Q&A not Q&A: “Have you seen that post going around saying the being asexual is a modifier not an orientation?”

anonymous said:

Have you seen that post going around saying the being asexual is a modifier not an orientation? It also seemed to imply that asexuality is a choice? I’m really tired of misinformation about asexuals being spread around.

…mmm, no i have not seen the post in question, but a quick search has brought up this post (warning: offensive ignorance is offensive) that i’m guessing might be the one you’re referring to…? was posted about 20hrs ago (i received this ask 4hrs ago) and yet has somehow already amassed 200 notes without a single critic of its content in sight.

the spreading of misinformation (maliciously or not) is annoying indeed. that said, i just so happen to be Apathetic As Hell about what others think and am very confident and comfortable in my identity as an asexual, so it’s pretty easy for me to not give a damn about some random person’s ignorant opinion on the internet. having said that, there certainly are times when even i’m hurt or otherwise emotionally affected by something that someone has said on the internet and i will muster up my spoons in order to call them out on what they’ve said. at this point, however, this post isn’t one of those times. i’ve learned to pick and choose when i lower my apathy-fortified wall of No Fucks Given.

i realize that not everyone is in the same mental headspace that i am (which is a good thing, honestly) and a post like the above can and does hurt people. my only advice is to block such people and try your best to move on by finding things that do validate and celebrate your asexuality. try to simply take comfort in knowing that the person in question is wrong and that the vast majority of people know that as well, because dealing with such ignorance / erasure / hate isn’t always worth your time or energy, especially if you know that exposure to that kind of thing is going to cost you mentally or physically.

tl;dr: misinformation being spread really is exhausting, to put it nicely. my only advice is to use the block button liberally if it means sparing yourself from potentially harmful posts like the one(s) in question. no one is ever obligated to put themself out there to correct misinformation or ignorance, nor is there any reason to keep anyone who posts such misinformation on your dashboard.