I’ve Been Meaning To Make This For A While! 

10 Authors Discuss Asexuality, Immigration, and More on December's YA Open Mic

YA Open Mic is a monthly series in which YA authors share personal stories on topics of their choice. The aim of the series, above all, is to peel away the formality of bios and offer authors a platform to talk about something readers wouldn't necessarily find on their websites. Check out pre

Erica Cameron, author of Deadly Sweet Lies

I am asexual. It’s a fact of my life now, but it’s one I didn’t discover until I was 29 and trying to recover from an emotionally abusive and manipulative marriage.

I grew up in a liberal, diverse city in South Florida and the available spectrum of sexual orientations was always pretty clear: gay, bisexual, or straight. I could be attracted to anyone of any gender, and that was okay—it was something I knew both in theory and from watching my childhood best friend try to figure out her own sexuality as we grew up.

No one ever mentioned that being attracted to no one was an acceptable option.

Parents, teachers, and even friends told me over the years not to look for too much external validation. Or, at least to avoid letting that validation impact my self-worth. Sometimes, though, something has to be verified, labeled, and categorized by someone who isn’t in my head for my experiences and emotions to feel real and acceptable. That is especially true when the word I was looking for to describe myself didn’t exist in my vocabulary. Not outside the context of the short section in my freshman biology class about the asexual reproduction of amoebas, anyway.

It’s why I vacillate between the urge to laugh and cry when someone questions the need for diversity in books. I was a voracious reader as a child. How different would my life have been if I’d known at 9 or 19 what I discovered at 29 about the sexual identity spectrum? I won’t ever know the answer to that question, but I will try my hardest to be the voice that tells teen readers what I never heard. What I would absolutely love is for my asexual spectrum characters to provide the “Oh my god, that sounds like me” moment for at least one person. Not going to lie; it’s kind of a life goal.

Click here to read the rest of the stories

im about as straight as a pugs tail

yes it's cool when unrequited love isn't treated as this huge tragedy and people can still be friends or accept it and move on but i do love the fucked up dynamic you get when someone is so utterly obsessed with someone else that they beg and plead with them just to be allowed to devote themselves to them like a dog even if they get nothing in return for it. when the love is completely one sided but it isn't any less intense for it.

the struggles of being a closet ace

girl: omg look at this pic *picture of a shirtless boy* mmmm so hOT

me: ??????

girl:

me: ¿

girl:

me: *sweats nervously* uhh yeah very aesthetically pleasing to the eye of the beholder

me: wait what

brain: you aced it

You're awesome!

show some support for your ace/aro pals

My best friend and her boyfriend are always hanging out together. So when I got back from college, I thought they would ignore me. Turns out that they talked about me a lot when I was gone, and her boyfriend asked lots of questions about asexuality. So now they take me on platonic dates and let me tag along with them everywhere. Its funny tho. I used to think I had a crush on him, but having this relationship is everything I didn't know I needed.

That’s awesome o:- Jace

The True Bi/Pan/Poly/Ace Agenda

Try not to get yelled at by straight people for not being straight

Try not to get yelled at by gay people for not being gay

Make sure no one finds out that we’re secretly dragons

Me: I'm an asexual. I don't like the idea of sex.

Person: okay but...

Me: hoe don't do it....

Persona: ...how do you know if you've never tried it?

Me: oOh mY gO D