I'm Back!

I don't know if anybody noticed, but I have had a bit of a hiatus. I have had a lot going on lately, but the extended rest period has mostly been due to my bogus computer crashing a lot (which meant that I ended up typing the same -long- letter out 5 times, and that I had to retype a 3 page essay the morning before it was due. I failed, and was hunted down by my elderly History teacher. Use the save button, people!), resulting in various hi-jinks and the loss of internet. But now I'm back!

Various Updates:

I wasn't able to do too much to educate my fellow students on the actual Coming Out Day or AVED, but due to my disastrous premature 'Coming Out' people surprisingly have been really understanding*. I wrote '...Is Asexual. Got a problem with that?' on Facebook, and amazingly, people that I don't know particularly well left positive comments and 'Liked' the status. Success!

*I wore purple armbands and proudly explained what they meant (I've been wearing pink ones for Breast Cancer Awareness Month and people wanted to know why I wasn't on Monday). People were a lot more understanding, to the point that when I was trying to explain about my anti-baby/marriage/want to learn about contraception agenda, one person turned around in their seat and said "Oh yah, she's asexual though, isn't she?"

The least positive reaction I had on AVED was one person confiding to me "I think you are too young. I'm sure when the hormones kick in you'll find someone." or, my favourite, "One day you'll fall in love. Well, I suppose it won't be love for you...Will it?"

You win some, you lose some, I suppose.

Asexophobia

Hey everyone! I've been reading up on my AVED-related activities. I had some awesome stuff lined up. It was going to be brilliant!
But unfortunately I've now been put off a teensy weensy bit off AVED 2009.
Mainly since of all the asexophobia I've copped lately.*

But what can one expect from attending school in a rural town entirely populated by chavs who don't even have a non-white population, let alone a varied sexuality base?
Basically, I made the mistake of thinking that because I had come out to a few of my friends from school who were understanding, they all would be. I also made the mistake of being proud to be asexual and not hush-hush like I SHOULD HAVE BEEN. Oops, silly me.
I also made the mistake of letting people prematurely see the mini-zine on asexuality I printed as a test run (I've since completely reshuffled the pages and added a link, so..) and then it escalated. First I got the standard '...wha?' responses, and I educated a few people. I felt proud. But my closest friend was really not understanding, or supportive at all, and insinuated that I was a crazy teen going through a stupid phase, and that AVEN was a paedo site and that all of the AVENites were freakazoids(When I told her to check AVEN out so that she could see the error of her ways, she not-so-subtly ignored me). I should have realised then that my AVED-related plans would crash and burn.
The next morning I was verbally attacked and abused, and now everyone seems to know I'm ace and asks rude questions about it. I only told... *counts on fingers* 5 people who were in school at the time!
Methinks people have been gossiping about me behind my back and generally discussing my (TOTALLY non-valid, apparently) asexuality behind my back.
In fact, the most understanding people about it so far (in this whole episode) have been a bunch of 11 year olds who heard about this by chance. But that's because they giggle when they hear the word 'penis' and don't think about sex, let alone alternative sexual identities.

So, I'm sorry, North Cornwall. You've missed out on having me as an asexual activist. And it's all to do with a bunch of narrow-minded teens.

I hope they're happy.

*There's actually been a big discussion about what to call phobia against asexuals. If you followed suit after homophobia, you'd end up with aphobia, which translates as having a phobia of no phobias. So, now we have asexophobia!