So there has been some discussion lately about asexuality and the autism spectrum in the blogosphere. And I think this is a fantastic development, and clearly I am not alone in this.
To that end, Kaz, Ily and I are organizing a blog carnival about asexuality and the autism spectrum.
A blog carnival is an event where various people write posts around a single topic and link them together at the end. The topic of this carnival is the intersection of asexuality and the autism spectrum. The scope of this project is general. Any topic that deals with the intersection of asexuality and autism fits within the aegis of the carnival. If you’re not sure, submit it anyway and we’ll figure it out.
We are asexual bloggers on the autistic spectrum who want to explore the intersection between autistic and asexual identities. The basis of this project is to have a conversation about our unique experiences being autistic and asexual without looking for a “cause”. We want to create a safe, non-judgmental space to talk about the issues that affect us. If you identify as asexual (or demisexual, or gray-a) and as on the autistic spectrum (diagnosed or not, AS, autism, PDD-NOS, NLD), you are invited to write a blog post for this project. If you are not asexual and autistic you are welcome to contribute provided you focus on the issues experienced by this particular intersection. The scope of the project is general, and open to any experiences of being autistic and asexual.
However, please keep in mind that asexuality here is to be discussed as a sexual orientation in its own right, not as discussion of the desexualization imposed on autistic people by mainstream culture.
If you want to write a post but don’t have a blog, please contact Ily at sanfranciscoemily@gmail.com or me at sciatrix@gmail.com about doing a guest post. Please have your post written by 31st January and comment on this post or send an e-mail to me or Ily about your post by then. Note that the hosts reserve the right to reject posts by anyone if they feel they do not follow the guidelines of or are not in the spirit of the carnival. The posts will be compiled on Writing From Factor X for posterity. A post with the compilation will go up here in the beginning of February. Be a part of this exciting project!
–Sciatrix, Kaz, and Ily
An edit: Possible topics include but are not restricted to coming out experiences (both asexual and autistic), relationships, gender expression, young adult experiences, treatment by medical professionals, integrating identities, or dealing with stereotypes. This isn’t meant to be a comprehensive list, only general ideas.
Writing From Factor X 
\o/
Comment by Kaz — December 12, 2010 @ 3:03 pm |
Hi, Sciatrix!
I think this is a great idea for a carnival.
Don’t know if I’ll have anything to contribute, but as I am autistic and, while not asexual, have a very low sex drive and do not see that as a problem, I’ll think about writing something.
Comment by Lindsay — December 13, 2010 @ 2:24 pm |
Thank you for the compliment! I’m really looking forward to seeing what people come up with. 🙂
Comment by Sciatrix — December 13, 2010 @ 7:59 pm |
I think this is cool I would like to participate
Comment by RACHEL — December 13, 2010 @ 7:53 pm |
Go for it! Write something up and submit it. 🙂
Comment by Sciatrix — December 13, 2010 @ 7:58 pm |
I think this is cool I would like to participate
Linzy interesting blog I could not understand most of it and I disagreed with the majority of the parts I could comprehend
are you sure u r autistic
Comment by RACHEL — December 13, 2010 @ 8:13 pm |
Hey. We are not doing identity policing here. Please refrain from asking someone whether they are “really” autistic in this space.
Comment by Sciatrix — December 13, 2010 @ 8:42 pm |
[…] Call For Participation: Spectral Amoebas – A Blog Carnival about Asexuality and the Autism Spectru…: We are asexual bloggers on the autistic spectrum who want to explore the intersection between autistic and asexual identities. The basis of this project is to have a conversation about our unique experiences being autistic and asexual without looking for a cause. […]
Pingback by The linkspam-industrial complex (15th December, 2010) | Geek Feminism Blog — December 14, 2010 @ 5:36 pm |
I wrote something on paper I will submit tomorrow it is late.
Comment by fifi — December 15, 2010 @ 4:18 am |
I feel like this is a dumb question but where do I post?
Comment by fifi — December 15, 2010 @ 3:31 pm |
Here is fine.
Comment by Sciatrix — December 15, 2010 @ 6:59 pm |
I’d really like to participate.
I’m having some trouble with how open-ended it is, topic-wise, though. It’s a bit like being asked “How are you?” for me, I try to get through it but in the end I just short-circuit and frustrate myself. I’ve been trying to just set myself a topic but I’m not succeeding.
Would it maybe be possible for someone else to come up with a topic or something more defined that I could grab onto? (‘-_-)
Might be too much to ask.
Comment by Norah — December 15, 2010 @ 5:11 pm |
It’s not at all! There are some topic ideas posted at the bottom of this post (under the edit thing) because we were getting a lot of “but I have no idea what I’d WRITE!” responses, in fact.
If those aren’t defined enough, let me know and I’d be totally glad to talk through it with you and see if we can come up with better ideas. I know that for me, sometimes having a conversation about an issue will jump-start ideas on what I want to say about it.
Comment by Sciatrix — December 15, 2010 @ 7:04 pm |
Oh, I just came up with something after reading that list of topic ideas, thanks!
Comment by Norah — December 16, 2010 @ 3:11 pm |
Awesome, I’m glad you found it helpful!
Comment by Sciatrix — December 16, 2010 @ 10:08 pm |
Hi, I am asexual, sometimes as of lately been wondering if I am straight. I also have asperger’s syndrome (high functioning autism). One day I met this guy. I was very puzzled because I actually felt physically attracted to him. It was strange. I thought “Am I going straight?” and now we have been friends for awhile. One day he moved away and only saw him on rare occasions. I haven’t felt “attracted” to anyone sense he left.
Then he is coming back for the holidays. I am wondering if those feelings will come back.
Now I get information about this carnival thingy and It made me wonder if there is a connection between asexuality and asperger’s or autism. Hmmm… maybe pheromone intake is different for people with asperger’s? But why do did I only feel sexually attracted to him? That is silly huh? Well whether or not I am asexual or “going straight” I decided to wright this. I’ll be writing more on LJ some day ttyl.
OK that’s the end.
Comment by fifi — December 16, 2010 @ 3:45 am |
Hey Fifi, I hear ya. It can be confusing if you identify as asexual and then start experiencing sexual attraction. Some people think that sexual identity is fluid, though. Before I started identifying as asexual, I experienced sexual attraction towards one person as well. But since it was one isolated event, a “blip” if you will, rather than a pattern in my life, I still feel comfortable calling myself asexual, since that is how I am 99.99% of the time. I can’t tell you how to identify, but if you’ve only experienced sexual attraction once, you might have more in common with asexuals than with heterosexuals. You also might want to see if the demisexual or gray-a identity suits you.
For this particular blog carnival, we’re trying to discourage people from writing about “why autism might cause asexuality”. We’re not trying to shut you down, but we want to make sure that people are aware of the double-standard. While there are plenty of heterosexual autistics, no one ever asks whether autism causes heterosexuality. To make a special case out of “autism causing asexuality” can make it sound like asexuality is not a real sexual orientation along with the others.
–ily, co-organizer
Comment by Ily — December 16, 2010 @ 8:53 pm |
I understand and I side with you. Sometimes when you have a disorder or something like that you wonder if it causes things. I realize now that that is a silly idea. People are asexual because they are, not because of autism.
He is going to visit me again so maybe I will figure my self out more when I see him.
BTW: thank-you for your reply ♥ I love being part of a group that understands me ♥
Comment by fifi — December 17, 2010 @ 1:38 pm |
[…] are bringing you a brand new shiny carnival about asexuality and the autistic spectrum. The call for participation says A blog carnival is an event where various people write posts around a single topic and link […]
Pingback by Shout out: Spectral Amoebas « Modus dopens — December 17, 2010 @ 8:14 am |
I am asexual & aspie.
Comment by Me — December 29, 2010 @ 5:16 pm |
ppl just do not get it tho.
Comment by Me — December 29, 2010 @ 5:17 pm |
I am a mother of a high functioning autistic 20 year-old. I have often wondered if this was possible for my son. He seems to have no intrest to anyone (same sex or opposite). He never discusses dating, getting married, or having a family. I can not wait to read more about others experiences.
Comment by Tina — December 30, 2010 @ 1:19 pm |
I am very excited about this. I am an Asexual Aspie and I have been blogging about Asexuality as well as Transgender issues since last July. I already have a post on my blog about therapists and so forth who refuse to accept my asexuality or see it as a symptom of Aspergers instead of an orientation in its own right, but I want to contribute something new, as the post is several months old. I was thinking about doing a post about the self-doubt I have about dating both because of Aspergers and Asexuality and because of how it would affect my (non-romantic) relationship with my best friend.
The post I’ve already written: <a href="http://meowingatthemoon.wordpress.com/2010/07/31/i-mean-it-im-asexual/" I Mean It I'm Asexual
I will let you know when I have the new post up.
Comment by Stephanie Silberstein — December 30, 2010 @ 1:26 pm |
Sorry for the double post. My link got garbled somehow.
I Mean It: I’m Asexual
Comment by Stephanie Silberstein — December 30, 2010 @ 1:27 pm |
Awesome, thanks for the link to the older post! I look forward to seeing the newer one. 🙂
Comment by Sciatrix — January 1, 2011 @ 8:34 pm |
I’m not sure if I want to participate, but if I decide to do so, I assume it is okay to contact you or Ily for post-hosting even if I do have a blog but would rather keep this separate? (Although I have a blog, it doesn’t really deal with sexuality or neurodiversity issues, so any hypothetical post for this carnival would probably be wildly out of place there.)
Comment by anonymous — January 1, 2011 @ 7:43 pm |
Yes, that is totally okay, and either of us would be glad to host in that situation.
Comment by Sciatrix — January 1, 2011 @ 8:16 pm |
[…] shame, as much of my intention with starting this blog was to cast more light on these. Now that a blog carnival about being an asexual on the spectrum has been announced, it is an excellent opportunity for me to […]
Pingback by Asexual on the Spectrum « Procrastination Embodied — January 22, 2011 @ 8:27 am |
OK, I’ve completed a blog post: http://procrastinationembodied.wordpress.com/2011/01/22/asexual-on-the-spectrum/
I hope it fits the scope of this endeavour.
Comment by procrastinationembodied — January 22, 2011 @ 8:31 am |
Thank you very much! And yes, that certainly does fit. 🙂
Comment by Sciatrix — January 22, 2011 @ 9:39 am |
Just wrote a new post. It’s kind of tangentially related to autism… but that’s definitely there. Let me know what you think. 🙂
Comment by Stephanie Silberstein — January 22, 2011 @ 4:08 pm |
I think it works, and I’ll add it to the linkspam when that goes up. 🙂
Comment by Sciatrix — January 23, 2011 @ 7:46 pm |
I wrote my post: http://norah-liath.dreamwidth.org/6096.html
Let me know if it fits the theme.
I think it should be visible to everyone, but if it’s not, I’ll have to ask for some help with Dreamwidth settings 😀
Comment by Norah — January 24, 2011 @ 8:54 am |
Also, minor issue (just in case someone comes along and actually wants to click that link in my name), but a longstanding blog issue I had on my other blog (not the dreamwidth) has just been fixed, so the link in my name in my other comments most likely goes nowhere now.
Comment by Norah — January 24, 2011 @ 11:10 am |
Oh, this is very much relevant and also awesome. Thank you for submitting it!
Comment by Sciatrix — January 24, 2011 @ 9:05 pm |
I’ve been absent from blogging for a couple of years but this carnival has inspired me to get back into it. I submit the first entry on my shiny new blog: http://teafeather.dreamwidth.org/360.html which is about the confusion and frustration surrounding questions about what a person “likes” when there’s a big difference between what the person asking expects and the answer they get. I expect this to be a recurring theme on my blog.
Comment by teafeather — January 29, 2011 @ 4:48 pm |
Monochrome logic, greyscale sexuality, and finding my identity. A potted chronology of my personal journey in understanding my orientation.
Comment by quirksthemagpie — January 30, 2011 @ 4:59 am |
OMG I FINALLY FINISHED IT! Took me long enough…
http://theonepercentclub.blogspot.com/2011/01/coming-out-when-world-is-chaos.html
Comment by Ily — January 31, 2011 @ 12:32 am |
http://bethany-lauren.dreamwidth.org/347464.html
Here’s mine.
Comment by Bethany Kesler — January 31, 2011 @ 3:43 pm |
Ha Ily I AM LATER THAN YOU ARE HA. (wow we are such bad role models XD)
http://kaz.dreamwidth.org/243554.html
Comment by Kaz — January 31, 2011 @ 6:26 pm |
A rather belated entry! But it’s still the 31st here!
(noli me tangere)
Comment by M — February 1, 2011 @ 1:47 am |
It’s in! FYI for anyone who might be reading, I’ll keep adding links for anything submitted today to account for any time zones different from mine.
Comment by Sciatrix — February 1, 2011 @ 7:21 am |
Is there a round up post? I’m not A, but I’m co-running a tumblr (a blogging site) called “Queering Autism” and wanted to include some posts from Autistic As in what we post/for the “queue”.
Comment by Savannah Logsdon-Breakstone — March 27, 2011 @ 3:45 am |
There is! It’s here. 🙂
Comment by Sciatrix — March 27, 2011 @ 9:22 am |