Activist Voices: Ace Week from Australia to Belfast

By Stella Lee

In this series, Stella Lee interviews various activists from different areas. This week (October 20th-26th) is Ace Week – formerly known as Asexual Awareness Week – a week to expand education about asexuality around the world [1]. Asexuality is a sexual orientation that can be defined as not experiencing sexual attraction or not being drawn to people sexually. This is different from celibacy, which is a choice [2].

For this edition of Activist Voices, The Gown interviewed two student activists, one in Northern Ireland and one overseas, to hear their stories.

The following is an interview between our writer Stella Lee and activists TJ Jenkins and Stella Schneckenburger.

Stella Lee: Hi, please introduce yourselves.

TJ Jenkins: I’m TJ Jenkins, my pronouns are they/them. I’m at Queen’s University Belfast School of Arts, English and Languages. I’m the president of the Pride Society at Queen’s.

Stella Schneckenburger: My name’s Stella Schneckenburger, I use the pronouns she/her. I’m at the Deakin University School of Medicine. I’m the 2024 chairperson of AMSA Queer, the Australian Medical Students Association’s queer representative group.

SL: How would you describe your experience growing up asexual?

TJ: I think ‘lonely’ is the main bit. Especially when you’re a teenager it feels like you’re missing out on a bit of an experience growing up. I always had that classic hope that I was going to grow into it one day, that I was going to get what they were saying. And then it never happened so, that kind of confusion was there.

SS: In relation to my ace identity, it was interesting because it was a slow burn noticing. Other people were finding others hot or commenting on people’s physical appearances and crushing over them. Not being able to relate to that, I definitely ‘grew up ace’ and the signs were there that I  was ace.

SL: What does Ace Week mean to you?

TJ: I think like all identities under the LGBT umbrella, ace has its own unique challenges and differences which are sometimes brushed aside. I think it’s a nice chance to highlight those issues and those differences in experience that are sometimes ignored in a lot of conversations.

SS: As someone in the medical field, Ace Week means an opportunity to heighten visibility and demand conversation. It’s a time when you can see there’s this formalised week in the calendar and use it to leverage conversations in the healthcare space. You can say ‘This is a thing that exists’.

SL: What’s your favourite thing about being ace?

TJ: I think it’s being able to see the value in platonic relationships, because I’m aromantic as well, in a way that other people seem to miss sometimes.

SS: It’s challenged me and made me think of how different people perceive the world differently, whether it’s culture, socio-economic status, disability or any other factor.

SL: What’s your least favourite misconception about asexuality?

TJ: That something’s missing or something’s wrong. Even well-meaning people say things like ‘One day, there might be someone’.

SS: When people associate it with an illness or a symptom, medicalising and pathologising it. Being asexual doesn’t mean anything about arousal or libido.

SL: What resources would you recommend for people who think they might be ace or want to  learn more?

TJ: Where I’ve learnt most about different identities is on Reddit. You can ask very specific questions, which is great, and hear from a lot of real people’s experiences, which I find really useful.

SS: If you watch YouTube in your free time, Yasmin Benoit. For medical people wanting to learn more about ace patients, I’ve written three publications. AMSA Queer also has Wavelength, which has a specific e-module on ace-affirming healthcare.

SL: Do you have any recommendations for ace representation?

TJ: Loveless is the only one I’ve read, which is very good. But I think someone needs to write  some more, and I need to read some more ace representations.

SS: I did love Loveless by Alice Oseman. In terms of TV, I’ve watched O in Sex Education and Isaac in Heartstopper.

SL: Is there anything you’d like to tell our readers?

TJ: I’d like to promote Pride Society. Every Wednesday from 6 to 8 PM, there are lots of ace people here at our drop-ins.

SS: For fellow medical people, listen to your patients. This is your time to upscale on asexual-affirming care. Happy Ace Week.

Sources:

[1] “Ace Week 2024: October 20-26.” 2024. Aceweek.org. https://aceweek.org/.

[2] AVEN. 2019. “Overview | the Asexual Visibility and Education Network | Asexuality.org.” 2019. Asexuality.org. https://www.asexuality.org/?q=overview.html.