TAAAP is proud to present several sessions at the Creating Change conference for the fourth year in a row, with Aces and Aros and the Aromantic-spectrum Union for Recognition, Education, and Advocacy, including a workshop, caucus, and the first-ever Day-Long Institute! This year, because it will be entirely virtual, nobody has to travel at all to join us. Also, the registration fees this year have been reduced to $50, or pay what you can. You can register here: https://www.thetaskforce.org/creatingchange/register.html. The dates are Friday, January 29-Sunday, January 31.
We plan to upload session materials and transcripts, though only of the informational parts and not of any personal audience information, for many of these sessions after the conference.
Workshop:
Ace and Aro Q&A: An Introduction to Asexuality and Aromanticism (1 hour)
Saturday January 30, 1:30-2:45
Every year, more asexual and aromantic people show up in LGBTQ+ spaces seeking support, resources, and community. In order to accommodate this growing group in your organization, workplace, school, and activism, a clear understanding of these identities is essential. This session will build that understanding while highlighting specific intersectional issues that arise from systemic racism, ableism, and cissexism, and how these forms of marginalization differently impact various aro and ace identities. Take this unique opportunity to ask questions, participate in discussions, and connect with resources about aromanticism and asexuality.
Presenters: Aromantic-spectrum Union for Recognition, Education, and Advocacy, and The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project
Caucus:
Asexual & Aromantic Spectrums Caucus (1 hour)
Saturday January 30, 5:00-6:15 pm ET
Come meet other aro and ace folks! This caucus will be a fantastic opportunity to get to know different activists who are working to make a difference in our community, and you’ll be able to meet numerous others who share your identities! You’ll be able to hear about ongoing efforts in community organizing and activism, find out how you can get involved, and share ideas of your own.
Presenters: Aromantic-spectrum Union for Recognition, Education, and Advocacy and The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project
Institute:
Aromantic and Asexual Institute (6 hours)
Friday January 29, 12pm-6pm ET
Join your fellow aro and ace community members as we explore identity, activism, and community issues together! Through breakout sessions that will dive into complex issues affecting our community, strategies for community organizing, and various marginalized identities that many of us hold, we’ll each have countless opportunities to learn, share our experiences, and grow in our community involvement and activism.
Given the importance of building anti-oppression into our communities and advocacy, this institute will center on understanding, resisting, and dismantling marginalizing forces such as racism, ableism, sanism, classism, and singlism. As we collectively work to build inclusive, accessible, and equitable communities, we will connect attendees to further resources so that these dialogues can act as a springboard for future learning.
Presenters: Aces and Aros; Aromantic-spectrum Union for Recognition, Education, and Advocacy; and The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project
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All times below are in Eastern Time
12:30-1:30: Including Youth in Community – This session will discuss how youth spaces, including schools, youth groups, and queer activism, are already including aro and ace youth as well as how they still need to grow.
12:30-1:30: Helping Professionals – This session is a chance to hear about the levels of knowledge and types of assumptions therapists and doctors sometimes make about ace and aro identities, then discuss personal experiences with barriers to accessing counselors, doctors, and other healthcare professionals who are knowledgeable and properly inclusive about ace and aro identities. Some time in the session will be dedicated to brainstorming the best ways for aspec individuals to receive affirming and competent care, as well as brainstorming avenues for educating these care providers.
1:30-2:00: Networking and Socializing Break – This is a time to hang out and virtually meet the other institute attendees, or to take a break away from your computer and do some self-care.
2:00-3:00: Race and Aspec Identity – The goal of this session is to introduce how white supremacy, colonialism, and compulsory sexuality impact the ability of racial minorities to claim and find joy in ace and aro identity. We will also discuss how the aspec community has perpetuated racism and how it can move forward towards inclusion, justice, and healing.
3:10-4:10: Social Media Activism – This session explores the use of social media platforms for activism and how to be more strategic with your activist social media posts with guidance from a presenter who has professional experience creating social media campaigns. We’ll also share about the proposal for an official Asexual Flag emoji as a case study.
3:10-4:10: Amatonormativity and Relationship Anarchy – This session will focus on understanding and deconstructing amatonormativity, with a critical examination of monogamy as a patriarchal, sex-negative, capitalist, colonial, coercive institution. We will also look at ways to resist society’s amatonormative expectations in our lives and our communities, such as through relationship anarchy.
4:10-4:40: Networking and Socializing Break – This is a time to hang out and virtually meet the other institute attendees, or to take a break away from your computer and do some self-care.
4:40-5:40: Community Organizing – The Community Organizing session is your opportunity to connect with other activists and community leaders who are working to make a difference in the lives of ace and aro people! Together, we’ll talk about effective strategies for organizing community gatherings (especially COVID-friendly meetups!), ways to build up a leadership team to help your work thrive long term, and ways we can help make our work more inclusive of and accessible to BIPOC folks, neurodivergent and disabled folks, and other folks with marginalized identities.
4:40-5:40: Intersections: Neurodivergence, Disability, & Gender – In this session we will explore how aspec identities intersect and interweave with neurodivergence, disability, and gender.
Very exciting! I’m in another timezone, unfortunately, so attending will be difficult for me. What sort of session materials will be uploaded (e.g., session recordings?) and do I need to register to access these? Thanks!
Hi! We will be posting all the presentation materials, as well as the transcripts we have access to (edited to remove any personal information, of course), after the conference is over. Hopefully that’ll be within the next couple of weeks. Sorry you can’t make it, but I hope you enjoy the materials!