The aromantic spectrum!!
This carrd is based off my own and others experiences. It’s meant to help anyone who may be questioning if they are aromantic or anyone wondering what the aro spectrum is. Not every aro person experiences what I mention as aromance is a spectrum so keep that in mind.
Aromanticism
So what is aromanticism?? Aromanticism is a spectrum of identities that all consist of not or rarely experiencing romantic attraction. Romantic attraction though hard to define can be described by crushes and seeking relationships. The aromantic spectrum has lots of identities that fall underneath it but some choose to go by just aromantic. It’s important to know that not all aromantic people experience zero romantic attraction some experience rare or inconsistent attraction as well. To put all this simply
aromanticism is a spectrum in which someone fells zero or rare and inconsistent romantic attraction.
Are we part of the community??
The short answer is yes. But many feel the need to undermine that so let me quickly explain. One our history has been wiped from existence because we have always faced extreme exclusion from the community. Two the lgbtq+ community is not the lgbtq+ community because of the oppression we face, we are the lgbtq+ community because we are not cishet alloromantic or allosexual. Three we don’t just live in a heteronormative and cisnormative world but we also live in a alloromantic and allosexual world, alloromantic is anyone who is not aromantic and allosexual is anyone who is not asexual, asexual and aromantic people are literally the opposite of that.
Identities
Grey romantic - someone who experiences romantic attraction but rarely and infrequently. Though they are able to seek out relationships they mostly do not.
Aroflux - Someone who fluctuates between different aromantic identities someitmes staying in the spectrum and others fluctuating to allromantic.
Cupioromantic (me!!) - Someone who cannot or very rarely feels romantic attraction but greatly enjoys the idea of romance. Aka a hopeless romantic who can’t feel romantic attraction.
Apothiromantic - Someone who doesn’t feel romantic attraction and is repulsed by the idea of romance. Repulsion meaning that they are disgusted by it.
Demiromantic - Someone who only experiences romantic attraction if they have already developed a emotional connection with someone. More so meaning needing to be sure you’re experiencing romantic attraction then needing to get to know someone before you date them.
Platonicromantic - Someone who is not able to distinguish platonic attraction from romantic attraction.
Quoiromantic - Someone who doesn’t know their romantic orientation or doesn’t want to define it.
Queerplatonic relationships
Queerplatonic relationships (qprs) are defined as a form of relationship that defies romance and is rooted in platonic attraction. This term is very broad and is typically defined by each relationship, when is comes to different people the definition will differ. Depending on the people the relationship may have certain romantic elements or stay strictly platonic. To add on many qprs are not limited to having only one queerplatonic partner this again depends on the people and relationship but many have multiple platonic partners.
Misconceptions
“All aromantic people are asexual”
This is not true at all. Aromanticism describes the lack of romantic attraction not sexual. While many aromantic people are asexual many are not. They are not the same thing so please stop saying they are.
“Aromantic people cannot date”
There are many instances in which aromantic people do date. One being queerplatonic relationships that I explained before and another being that the aro spectrum includes those who experience rare romantic attraction. That means that they can form romantic relationships and do but more often then not they don’t.
“All aromantic people are romance repulsed”
While many aromantic people are romance repulsed not everyone is. Some people are hyper romantic while not being able to feel romantic attraction. You can desire a romantic relationship while being aromantic.
“Aromantic people are incapable of loving”
While many aromantic people can experience romantic attraction love doesn’t equal romance. Do you love your friends?? Well that’s a perfect example of platonic love!! We aren’t monsters or robots just because we can’t feel romantic attraction. And we are perfectly capable of love just a different kind then what pops into your head.
Am I aromantic??
This can be a really hard question to answer as it can be mistaken for many other things. But if you think you may be it’s worth checking it out. They’re many experiences that are mentioned when talking about the “aro experience” including but not limited to, picking crushes, forcing yourself into relationships, never having crushes, pretending to have a crush to “fit in” and only having crushes once every blue moon. Aromance is a spectrum that fits to the people in it, you can keep it simple and just decide that not feeling romantic attraction is enough to define you or you can find the perfect microlabel. The bottom line is that it’s your identity, there’s no need to rush things.