Ace Awakening: Communication Sources That Lead to Affirming Asexual-Spectrum Identities

Abstract Despite important inquiries on queerness, communication scholars have yet to explore the lives of folks on the asexual spectrums (also known as “ace”). This study brings attention to how rhetorics of allonormativity, or the discursive and material forces that discriminate against aces, influence ace identity. By providing in-depth and rich qualitative interview data gifted by 20 ace interviewees, I locate and organize several types of communication sources that lead people to first consider their aceness, such as interactions with friends, family members, and partners, with online content, in classrooms, and through film. Then, attention is called to the ways in which rhetorics of allonormativity can be challenged, and solutions are discussed at interpersonal and structural levels in communication studies and beyond.