making it won’t help.
Here’s the official release info, including where to watch it next week: http://www.filmbuff.com/movies/asexual/
My first-ever zine, Taking the Cake: An Illustrated Primer on Asexuality is now available in printable pdf format!
It also doubles as a coloring book, if you’re into that.
Directions: Print double-sided, stack the pages so that the cover is on the bottom and the LGBTQ rainbow page is facing up, fold the whole thing in half, and staple it! More detailed instructions here.
Also I’m a n00b and submitted the zine to zinelibrary under anonymous before making an account so it doesn’t have my name attached to the webpage. Oh well!
EDIT: Now available for purchase on my Etsy, if you prefer I put it together for you and mail it to you!
OH MY GOD THIS I LOVE IT!
ooooooooh I like it.
Let me just record my amusement that now that we have alternative terms for “sexual”, these people are mocking us for them.
Bwejshskjfhkjdshfklsdg.
Welp
y’know, as someone mentioned, I think I could get behind “allosaurus sex” as a new alternative :P
No no no. Not allosaurs. Tyrannosaurus sex!
nah, that one’s just for the haters. Like the ones who spam the tags with…dinosaur porn.
GSM also includes kink, polyamory, and other such identities which still come with bucketloads of straight cis privilege. I will not switch to GSM in discussions of oppression because while those identities are non-normative, they do not face the oppression that trans* and LGBAP+ people do, and oppression/privilege dynamics are incredibly important.My gender has nothing to do with my sexuality. I agree with this. Furthermore, I get trashed on by gay and bisexual identified people all the time. How can people who are fighting for their own rights and acceptance, deny it to others?
I love this & have been saying things like this for years, but lets not leave out genderqueer, genderfluid, non-gender people as well as All Trans* folk!
A lot of the of the Cis LGAB community can be very transmisogynistic & also gender & being Trans* has NOTHING to do with sexuality. But we also need to add a “P” to LGAB for Pansexual, cause if not that’s like saying only two genders exists. We all know that’s not true.
So YES, Trans* people need our own movement!
What about the GSM (Gender and Sexuality Minority) acronym? I personally like that one.
I wouldn’t mind being in the same movement as them, if they just included us in more than just their acronym.
I hate labels but I actually like that acronym, because it isn’t based off labels. I hate the “LGBT” acronym with a burning passion because there is no way you can fit every different sexual orientation and gender identity into one acronym without leaving some variable out, so “GSM” has my full support and I hope more people identify with it in the future. Mila, you deserve a huge hug for bringing this up because I’ve been trying to figure out what the acronym was and was completely spacing out for the past year or so I’ve been advocating against using “LGBT” to describe people that are in the GSM. So thank you.
I don’t agree with OP, I agree with socialistexan. GSM, OGSM, or OMGS (Gender/Sexuality Minority, Outside the Gender/Sexuality Mainstream, Outside Mainstream Gender/Sexuality), because it means if you identify as non-heternormative, you’re included. And that’s what the queer movement should be. Acceptance for all OMGS people. Asexual, bisexual, homosexual, pansexual, *sexual (sans hetero), fluid sexuality, agender, bigender, trans*, gender-fluid, etc.,
Now… how to add in romantic minorities? GSRM? OGSRM? OMGSR?
if you’re trying to have accurate discussions about privilege/oppression you shouldn’t be using any kind of generalizations anyway, whether LGBT or queer or GSM or otherwise.
And as for the claim that other minorities don’t experience privilege/oppression in the same way - well neither do any of the other LGBAP+ people. Gay men have their issues, lesbian women have different issues; bisexuals have a whole different set of issues altogether, as do asexuals; trans people are completely different, and even ftms and mtfs and nonbinaries will all face different privileges and oppressions, plus when you consider intersectionality you get a whole giant mess. But basically, “they have different oppressions” doesn’t apply here; if you want to actually acknowledge differing privilege/oppression dynamics, then LGBAPT+ whatever has all the same problems that you claim GSM does.
Also, surprise! many people do include polyamory and sometimes even kink in the alphabet soup acronym anyway. And also, GSM is often used to refer to just gender IDs and sexual orientations, not to kink. So, y’know, one is not inherently better or worse than the other.
(Source: the-unpopular-opinions)
did anyone else see that last update as uu just commissioning the best asexual porn ever? Handholding, poetry, no “copping feels” or anything–they even had cake ;D
duskandshiverrrr replied to your post: “Which implies that sexual allosaurs (or whatever term the tumblr aces are using now) …”
I’m going to refer to “sexuals” as allosaurus sex from now on.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Let me just record my amusement that now that we have alternative terms for “sexual”, these people are mocking us for them.
Bwejshskjfhkjdshfklsdg.
Welp
y’know, as someone mentioned, I think I could get behind “allosaurus sex” as a new alternative :P
