Aromantic asexual

Disclaimer: People can experience identities in different ways. As such, people can identify with a label without exactly matching the definition because identities are fluid.

Aromantic asexual (often shortened to "aroace") is a term used by people who are both aromantic and asexual, or are on both the aromantic and asexual spectrums. Asexual people may still experience other forms of attraction and can be any gender; the term only refers to a person's sexual and romantic orientation. Aromantic asexual is an umbrella term for identities that are part of both the aromantic and asexual spectrum (see more in the Related Identities section).

Some aromantic asexual people date and/or pursue other types of relationships (such as queerplatonic or platonic ones).

The following quote is from an anonymous student at Lehigh University, who is aroace:

“When I found out being aroace was a thing that I could be, everything just sort of made a bit more sense. It explained a lot of disconnects I had with peers and honestly just general society, and it was refreshing being able to put a word to it. It helped me to realize that I wasn't broken or a late bloomer or messed up in any kind of way, and I think I really needed that reassurance that this is totally a thing that other people also experience. It helped me find a community and it helped me understand myself a whole lot better.”

The aromantic asexual pride flag, sometimes called the sunset aroace flag, was created by Tumblr user aroaesflags on December 11, 2018. It was created to include aromantic asexual people who "don't split their attraction in mind," which is why it does not contain purple (from the asexual flag) or green (from the aromantic flag). Instead, it contains blue and orange, as those colors are in between green and purple. The flag is meant for anyone who is on both the aromantic and asexual spectrums.

Each color of the aromantic asexual flag has its own meaning (aside from the blues). Direct quotes from aroaesflags are provided:

• Orange: "community...both the unity of ourselves as aroaces as well as our places in both the aro and ace communities"
• Yellow: "love and relationships that exist outside of conventional and amatonormative ideas of romantic and sexual relationships"
• White: "wholeness, used to represent aroaces who are aplatonic, nonamorous, or otherwise not seeking a committed partnership, and also how we are all whole people on our own"
• Dark blue and blue: "the aroace identity as well as the spectrum of aroace identities and experiences"

• The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project (TAAAP) offers resources on both aromanticism and asexuality with the goal of increasing visibility for both identities.
• In "Aroace Explained: What it means to be asexual and aromantic", Fluently Aspec explains what aroace means, describes his experiences, especially regarding queerplatonic attraction, and offers tips for community-building as well as general advice.
• In "Signs You Might Be Aromantic Asexual (AroAce)", bmud angel explains being aroace and lists potential signs that you might be aroace.
• For resources on aromanticism, see the Additional Resources section from the Aromantic page.
• For resources on asexuality, see the Additional Resources section from the Asexual page.

Sources:

• LGBTQIA+ Fandom Wiki's "Aromantic asexual" page
• LGBTQIA+ Wiki's "Aroace" page
• "Revised Aroace Flag" by aroaesflags
• LGBTQIA+ Wiki's "Aroace Spectrum" page

Images:

• "Aroace flag" by Jace "Aroaes", vector by Rummskartoffel, licensed under CC0 1.0