Author: seattleaceadmin

All About the A: Meet The Panelists!

On Saturday, July 18, at 1pm PT, we’re hosting a webinar All About the A!

The webinar will feature five panelists from our community, who will be covering an introduction to asexual and aromantic orientations, as well as other experiences about what it means to identify on the ace and/or aro spectrums. It’s free and open the the public, and non-ace or aro people are encouraged to attend! Register here:  https://tinyurl.com/yd4cvrds .

Now let’s meet our panelists!

Alexis

Alexis is a gray-ace, bi-romantic, and cis-gendered. She grew up in a very queer-friendly city: San Francisco, but was a late bloomer and only came out within the last few years. She loves dogs, dancing, and knitting (as you can see in her picture, she’s wearing a sweater she made with UV-reactive yarn. It changes color under the sun so she calls it her bi-invisibility sweater!) She’s proud and happy she can bring both herself and her sweaters out of the closet.

Danika

Danika (she/they) is a bi aroace arogender woman who has been out and proud since 2017. When she’s not saving lives as a not-for-profit financial consultant, she is a writer, musician, and full-time cat mom. Her blog, Sea of Sunlight, explores forming identity and relationships in an amatonormative world.

Val

Val grew up in the Silicon Valley, after college they started their career in logistics and have advanced in the field of Autonomous Vehicle Development. They currently reside in the Greater Seattle Area and very much enjoy their place here. Val grew up knowing they were Queer even before they knew what that really meant. They just knew they were missing a piece that the vast majority seemed to have an understanding. Their journey is a slow one, which should be expected given Asexuality was virtually invisible the majority of their life. Val finally came to terms with their true identity as a Grey Asexual in their early 30s.

John

John is a 2nd grade teacher in Seattle who identifies as queer, transmasculine, and aromantic, and has been in the LGBTQ+ community for 25 years. In his free time, he enjoys playing poker, marathoning TV shows, and leading the drumline for the OL Reign soccer team.

PJ

PJ is an aroace aspiring screenwriter who was born and raised in Seattle. She developed a love for filmmaking in high school, and strives to increase queer representation and social progress throughout the film industry.

And the moderator:

Ashley

Ashley is an Aro-Ace in aerospace. When she is not working as an engineer, she spends her free time doing a multitude of hobbies, some of the current being mixed martial arts, tabletop roleplaying games, and cooking. She has been one of the organizers for Seattle Aces and Aros for the last year and a half, lately running far too many quarantine TTRPGs.

All About the A (in LGBTQIA+) Webinar

Seattle Aces & Aros presents a free webinar, “All About the A (in LGBTQIA+)”.

The webinar will feature five panelists from our community, who will be covering an introduction to Asexual and Aromantic orientations, as well as other experiences about what it means to identify on the Ace and/or Aro Spectrums.

This webinar will be open to the public. You can register here: https://tinyurl.com/yd4cvrds .

The event will take place on Saturday, July 18, at 1pm PT.

Meet the panelists here!

You are also invited to join our group’s monthly (virtual) Roundtable Discussion at 11:30am PT (on the topic “Demi and Gray Aces and Aros”) and Discussion Group at 1pm PT, on Saturday, July 11. You can register here: https://tinyurl.com/y7smtzuq. 

All are welcome to join, whether or not you identify on the Ace and/or Aro Spectrums. Just know that this group’s goal is to be a comfortable space to share and discuss asexuality, aromanticism, and our experiences and questions. 

We will strictly enforce a code of conduct to protect the panelists, moderators, and attendees. (No hate speech or bullying. Be kind and courteous. Respect pronouns and avoid gendered language. Refrain from using ableist language. Respect everyone’s privacy.)

Washington Becomes First State to Recognize Asexual Awareness Week!

I am very pleased and excited to announce that Gov. Jay Inslee has proclaimed that October 20th-26th is *OFFICIALLY* Asexual Awareness Week in the state of Washington!

I want to thank all of you in this group for helping make this happen! I also want to thank Governor Inslee for signing this, and giving Washington the distinction of being the first state in the nation to recognize Asexual Awareness Week.

This is a BIG deal for the ace community. As far as I’m aware, this is the first time Ace Week has been officially recognized anywhere.

Here is the ceremonial proclamation:

Full Text:

The State of Washington
Proclamation
WHEREAS asexuality is an often unknown and misunderstood sexual orientation; and
WHEREAS people who are asexual but have not heard of asexuality may often feel confused, discouraged, and lonely; and
WHEREAS discovering asexuality can be an affirming, positive, life-changing experience; and
WHEREAS the goal of Asexual Awareness Week is to promote education and understanding about asexuality; and
WHEREAS there are estimated to be at least 70,000 openly identified asexual people in the State of Washington; and
WHEREAS the inclusive and diverse State of Washington is proud to be at the forefront of LGBTQIA+ recognition and acceptance;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Jay Inslee, Governor of the state of Washington, do hereby proclaim October 20-26, 2019, as
Asexual Awareness Week
in Washington, and I encourage all people in our state to join me in this special observance.
Signed this 15th day of October, 2019
[signed]
Governor Jay Inslee

ETA: Click here to see pictures of the physical copy they sent!

Links & Alliances Conference Workshop

Seattle Aces & Aros will be presenting a workshop at the Links & Alliances Conference at Everett Community College, Saturday November 9th, 2019.

The Links & Alliances Conference is for and about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans*, Transsexual, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Ally, Asexual, Pansexual, 2-Spirit+ Youth. Their theme this year is “Unique & United.”

Our workshop will be “Asexuality 101” (and will also cover Aromanticism 101).
“A discussion and group activity that will center on the Asexual and Aromantic Identities. Participants will learn about topics such as the wide array of identities that fall under the AroAce Umbrella, the difference between attraction and action, and how to be an AroAce advocate for yourself or as an ally.”

Tickets are free for ages 14-20, and for 21+, there’s a recommended $25 donation (limited scholarships are available).

The Conference is an all day event. We’ll be presenting twice in the afternoon.

Seattle Pride 2019!

The Seattle Aces & Aros will again be marching in the Seattle Pride Parade!  We had such a blast last year that we’re doing it again!  Come march with us!  (It’s free and there’s no time commitment outside of the parade itself.)

The parade is on Sunday, June 30th, 2019, and runs through downtown along the mostly flat 4th Ave, from just south of Westlake Center up to Seattle Center.

We’re contingent #123, and our staging area is between Marion and Columbia on 4th Ave in Downtown Seattle. Our staging time is between 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM. Here’s a map of the block with who is around us:

There will be a spectator group for those who want to watch the parade, but won’t be marching. Look for the flags somewhere between Pike and Bell along 4th.

Also, for the first time, we’re going to have a booth at the Capitol Hill PrideFest on June 29th. Stop by, say hi, grab some swag! We’re in the Purple zone, on Broadway between Mercer and Roy, booth P21.

Check out Facebook or Meetup for the latest updates or if you’d like to be involved.

Seattle Aces Store!

We’ve started a fundraising experiment!  We’re now selling some designs on Zazzle and proceeds will go toward paying for the Seattle Aces’ Meetup costs, parade fees, printing costs, that sort of thing.  (The best part is that if this is successful, we’ll have people all around the world helping to fund our group!)

Need a “Totally Ace!” bumper sticker?  We have one of those!

How about a magnet that lets people know it’s okay to “Be Who You Are“?

Or maybe you need a shirt that proclaims you’re “Strictly Netflix, No Chill“?

(Heck, we even have a pack of 12 cake flavored ace flag tubes of lip balm!  Because, I don’t know, maybe someone has really really chapped lips?)

Those items and more can be found here!