Happy Pride Babes!!
Carrying on to the bread and butter of the universe flag, we've reached the core colors that I feel allow more people to understand even more nuances with an asexual community, and how they impact each other in the world we live in today. The dandelion yellow of this flag was chosen intentionally. Dandelion Yellow was chosen to represent multiculturalism, Intersectionality and joy within the asexual community. Promoting all activities & experiences that allow us to enhance our joy, while consciously strengthening our bonds with one another. There are several reasons why this colour was added to the uni ace flag, being, I want to continue furthering peoples ability to think critically and more intentionally about how our identities not only look different within ourselves, but in other people, culturally, and what the intersections of those experiences may be for others in our community. Not only that I wanted to make sure Joy was included because often times we see asexual people as less joyous, and less involved in many aspects of the queer community. Another reason why I chose Dandelion Yellow specifically is because of the way dandelions have been perceived in the world, and to highlight what importance they actually have once you take the time to learn outside of social conditioning..
I've often seen the colours Black and Brown used to represent people of color in several pride flags. I completely understand the reason this is done, as it is a very front facing indicator for many in our community to see themselves as a part of the community. While I understand that, I've personally never been a fan of that. In my eyes, it feels a bit reductive and almost lessens peoples desire to learn more about the intersections of culture and race, when it comes to queer experiences. To this day, I still hear ‘Why was this added?’ ‘What does the Black & Brown stand for?’ ‘What do you mean there’s racism in the Asexual [Queer] Community’ and so on. Despite the value being there, I chose to move in the direction of using Dandelion Yellow to represent Multiculturalism and Intersectionality in this flag, because, similar to the way the Sun impacts so much of our lives, the world cannot move forward without the vibrancy of Black, Brown, Global Indigenous Cultures, and other Cultures of Colors contributions or communities.
I wanted a more intentional reminder of how queerness births life and openness in our worlds. To make sure of the conversation was pushed forward, the term Multiculturalism was used. It forces people to learn more about different cultures that also express alignment to the asexual community, providing a voice for those that may have never been able to discuss intricacies of sexual within their cultures, compared to the ones we often see pushed in our media today. In the same breath, Intersectionality was included here to, again, further peoples thought process around how the Asexual Experience looks different to somebody else in their community, based on different aspects of a person's social identities (such as race, gender, class, and sexuality) and how to better understand & support people with that awareness.
The framework of Intersectionality was created by Kimberlé Crenshaw [1989], as she was building a case to have people understand that while you are a woman and while, you may be Black, the combination of being a Black Woman holds a different experience that many people fail to understand and properly conceptualize. This framework has led to many more people understanding how layered our humanity is and how many aspects of our identity impact how we interact with the world [the discrimination we experience, and the privileges we have]. Not only does this allow us to build better discernment towards how the world perceives us, but it also, it also gives people an opportunity to break down their own biases, becoming better advocates to each other and strengthen community connections in the process.
My goal of choosing both these terms is to push people towards more conscious learning of each other and themselves; understand that Asexuality an identity that holds weight for a multitude of reasons, in different societies across the globe. Adding onto this, I wanted to make sure Joy was centered in this area of the flag as well. Too often, I have seen so many asexual people speak down to themselves about their identities, experiences and how they’re perceived in world; it is not something that I've ever align to. I see Asexuality one of the parts of me that adds to to my joy. Has it been hard to internalize, yes, but, I refuse to have that be the focal point of my lived experience. As I’ve gotten older, My Asexuality has allowed me to connect with different versions of myself that I didn't know possible and it’s exciting for me to continue discovering new versions of myself that lead me to deepen the love and compassion I have for myself.
As a Queer Person, I understand acknowledging pain and hardships that comes as you experience the world & grow into yourself, but, when the opportunities present themselves, more people should lean into rhetoric that allows them to express their joy & speak up about the diversity within their sexual experience. Asexuality is more than just the stereotypes we've seen pushed us over the several years; we deserve to have more intentional narratives written about our stories, and I want joy to be at the center of that as well.
Last, but not least I want to talk about Dandelions. Dandelions have been labeled as a weeds; harmful, useless, add nothing to the world & should be pulled up to avoid being spread. I've seen asexual people be labeled very similarly, and, I've also seen asexual people almost lean into that rhetoric as well. ‘We're just glad to be here.’ ‘We're just glad to be acknowledged’, very passive statements that doesn’t allow for people to build strength in their identities in the first place. Despite many of us being fed this falsehood, dandelions are actually medicinal herbs; dandelions are actually used to support a variety of issues regarding ones health. Unfortunately, many people also view asexuality as nonsensical, not useful and nonexistent, ‘The invisible identity", but when you start to better understand what asexuality is a spectrum of identities, you also understand how the spectrum may play into your life. Similar to dandelions, dandelions, have the use of aerating in the compacting soil, allowing nutrients to come up to other areas of the ground and supporting other plants around it. Asexuality is exactly the same; the more room you give yourself to learn about the nuances within this identity, you start see the overlap and how intertwined it is to more experiences within the larger queer community. Learning more about how Asexuals experience; sexual attraction, intimacy and connection love can also support you in how you gain more confidence in your queerness too!
So, with the Dandelion Yellow of this flag, I’d love to know how it shows up in your life? What parts of Asexuality intersects with who you are as a person, esp if you are not from the US? What does this actually look like in your culture? What does Joy look like for you as asexual person? I would love to know, Please share in the comments!
Thank you all of continuing to follow along this journey. Through all the ignorance I’ve been exposed to in the past 3 months, I continue to find joy in those who see themselves better represented in this flag.
Right now, the best ways to uplift me & my work are the following:
Using the Uni Ace flag, Talk about the Uni Ace Flag, Make Art with the Uni Ace Flag, Advocating for the Asexual Community more intentionally through the language used in the Uni Ace Flag, ETC! Be Creative!
Subscribing to me on Substack [Free x Paid Options]; a great way to learn more about the Ace community is to read things made by folks in the Ace Community!
Tipping via Kofi to support the Labour I’ve spent on this. [PNG’s & Hex Codes of this flag are available there as well!]
My comments will be open on socials, for the last three colours of the flag. Be Good
Chat ya’ll later!
-Ashabi
So beautifully written. I love the intentional move to "Multiculturalism," moving beyond the surface-level idea of Black & Brown stripes. Our experiences aren't defined *only* by our skin colors, but also our heritages, our environments, our communities (past, present, future). It's the antithesis of "I don't see color" - it's "I see color and acknowledge it's all valid and valued and wonderful!"
As a Black and asexual Christian: the pressure to be a virgin, but only up to a certain age, because you should want to get married and have children, but also labeling yourself LGBTQIA is white people shit, how dare I? And also flirting the white man's religion, even though Christianity was present in Africa before the white people started invading it, and aren't Black people inherently sexual creatures, everyone wants to have sex, maybe you just haven't found the right-AHHHHH!!!
My experience in a word vomit nutshell.