Aromantic (or Aro) is a romantic orientation that describes experiencing little to no romantic attraction to any genders. Aromantic as an identity by itself means experiencing no romantic attraction however there is a spectrum of other (arospec) identities experiencing attraction under specific circumstances/differently to the norm. Common experiences of an aromantic person can include disinterest in romantic relationships, an only theoretical understanding of romantic attraction, or aversion to romance.
Aromantics may experience other types of attraction that are not romantic, such as platonic attraction, queerplatonic attraction, aesthetic attraction and more. Many aromantics desire to be in a platonic relationship much more strongly than alloromantics; however, this doesn’t describe every aromantic. Some aromantics want to be in a committed platonic relationship and have a platonic partner, while others are completely nonamorous and non-partnering - these individuals may describe themselves as loveless. There are many different ways to be aromantic.
For various misconceptions about aromanticism, see the myths for more information.
As with any romantic orientation, aromantic people may identify with any sexual orientation label.
One of the first places the term "aromantic" was used online was the AVEN forums in 2005,[1] where "aromantic" was derived as a romantic parallel to asexual.[2]
Flags[]
At least three different aromantic community flag designs have been proposed. Currently, the most popular is the design with two shades of green, white, gray, and black. This design is used both in the graphic design for the aromantic forum Arocalypse, the aromantic advocacy site AUREA, and aromantic-official.
Oldest flag design
The oldest aromantic flag design was proposed sometime during or before 2011, via the now-defunct website of the National Coalition for Aromantic Visibility.[3] This design featured horizontal stripes in the colors green, yellow, orange, and black. According to their website, "Green is for aromantics, who do not naturally experience romantic attachment. Yellow represents romantic friendship, friends with benefits, and friendship dating. Orange stands for lithromantics, individuals who experience romantic love but do not wish it returned. And finally, the black stripe is for romantics who consciously choose to reject traditional romantic culture." This flag was subject to extensive criticism.
Green, light green, yellow, gray, and black flag
An alternative flag design was proposed in 2014 by Cameron, maintaining the green and yellow but introducing more of a gradient design, with two slightly different shades of green and preceding the black stripe with a stripe of gray.[4] The two greens represent the aromantic spectrum, the yellow represents platonic love and relationships, and the gray and black stripes represent the sexuality spectrum, representing aromantics of all sexual orientations.[5]
Green, light green, white, gray, and black flag
Later in 2014, Cameron decided to change the yellow stripe to white.[6] This is probably the flag design that most aromantics are used to, unless the have been aromantic for 7 years+. The symbolism of this design is largely the same.[7] This flag has since been embraced and gained the most popularity as a flag for the aromantic community. As stated in Cameron's explanation, this flag design is explicitly intended for the entire aromantic umbrella, including grayromantics, demiromantics, lithromantics, and more.
References[]
- ↑ AVEN thread: How many are...? (2005)
- ↑ AVEN thread: History of the Term "Aromantic" (2012)
- ↑ National Coalition for Aromantic Visibility
- ↑ Introduction of the Green, Yellow, and Grayscale Flag
- ↑ Symbolism of the Green, Yellow, and Grayscale Flag
- ↑ Introduction of the Green, White, and Grayscale Flag
- ↑ Symbolism of the Green, White, and Grayscale Flag