On June 9th, 2018, fifteen asexual people marched in the 2018 Capital Pride parade with The Asexual Awareness Project. This effort was made possible by donations from members of Asexuals of the Mid-Atlantic that covered the costs of the entry fee, a professionally printed banner (seen in the picture above), and stickers to pass out to viewers on the sidelines.
The TAAP members who marched were thrilled at the response they received. “This was so awesome, especially seeing all of the people excited by our presence!” said Isabel N. “There were some people who were happy asexuals had representation, and others who were ecstatic seeing themselves represented.”
Many people on the sidelines also saw and appreciated TAAP’s presence. One person tweeted:
In 2016 and 2017, the Asexuals of the Mid-Atlantic viewed the parade from the sidelines, and in 2017 a portion of the group also attended the Capital Pride Festival together. While there were some asexual people to be found among the crowds in these years, there were very few representations of asexuality in the parade and festival booths themselves.
In addition to TAAP marching in the parade, there was a noticeable increase in asexual representation at Capital Pride 2018 in general. The word “asexual” was included in the graphic used to advertise the theme for the year, which was “Elements of Us.” Many more booths at the festival had ace flags this year than in 2017.
TAAP plans on marching again at the 2019 Capital Pride Parade, and hopes to see even more asexual representation at future pride celebrations. If you would like to donate to help us make this happen, please visit our donate page for instructions.