Collie

I'm currently Protestant, but honestly I'm interested in learning about Catholic doctrine and possibly even converting to Catholicism.

Hi hi Sooo. I felt similarly, a few years back. I thought romance and sex were things I wanted, eventually. Like, "well, I'm in no hurry to date, but if something happens, that's fine". So for a long, long time I either thought I was alloromantic/allosexual (not aro or ace), and I identified as being demirose (demiromantic and demisexual at the same time) for a couple years. Flash forward to maybe 4 or 5 months ago. One of my friends got us similar stuffed animals. Then, he pulled me aside and offered me a relationship. I turned him down, saying I'm not really interested in.... anyone, really. (Thankfully he took it really well, and we're still friends, even if it was awkward for a while after.) And that spurred me to think.... maybe I don't actually want a relationship, or sex, after all. Plus I kept having thoughts of doing romance-coded or sexual-coded stuff with him, and just being incredibly turned off by the thought. And I realized that I don't really want to do those things with anybody, not just him. Basically it took me a long time to arrive at the "aroace" label. I have had very rare romantic attraction in the past, so I'm in the grey area, but overall I'm uninterested and comfortable with my current identity. All this to say, take your time. You can also try out a label for a bit and see if it fits, maybe just use it on this forum, and compare your experiences to others. Oh, also, your English is really good! I can't really tell it's not your main language. They don't really teach us to be bilingual in America, so I'm always impressed with people who speak English as a second or third language at any communicable level.

Ace moments.... basically any time people talk about feeling sexual attraction. I'm like "that's a thing?!"

I haven't heard of this, but that's really fucking stupid.

Glad we're still alive and kicking! I'll donate if I can when that's an option

I don't think it matters too much tbh. I've seen it either way depending on how people prefer to spell the word "gray"

Sometimes I think of trying it out, but then I think of actually being in a relationship and it's like, nope, don't want that. But yeah, just tell her that you're not sure what you feel for her, but that you'd be willing to try it out and see if anything comes of it. At least, that's what I'd do.

Protestant Christian, thinking of converting to Catholicism.

I just celebrate it as a connection of friendships and kinship.

I will consider making a donation once I get my tax return in.

I use the one mentioned here. There are many others for various microlabels

Gosh, I feel so aromantic every time I think about being in a relationship. No thank you.

I wasn't for a long time!! I even got a diagnosis and disregarded it for years due to anxiety and imposter syndrome. But I looked back into it and finally talked to my therapist about it, and basically she re-evaluated me and confirmed my previous diagnosis. In my case, I think it's because my ADHD is mild, or near there. When you have a mild case, it can be difficult to tell where neurotypical disatractedness ends and ADHD begins. But now that I accept my diagnosis, I just keep finding more and more evidence that I've had this since childhood.

Eyyy, welcome!

Who else?? ?

Heyyyy. Just got diagnosed with ADHD a couple days ago!

Oriented aroace is a thing, it just means you experience attraction that is not sexual or romantic

Yes and no? I don't get anything sexual out of it in the least, but I'm lightly into pup play and recently bought a pup hood. I don't have a "handler" or a "pack", but it's largely about just taking on the psychological aspects of a dog for a bit. Some people find it helps them deal with anxiety and other mental illness.

I only half read the full discussion since my postings in this thread, but I think you can be oppressed in some ways and privileged in others. ?‍♀️

Honestly, I think it can be a desire for sex just in general...... doesn't make sense to me to call oneself asexual and yet be like..... wanting to have sex. That's my opinion at least. I do personally identify as lithsexual, which with my definition of sexual attraction, means that I experience a kind of desire for sexual activity, even though it's rarely been directed at any one person..... except, I don't actually want to do the sex in reality? Like, even though I like the idea in my head and kinda desire it..... there's a disconnect there when it comes to it actually happening.

Ideally, I wanna live with a close friend and split rent. Maybe as a QPR, but just regular friendship would also be fine. I have some phobias that make living alone difficult for me.

That one. Honestly, I used to like the idea of having someone close to look out for me, but it just..... seems like a lot of work. And most of the people I know who are in romantic relationships have major issues or they break up and then hate each other.

Yeah! I've gotten less and less interested in romantic songs over time (not that I ever loved them tbh), but for me when they do come on I just imagine my fictional ships.

Not really. But one of my friends, who happens to have autism and has a hard time understanding social stuff, asked me if I would ever get married and I had to clarify several times that I don't want to get married, no, not even when I'm 50.

I think I see similar behavior among people who are fans of celebrities - they may not necessarily have romantic feelings for them, but they will find things that that person does to be cute or adorable just because they see the person through rose colored glasses. Heck, I even do this with fictional characters.