Ace Activism Opportunities: Health Care

[This is part of a series on opportunities for ace activism. See the masterpost here.]

The world of “health care” is a huuuuuuuuuge opportunity for ace activism, so I’m just going to briefly touch on just a few of the areas that can be explored.

  • Develop workshops on providing ace competent care.  Train doctors on what asexuality is, how to approach potentially asexual patients, etc.
  • Get the DSM-5 fixed.  The move from the DSM-IV to DSM-5, with its explicit mention of asexuality in an an exception for FSIAD and MHSDD, was a huge step forward, but there are still problems.  The mention of asexuality is hiding in scare quotes in a footnote that doesn’t even show up in the Desk Reference.  The exception calls for people to be “self-identified as asexual”, which is hard to do if you’ve never heard that asexuality is A Thing™.  The criteria for FSIAD and MHSDD both require “clinically significant distress”, but there’s no allowance for that distress being caused by everyone constantly telling you that you’re broken for not wanting sex.  Then there’s a more fundamental question about whether or not these are actually “disorders” at all.  Ace activism was instrumental in getting the improvements in the DSM-5, so it’s time to be making noise about getting some changes in the next edition.
  • Explore various ways to suppress or eliminate various bodily functions and features that many aces could do without.  Look at techniques for skipping periods with birth control pills.  Are there ways to safely get rid of erections?  Can an unwanted libido be turned off?  What options exist for hysterectomies or castration?  Are they safe?  What’s the process for obtaining one?  Are there processes/procedures/regulations/restrictions that stand in the way and need to be changed?
  • Work to end the pervasive and incorrect idea that everyone wants sex, that everyone who is lacking in sex is miserable, and that the only path to happiness is through lots and lots of sex.  Throw out the blanket “fake it ’til you make it” style advice.  Throw out the failed anti-depressants and sunless tanners being relabeled as sex cure-alls.  Don’t try to fix what isn’t broken.
  • Explore issues involving single people and medical care.
  • Look at tests and procedures which may not be necessary for people who are not sexually active.  For instance, are pap smears worthwhile for people who’ve never had sex?  Should guidance around those sorts of things be changed?  Should there be more outreach to aces letting them know the risk and giving them guidance for refusing potentially unnecessary or unwanted procedures.
  • Fight against conversion therapy, in all its forms.

Ace Activism Opportunities: Activist Coordination

[This is part of a series on opportunities for ace activism. See the masterpost here.]

There is a lot of ace activism going on these days.  More than there ever has been before!  While it’s great that there’s so much happening, it’s all so scattered that it’s impossible to keep track of it all.   There are also mostly isolated bubbles without a lot of cross pollination between them.  The vloggers don’t talk to the bloggers.  The bloggers don’t talk to the podcasters.  The podcasters don’t talk to the local organizers.  The local organizers don’t talk to the AVENites.  The AVENites don’t talk to the Twitterers.  The Twitterers don’t talk to the Tumblrines. And the Tumblrines don’t even talk to each other because the damned reblog system is so broken.  There are secret Facebook groups and hidden Discords and mythical Reddits that only the select few have access to.   And that doesn’t even begin to cover the people who don’t have an online presence or aren’t doing their work in English.

Bottom line, it’s hard to find out what’s happening and it’s hard to tell people what you’re working on.  If something is happening that you might be interested in, you have to be lucky enough to follow the right account or be watching the right livestream at the exact right moment, or you might never know about it.

What we don’t have, and what we sorely need, is a central coordination group that tries to act as a conduit between all these various bubbles.  This group would collect what’s going on and disseminate that information out.  They would reach out to and develop relationships with the prominent voices within each bubble.  They would work to connect people across bubbles.  They’d have cross-medium signal boosting powers.

You’re working on a project that would benefit from the exposure of being on a podcast and getting a feature written on a big blog?  This group would help set that up.

You’re a vlogger that needs to get in touch with aces in Rhode Island and don’t know where to start?  They’ll have the information at their fingertips.

You have an idea you’re eager to work on, but need people to collaborate with?  They’ll connect you to someone else who has the same idea and has already started putting together a team.

The power of this activist coordination group is that they unlock the potential and the power of others to go further.  They are a clearinghouse of knowledge and connections and know how to bring the right people together to make awesome things happen.

Places With Ace-Inclusive Laws

This is a quick look at some US cities which have ordinances which include asexuality and a brief description of what they say and what they cover. This is not meant to be a comprehensive look at every city everywhere.

Previously, it was thought that only a handful of places (most notably NYC, San Antonio, and Albany) had ace-inclusive laws on the books. But apparently no one bothered taking a step back and looking wider to try to see just how many cities and counties had them. I just did that and whoa nelly holy crow, there’s a lot more than I imagined. Here are just a few of them

(I have tried to include a date for when asexuality was included, but it is not always apparent or confirmable. Uncertain dates have a question mark.)

Albany, NY

General anti-discrimination law.

The term “sexual orientation” includes actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality, asexuality and bisexuality.

https://ecode360.com/7680357

Anchorage, AK

General anti-discrimination law. Added 2015.

Sexual orientation means actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, or asexuality.

https://library.municode.com/ak/anchorage/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT5EQRI_CH5.20UNDIPR_5.20.010DE

Columbia, MO

General anti-discrimination law. Added 2018.

Conversion therapy ban. Added 2019.

Sexual orientation. The preference or practice of homosexuality, heterosexuality, asexuality, and bisexuality, or some combination thereof, by consenting adults, or as perceived by others, but not including sexual preference or practice between an adult and a minor.

Shared definition:

https://library.municode.com/mo/columbia/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH12HURE_ARTIIIDIPR_DIV1GE_S12-32DE

https://library.municode.com/mo/columbia/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH16OFMIPR_ARTIICOOF_DIV10OFAGPE_S16-146COTHMIPR

Decatur, GA

General anti-discrimination law. Added 2019?

Sexual orientation means an individual’s actual or perceived orientation as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual or asexual.

https://library.municode.com/ga/decatur/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIIICOOR_CH22BU_ARTIXUNDI_S22-240DE

Denver, CO

Conversion therapy ban. Added 2019?

Sexual orientation means a component of identity that includes a person’s sexual and emotional attraction to another person and the behavior and/or social affiliation that may result from this attraction. A person may be attracted to men, women, both, neither, or to people who are genderqueer, androgynous, or have other gender identities. Individuals may identify as lesbian, gay, heterosexual, bisexual, queer, pansexual, or asexual, among others.

https://library.municode.com/co/denver/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITIIREMUCO_CH28HURI_ARTIXPRCOTH_S28-256DE

Galveston, TX

Fair housing law. Added 2016.

Sexual orientation means an individual’s real orientation or orientation perceived by another as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or asexual.

https://library.municode.com/tx/galveston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOCI_CH12.5FAHO_S12.5-2DETE

Idaho Falls, ID

General anti-discrimination law. Added 2020.

Sexual Orientation. Actual or perceived romantic, emotional, or sexual attraction or activity, including homosexuality, heterosexuality, bisexuality, and asexuality.

https://www.idahofallsidaho.gov/DocumentCenter/View/169/Chapter-11—Non-discriminationPDF

Juneau, AK

General anti-discrimination law. Added 2016.

Sexual orientation means actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, or asexuality.

https://library.municode.com/ak/juneau/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_TIT41EQRI_CH41.05EQRI_41.05.045DE

Kansas City, MO

Conversion therapy ban. Added 2019.

Sexual orientation means the preference or practice of homosexuality, heterosexuality, asexuality, and bisexuality, or some combination thereof, by consenting adults, or as perceived by others, but not including sexual preference or practice between an adult and a minor.

https://library.municode.com/mo/kansas_city/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COORKAMIVOII_CH50OFMIPR_ARTVIIMI_S50-234COTHMIPR

Lansing, MI

General anti-discrimination law. Added 2006 or 2016?

Sexual orientation: A person’s sexual identity in relation to the gender to which they are attracted; the state of being heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or asexual.

https://library.municode.com/mi/lansing/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_PT2ADCO_TIT12CIRI_CH297HURI_297.02DE

Middletown Township (Bucks County), PA

General anti-discrimination law. Added 2020

Notable for explicit aromantic inclusion! The first instance of it I’ve found anywhere.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION – actual or perceived sexual and/or romantic attraction and/or feelings toward other individuals. The term includes, but is not limited to, individuals who are heterosexual, homosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, asexual, aromantic, and/or questioning.

https://ecode360.com/MI2390/laws/LF1214558.pdf

Minneapolis, MN

General anti-discrimination law. Added 2019

Sexual orientation: A component of identity that includes a person’s sexual and emotional attraction to another person and the behavior and/or social affiliation that may result from this attraction. A person may be attracted to men, women, both, neither, and/or to people who are genderqueer, androgynous, or have other gender identities. Individuals may identify as lesbian, gay, heterosexual, bisexual, queer, pansexual, or asexual, among others.

https://library.municode.com/mn/minneapolis/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_TIT7CIRI_CH139INGE_139.20DE

Newtown Township (Bucks County), PA

General anti-discrimination law. Added 2018

Notable for explicit aromantic inclusion! From 2018, this is the earliest instance of it I’ve found anywhere.

SEXUAL ORIENTATIONActual or perceived sexual and/or romantic attraction and/or feelings toward other individuals. The term includes, but is not limited to, individuals who are heterosexual, homosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, asexual, aromantic and/or questioning.

https://ecode360.com/33875506#33875502

New York, NY

General anti-discrimination law. Added 2018.

Sexual orientation. The term “sexual orientation” means an individual’s actual or perceived romantic, physical or sexual attraction to other persons, or lack thereof, on the basis of gender. A continuum of sexual orientation exists and includes, but is not limited to, heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, asexuality and pansexuality.

https://www1.nyc.gov/site/cchr/law/chapter-1.page#8-102

Palm Beach County, FL

Fair Housing & Public Accommodation Law Added 2019.

Equal Employment Law Added 2017?

Sexual orientation means heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality or asexuality, whether actual or perceived.

Common definition:

https://library.municode.com/fl/palm_beach_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PABECOCO_CH15HURI_ARTIIIHOPLPUAC_S15-37DE

https://library.municode.com/fl/palm_beach_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PABECOCO_CH2AD_ARTVIEQEM_DIV1GE_S2-263DE

Richmond, CA

Health equity law. Added 2015.

These communities include, but are not limited to women, people of color, low-income individuals and families, individuals who have been incarcerated, individuals with disabilities, individuals with mental health conditions, children, youth and young adults, seniors, immigrants and refugees, individuals who are limited-English proficient (LEP), and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA) communities, or combinations of these populations.

https://library.municode.com/ca/richmond/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=ARTIXHE_CH9.15HEALPO_9.15.020DE

Rochester, NY

General anti-discrimination law. Added 2001?

SEXUAL ORIENTATION Homosexuality, heterosexuality, bisexuality or asexuality, whether actual or perceived.

https://ecode360.com/8676662#8676662

San Antonio, TX

General anti-discrimination law. Added 2013

Sexual orientation means an individual’s real orientation or orientation perceived by another as heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or asexual.

https://library.municode.com/tx/san_antonio/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICO_CH2AD_ARTXNSCPO

Volusia County, FL

General anti-discrimination law. Added 2011?

Sexual orientation shall mean an individual’s actual or perceived heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality or asexuality.

https://library.municode.com/fl/volusia_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIICOOR_CH36CIRI_ARTIINGE_S36-2DE


(Sourcing note: You’ll notice that most of these are from a site called “municode”. That’s a service that allows municipalities to publish their laws and codes on the Internet. These were found by doing a general web search for “municode asexual” and digging through the results. It is likely that the Municode wide search product would turn up more results. It is also likely that the same approach could be taken with other municipal code repositories to find more. I have selected the locations I have heard of. There are many more which were not familiar to me which I did not include.)

(Correction: An earlier version incorrectly identified Middletown Township, Bucks County, PA, as just Middletown, PA, which is apparently a different place. Sorry about that. I bet you get that all the time.)