Ask an Ace of Spades

Introduction One thing the asexual/aromantic community is known for is our remarkably long and intricate labels. Unlike many minorities, where labels are usually one or two words, it is quite common for our community to have half a dozen words or more, detailing every detail of our nature. Why is this, though? Why do we have so many words for what is so simple for most others? Well, to put it simply, to understand what you aren't, you must first understand both what you are, and what you lack. Especially when the are also differences between people in the community, there easily emerge multiple levels of these differences. An Allegory Let's consider color-blindness for a minute. The typical human eye has cone cells for three colors: red, green, and blue. For simplicity, let's consider each person to have one, two, or three of these cells. If you are missing one of these three types of cells, you won't be able to see the color green (instead seeing i...

There's an odd sentiment that crops up from time to time, especially when talking about some distant future, and that's the " Everyone is Bi " world (often realized as pansexual, rather than bi). At first glance, this sort of world is often considered to be more "tolerant". Afterall, bi- or pansexual is part of the LGBT umbrella, so that's tolerance, right? The problem, though, is that it's not inclusive . It's not saying that everyone is fine being who they are (which is what we should all strive for!), it's that, in the future, people will all have the same orientation (which just happens to be non-straight). Worse, is that this is usually passed off as being more "evolved" or "enlightened" (although this implication is rarely stated outright), as if bi-/pansexuality were some ideal state. No orientation is an ideal state. Not heterosexuality, not pansexuality. The idea that "everyone is bi in the future" h...