Aromantic people feel little romantic pull, and that says nothing about sex
Aromanticism describes experiencing little or no romantic attraction, and the word only entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2018. It is often confused with asexuality, but the two are separate. Many aromantic people are asexual, many are not, and plenty form deep, committed bonds that simply are not romantic.
The key idea is sometimes called the split attraction model: romantic and sexual attraction do not always travel together. An aromantic person might also identify as bisexual or heterosexual, while someone both aromantic and asexual may use the shorthand aroace. The opposite of aromantic is alloromantic, a person who does feel romantic attraction. Because such feelings are subjective, some aromantic people find it genuinely hard to tell platonic affection from the romantic kind.
Identity here works as a spectrum with many labels. A grayromantic person feels romantic attraction rarely or weakly; a demiromantic person feels it only after forming a strong emotional bond. Some aromantic people still choose romantic relationships, and some build intimate non-romantic partnerships known as queerplatonic relationships. Studies suggest they are no less likely than anyone else to have children, and in the Aromantic Census of 2020, 14.6 percent had been in a non-romantic partnership.
Stigma remains common. Aromantic people report being stereotyped as heartless, afraid of intimacy or deluded. The philosopher Elizabeth Brake coined the term amatonormativity for the assumption that everyone is better off in an exclusive, long-term romantic couple and is seeking one, an assumption critics say devalues friendship and family bonds.
The modern term dates back at least to 2005, and early community grew on the asexuality forum AVEN and on Tumblr before dedicated spaces formed. The aromantic pride flag, designed in 2014 by Cameron Whimsy, uses green because it is the opposite of red, the colour of romance. Some wear a white ring on the left middle finger, and arrows serve as a pun on the nickname aro. A volunteer group called AUREA organises an awareness week each February.
Source: Aromanticism
