Now more than ever, it is important that LGBTQ+ people stand in solidarity, whether that means celebrating queer resilience, grieving with one another or taking action to combat misinformation and hate. This is my own stance, as well as that of Lawrence University Queer Alliance (LUQA) Social Outreach Coordinator sophomore Alison Langteau, one of the presenters at the most recent event of the LUQA Education Series, “Aspec: A is for Attraction.” The talk was the third of four events in the series, which has taken place biweekly throughout Winter Term in the Diversity and Intercultural Center (D&IC). The first event was held on Saturday, Jan. 18, and focused on allyship to the LGBTQ+ community. This was followed by one on queer sexual education. While the goal of the LUQA Education Series is made explicit in the name, LUQA Secretary sophomore Greta Wright said that the board’s goal was to strike a balance between research and personal experience to make the talks as nuanced as possible.
The LUQA Education Series is the collective brainchild of the LUQA board. Wright recalled a LUQA member asking her earlier this school year if the organization would host a talk on queer sexual education resources. LUQA co-President sophomore Aly Redding Lapuz, self-proclaimed lover of both sexual education and slideshow presentations, caught wind if the idea and ran with it. While the board began in just sexual education, Langteau recalled that things quickly snowballed; she suggested an education event celebrating Aromantic Awareness Week, and then another topic was suggested until one could hardly call this brainchild of theirs a ‘child’ anymore. Their one-off sexual education session had grown into a term-long initiative covering multiple niches of the queer experience.
At the event on Saturday, Feb. 22, LUQA introduced and discussed identities on the asexual spectrum (hereafter interchangeable with “aspec”) with attendees. Though the LUQA Education Series’ main goal is to educate, it would be more accurate to say that the events are conversations with the audience. The “Aspec: A is for Attraction” session, facilitated by Langteau, Redding Lapuz and LUQA co-President sophomore Anika Schwartz, all on the asexual spectrum, began with question prompts posed to the audience to get them thinking about conventions of attraction: what words come to mind when you hear the word ‘relationship?’ How about ‘attraction?’ Springboarding off of this, the presenters introduced different types of attraction to the audience.
Schwartz said one of the objectives of the series was to bridge the gap between attendees of all knowledge levels with a topic, making sure it was both educational for those looking to learn more about a subject while also engaging for those with prior knowledge. To achieve this, the presenters briefly introduced asexuality as an umbrella term for a family of sexual orientations that experience little to no sexual attraction. They took a short tour into some more prevalent microlabels — demisexual, gray ace and aflux, to name a few — before turning to aspec identities in the wider world. They examined the traditional love-type hierarchy, with romance and sex towering above platonic and familial forms of love. Langteau best summarized the opinion the presenters shared on it: “Long story short, it sucks!” They proceeded to explain the importance of understanding different types of love being incomparable — none can be ranked higher or lower than another since they are all unique.
The presenters then turned to current aspec visibility, be it for better or for worse. They began by examining asexual stereotypes in media — and, an aggression in its own right, the lack of representation in media in the first place. They then connected back to the love-type hierarchy, explaining how the overrepresentation of the romantic happily-ever-after being the goal of so many stories reinforces love and sex as the ultimatum. Still, the board didn’t let the underrepresentation of authentic aspec experiences in media keep them from celebrating what good representation does exist. Towards the end, they spotlighted numerous aspec characters, books and celebrities making waves in the modern pop culture scene. After all, what is queer education without celebration?
After exploring the emerging history of aspec experiences, the board explained some asexual cultural hallmarks, from middle finger rings to plots hell-bent on taking over Denmark. Yes, you heard me right. Just ask your friendly neighborhood aspec about it. I’m sure they’d be happy to let you in on the secret!
The talk ended with an open question and discussion forum about all things aspec. Though it was sparsely attended, the group spent a long time story-sharing, recommending aspec media and making aspec inside jokes.
There is one more event in the series on queer history on Sunday, March 9. The board emphasized that all events are open to students, staff and faculty, regardless of affiliation with the LGBTQ+ community. Schwartz even said that the series will likely take place next term, too.