Asexual exclusionism

Art depicting anti-asexual bullying.

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This page contains too many unsourced statements and needs to be improved. Asexual exclusionism could use some help. We need more documentation of the phenomenon outside of tumblr posts from the same person. Whatever is credible should be sourced, and what is not should be removed.

Asexual exclusionism (often shortened to ace exclusionism) is a trendy new form of bullying dedicated to pretending to care about the LGBT cause by kicking out those horrible cringey aceys (asexuals) from those spaces. It began to be popular around 2013, the same time as the rise of TERFs and people who insist "queer is a slur!" Ace exclusionism is a manifestation of acephobia (discrimination and negative attitudes toward asexuals).

The bullying from asexual exclusionists have harmed aces on Tumblr and pushed people back into the closet.

While ace exclusionists often focus their hatred on asexuals, aromantic people are often targeted too (who may also be asexual).

Tactics

Bullying and threats

“”hey ace kids! stop scrolling! you deserve to get hit by a bus

—Tumblr user killaces But remember, this is definitely not bullying!

Asexual exclusionists aren't above vicious bullying. A few tools in their box include suicide baiting, voicing violent fantasies, rape wishes, posting graphic content in positivity tags (never mind the existence of minors), and more. They've also discussed ensuring that aces stay in the closet and in the dark.

One such person has apparently made threats to the point of the FBI getting involved.

Denial and bargaining

They'll also deny the fact that asexuals are actually oppressed. Asexual people face dehumanization, sexual harassment, and discrimination if they dare to come out. They're at risk for conversion therapy and even "corrective rape". Asexual respondents to the British government's 2017 LGBT survey were significantly less likely to be employed.

Many ace exclusionism tactics are taken straight from the TERF and biphobe playbooks.

History denialism

Asexual people have a rich history. Yet according to ace exclusionists, they are only closeted cishet incels who want a piece of the victimhood pie and steal attention from those who are oppressed enough like the rest of the community.

Common arguments

Here are a few common anti-ace arguments.

Rhetoric

RationalWiki response

Calling non-asexual people "alloromantic" is lumping us in with our straight oppressors!

Calling anyone LGBT is also lumping LGBT people of color, women, disabled people, etc. with their oppressors. It's almost like there are multiple axes of oppression.

Suggesting that children can be asexual is predatory!

Teens have sexualities, and acknowledging this won't kill us. You know what harms mental health? Marginalizing and dehumanizing ace teens by teaching them that everyone must have sexual urges or there's something "wrong" with them. Most ace teens grow up feeling broken and alienated from their communities, just like many other LGBTQ+ people have. Perhaps you'd like to do something about the exclusionists putting gore and graphic sexual content in the ace tag and telling asexual kids to kill themselves? Vicious words to aces are far more destructive to kids, as well as potentially turning them away from the community that can be a valuable source of validation, experience, and sense of belonging, which is supposed to be a paramount goal of the LGBT+ community.

Aces just want to be oppressed.

Who in their right mind wants to be oppressed? This common argument from bigots invalidates and downplays real harms that people have experienced. Why do aces go through these lengths detailing their experiences, creating safe and open communities to listen, and expressing their need for acceptance and belonging? They're trying to reduce stigma and oppression (particularly the pushback that comes when minority groups start becoming more organized and visible).

LGBT organizations only acknowledge them because they feel threatened!

Asexual people are a minority in the community. This argument hugely neglects the efforts of the organizations to include aces because they want to promote a positive atmosphere of validation, understanding, comfort, love, and acceptance. Trying to destroy this is a serious disservice.

Asexuals dating non-asexual people is inherently abusive!

This argument seems to claim that asexuals deny their lovers sex and therefore, it is inherently abusive. Typical of exclusionary bigotry, this is a huge misunderstanding of asexuality and healthy relationships. Sex is an optional part of dating, and some asexuals do actually choose to have sex. And if someone doesn't consent to sex, that's not abusive; they have a right to say no. If two people in a relationships have different needs or wants, they can try communication. Ace exclusionists should be well aware of basic relationshipping before they start disparaging aces in their ignorant hatred and calling a class of people inherently abusive, besides which non-asexual people seemingly never get called abuser and victim for only having “platonic” or non-sexual relationships.

A few of their many, many problems

Racism

Exclusionists love to paint asexual people as white teenagers who want to pretend to be oppressed. They ignore and speak over asexual people of color.

TERF connections

Many people have pointed out that ace exclusionism is a lot like TERF rhetoric, and that many people who start as ace exclusionists become TERFs as well. Ace exclusionism normalizes TERF ideas and brings them into the popular lexicon.

Anti-autistic ableism

“”you guys get REAL fuckin nervous when i highlight that the majority of your jeering about aces' perceived awkwardness, missed social cues, infantilization/dehumanization, or "unfuckability"/"cringey-ness" are repackaged ableism, especially considering that a good percentage of the ace community is also autistic

—Metapianycist on Tumblr

Many of the bullying tactics used against asexuals are the same things used against autistic people.

Of course, ace exclusionists flip it around and claim that asexuals, actually, are the ones hurting autistics (Which again, speak over Autistic Asexuals). Ace exclusionists have tried to say that asexuals are somehow harming autistic people. When asexuals use "a-spec" to describe the asexual and aromantic spectrum, exclusionists claim that "a-spec" is a word for the autism spectrum. (It isn't. Autistic people have said that it isn't. But exclusionists are too busy "defending" autistics from the evil aceys to pay attention or care.)

See also

• Asexuality
• Biphobia -- another phenomenon where sexual minorities exclude other sexual minorities for being too "normal".
• Trans-exclusionary radical feminism

External links

• A roundup of some horrifying anti-asexual posts
• Another roundup of horrifying anti-asexual posts
• Google image results for "cute dog photos" in case you made the unfortunate decision to read through those roundups