Ekaterina

Hello, welcome! Happy to be of help if needed 🥰

Have you tried explaining them what being aromantic means? If yes and they still were doing that, it just looks like they don't want to understand someone can want different things in life and have a different idea of happiness, which is an issue with them, not with you. Sorry you have to deal with this treatment, sending virtual hugs to you if you are okay with them: 🫂 Don't let it get in your head, people who think they know better what everyone needs or wants while they are just projecting and unwilling to listen are a pain, whether to aros, to people with unpopular interests, to everyone who isn't a copy of themselves in general. It isn't an issue with you.

Hello and welcome! Hope you will be able to learn what do you need to figure out your identity. I'm (kinda fictoromantic) aroace so not sure how helpful can I be about frayromantic and aegoromantic experiences, but would be glad if I could help with anything.

I relate and have related to a lot of characters for different reasons but I'll try to choose those related to my aromanticism. For aromanticism reasons, I recall relating to Snow Maiden as a teen, but also to some characters who are in calm established relationships as opposed to typical romance. I also was quite inclined to relating to characters who were considered odd for being more reserved and quiet (bonus point if they weren't interested in partners that society wanted to set them with, even if they ended up finding a love interest eventually - for my young self my disinterestedness in romance wasn't separated from my other "oddness" aka disliking companies/parties/noises, unpopular interests, this kind of stuff). When I was older I got a special liking for the One Sane Man in the Group trope and could relate to it sometimes, and it's when my aromanticism also contributed to it, since I relate especially if the One Sane Man is being trying to talk reason into romance-blinded characters (think Benvolio Montague for example). In many other aspects of life I can only look up to be this trope (love it anyway).

Hello and welcome!

I am the complete opposite, I most of the time am not interested in romance-centric stories but like some romance subplots in different kinds of stories, where it's just one of the many aspects of life and one of many ways to care and not the center of the world, just like it should be. I don't like most of the cases where romance is everything a character's conflict and story is about (unless it's purposedly written this way to deconstruct it), I like when people just go well together whether as friends or romance, and I am okay when a romantic subplot is a part of a character's journey of overcoming deeper issues/fixing their flaws/finding themselves.

Yes, and it's actually the frequent position of those who oppress all kinds of minority orientations, they think it's making a political statement or alternatively a leisure activity, as opposed to just being born with different natural feelings. I am not a member of some kind of secret cult by being aromantic, I just want to live my life the way I'm comfortable with. That's the point. A little off topic, on what the previous commenter says about the activists who want to prove single life is better: no I don't support the idea that being single is objectively better for everyone, just as I don't support the idea that being married is objectively better for everyone. Both are projecting your needs on people without consideration of their needs. There are disabled people and people with weak health that physically can't survive alone, there are people financially poor who won't be able to simultaneously earn enough money for quality life and take care of the household alone, there are people who emotionally and mentally cannot live alone without family support system, and not everyone has siblings or living parents or is on close enough terms with all of them to share the house forever, and don't forget this nuance that the human species needs to reproduce, and many people actively want to (and being a single parent is extremely difficult, both emotionally, financially, and finding time for everything). And yes, I often want to marry for some of these reasons, which (back on the topic) doesn't stop me from being aromantic.

Agree with what the other commenters say. Not wanting relationships already has a word, it's called single by choice. Aro as term exists to describe your nature as someone who doesn't have this type of feeling that aphobes think everyone must have, its exact purpose is to let people who don't HAVE romantic feelings know they aren't underdeveloped or ill or heartless or whatever some societies say. Sure, single people who aren't aros can have some similar struggles but not all, and can be described as its own thing (and "singlism" as a type of discrimination against single people is a word that exists alongside "aphobia"). P. S. Also yes, highly committed relationship and romance aren't synonyms. There are tons of ways to have a highly committed relationship that aren't what is deemed romantic.

About your art account, you absolutely don't have to create art of something you don't want or especially are uncomfortable with, it literally isn't what art is about. Art is about expressing yourself and things that inspire and interest you. If you aren't comfortable with romantic art, don't do romantic art, forcing yourself will just end with forced and soulless works as well as with your emotional exhaustion. Doing art of things that actually interest you will be much more valuable for the world. Especially if it's about something not explored often by other artists (such as, like the commenter above said, non-ship art in some fandom spaces, and other kinds of rare topics).

Good idea with romance-repulsed aro Mercutio! I'd probably think of aroallo for him instead of aroace through, or at least sex-favorable.

I like good romantic songs too, and also yes to interpreting some in context of other versions of love.

Welcome!

Hello, welcome!

This one is literally called Song About Friendship: It's in Russian, and comes from a Soviet/Russian historical adventure film Gardes-Marines, Forward! Pretty inspiring one.

Welcome!

Hello and welcome! Hope you find it comfortable here. And I enjoy art history too)

Welcome!

Yes, exactly. "No means no" and "people don't owe anyone romantic feelings" is a topic on its own a lot can be said about, for both aros and non-aros. And can relate to an extent. Luckily I wasn't persistently pursued by a "potential romantic interest", but during school times certain other girls won't let me breathe with "which boy do you like?" and "why don't you have a boyfriend?" over and over again despite me telling many times that I'm just not interested in that. Those two girls in particular literally didn't have another conversation topic with me, well also "why don't you use cosmetics?" all over again too, which also wasn't their right to "fix" me about. Through probably a situation when someone does the "why don't you have a partner?" thing implying "why I am not your partner" is worse. Sorry for everyone who had dealt with this kind of people.

Oh I see, thanks for explaining. I didn't know this part about sexual explanation symbolism (how does this explanation work though if you don't mind telling, do people use analogy to pollination to explain sex? Would make sense, through it's more about the flowers that are engaging in their version of a reproductive act than the bees that provide the service. Also, what part do birds play in the explanation? Birds, especially songbirds and birds like swans, are often associated with romance, but what's about them that allows to explain sex easier?) And great to hear I gave you an idea for a poem, good luck with it! Sounds like it would be a lovely one.

Good poem from the point of idea, but bad symbolism. Bees aren't "romantic", most of them - the worker bees - are actually unable to reproduce and don't mate and aren't supposed to, their life revolves around all kinds of different things (building, food gathering and pollination, standing guard, raising the young which are their siblings not their kids). The queen and the few males are the only ones that deal with mating (since the species needs to reproduce to survive). The bees (collective bees like the bumblebees and the honey bee, and ants that work the same way) are among the most aromantic/asexual-coded animals ever.

Maybe that person who voted for my comment wanted to vote only for some parts of your comment, the ones I quoted, but not the others? That's the only reason I can think of. I'm surprised as well. If the voter is the original asker, maybe it's those points in particular they found helpful (like I did).

Adding my voice to this.

Can't say much for sure about Little Women, I haven't even actually read it or watched film adaptations, but I heard something about the author being pressured/forced to pair up last minute one of her heroines who wasn't supposed to be paired. Maybe it's that plotline you are speaking about. Edit: in fact it's being mentioned on this very forum just today:

Hello and welcome! I like books, music and cats too 👋

I'm both aro and very likely autistic (or really similar to that at least), so looks like I'm an example. I heard several times that a correlation actually is a thing here, to the point that I once saw in the Internet an autism test that included aro and ace-themed questions that contributed to the probability of the person being autistic. (I have no idea on how professional was that test, so not sure how much does it mean)