a-spec

a-spec

English

Alternative forms

• aspec

Adjective

1. (neologism) On, or relating to, the asexual spectrum and/or aromantic spectrum. [from 21st c.]
   • 2018 June 2, “A is Not for Ally: Spare a Thought for Invisible Identities this Pride Month”, in The Panoptic‎, retrieved 6 April 2020:

     However, this article isn’t about what it means, or how it feels to be a-spec: it’s about the erasure (A-rasure?) of a-spec identities.

   • 2017 March 31, “Jughead, Bughead, And The Need For Asexual & Aromantic Heroes In Comics”, in Comics Alliance‎, retrieved 6 April 2020:

     Jughead means a lot to aspec people

   • 2020 March 12, “‘It’s Not You, It’s Not Me’ Centers Allosexual Feelings And Fails Asexual People”, in wearyourvoicemag.com‎, retrieved 6 April 2020:

     We can and should recognize that there is plenty of room for a multitude of reactions from a-spec folks because, like any other identity, we are not a monolith and we carry with us a multitude of experiences, desires, limitations, and perspectives.

   • 2020 February 4, “Asexuality, Explained Through Cake”, in The Link‎, retrieved 6 April 2020:

     In the context of asexuality, it has led to the infantilization of people who are aspec, and in a lot of cases has pressured ace people to have sex, simply because they didn’t think not wanting to have sex was an option.

   • 2018 October 27, “Explore the spectrum: Guide to finding your ace community”, in GLAAD‎, retrieved 6 April 2020:

     While the SAM was initially created by a-spec people, it can easily be used by people who are not asexual or aromantic.

   • 2018 February 15, “Ace Jam created a space for games with asexual characters”, in Rock, Paper, Shotgun‎, retrieved 6 April 2020:

     Asexual representation in games is so sparse as to be virtually non-existent, and some of the few examples that there are reinforce incorrect beliefs about a-spec people.

Usage notes

• Some claim that the term a-spec originated in the autistic community and refers to the autism spectrum, and that using it to refer to the asexual or aromantic spectrum is offensive to autistic people. However, there is no evidence of this, and the origin of the term a-spec can be traced to the asexual and aromantic communities.

Related terms

• ace
• aro