Line #20 UsefulNotes/Aromantic


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2	[[caption-width-right:290:The aromantic pride flag, designed circa 2014 by one Cameron Whimsy.[[labelnote:Wanna know what those colors mean?]]The green was chosen as the opposite of red, the color typically associated with romantic love. Other than that, the black, white, and gray take the same meanings from the UsefulNotes/{{asexual}} flag: people who don't experience sexual attraction, people who do, and people in between.[[/labelnote]]]]
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4	Aromantic people are those who feel romantic attraction to others rarely, never, or only under specific circumstances, the same way UsefulNotes/{{Asexual}} people feel sexual attraction. This is a romantic orientation counterpart to asexuality, with the same spectrum of gray-spectrum identities[[note]]such as grayromantic (which is also often used as the umbrella term for gray-spectrum romantic identities like demiromantic, which is when romantic attraction only occurs after an emotional bond has been formed) where attraction happens infrequently or in unexpected circumstances[[/note]], but while asexuality and aromanticism are almost exclusively seen together in fiction, someone who identifies with one term does not necessarily identify with the other. Aromantic individuals who still feel sexual attraction are referred to as "aromantic allosexuals", or "aroallo" for short.
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6	Aromantic people can and sometimes do engage in romantic relationships, whether attraction is there or not. Romance and dating can be fun, so regardless of any pull and attraction to any specific person, aromantics may choose to have romantic relationships. However, it is also true that aromantic people are less likely to prioritize romance the way alloromantics[[note]]People who experience romantic attraction[[/note]] do. Aromantics are likely to fear being alone or loneliness, and being AloneAmongTheCouples.
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8	Since society is centered around building romantic partnerships for life and having children,[[note]]This is known as "amatonormativity"[[/note]] life can be difficult for people uninterested in such things, especially if they remain single. While the negative stereotypes around lack of romantic attraction lead many aromantics to be asked constantly if they even have ''friends'', aromantic people have friends and often prioritize those relationships more highly than alloromantics, since they're less inclined to prioritize romance just because it is romance.
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10	Another relationship that is most recognized in the aromantic community and prized there is a queerplatonic or quasiplatonic relationship: a life partnership without romance that is also not quite friendship. While they may look like romantic relationships to alloromantic people, many aromantics clearly distinguish the terms and relationships.
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12	Queerplatonic relationships are often abbreviated as "QPR" and queerplatonic partners are abbreviated as "[=QPPs=]." A queerplatonic partner may also be affectionately called a "zucchini," but the term is not as common as it used to be.
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14	Aromantic characters, like asexual characters, suffer a dearth of explicit representation, especially in mainstream media. When aromantics exist at all, they are often portrayed as cold, TheStoic, heartless individuals like those covered by NoLoveForTheWicked, or perhaps robots or aliens who don't quite understand love regardless. Nonetheless, plenty of real humans are aromantic, and not being romantically attracted to others impacts other emotions in no way.
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16	This is a negative stereotype that hurts the community. Other common misconceptions of aromantic people include being friendless, as if romantic attraction is required to have platonic relationships as well, having mere CommitmentIssues, that they're an IntentionalHeartbreaker, and incapable of meaningful relationships.
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18	While aromanticism has many shades of gray to it, including only experiencing romantic attraction after getting to know someone emotionally[[note]]demiromantic[[/note]] or intellectually[[note]]encephaloromantic, formerly known as sapioromantic[[/note]], romantic attraction that quickly fades[[note]]often a form of akoi or lithoromanticism, in which romantic attraction fades when reciprocated[[/note]], or exclusively to unavailable or fictional people[[note]]fictoromantic[[/note]], fiction almost exclusively portrays aromantics as uninterested in romance and experiencing no attractions at all.
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20	The aromantic community has few symbols, but they may include arrows or bows (a play on the shortened "aro" form of the term, and an intentional defiance of the common "cupid" association), anything green, and a white ring on the left middle finger, taken from UsefulNotes/{{asexual}}ity's black ring on the right middle finger. An ace of spades is common for aromantic asexuals in particular.
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23	!!Tropes that may be associated with aromanticism include:
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25	* AloneAmongTheCouples: The one single person in a world of romantic couples is a common feeling for aromantic people.
26	* BetterAsFriends: Characters who have tried romance and decided they didn't like it can come across as aromantic.
27	* CelibateEccentricGenius: Any character who eschews romance is likely to end up being called aromantic for one reason or another.
28	* CelibateHero: While this is also an UsefulNotes/{{Asexual}} trope, the lack of romance inherent in most of these characters cause them to look a lot like aromantic characters.
29	* ChasteHero: This trope and its place in portraying a character who is not in-tune with romance ''or'' sex frequently makes them look like an aromantic asexual.
30	* CommitmentIssues: A negative assumption about many aromantic people is simply that they're scared of romance or committing to a relationship.
31	* ConfirmedBachelor: A character who doesn't want to get married? Bingo, common among aromantics. Although many aromantics do get married (even if only for the tax benefits!) or have partnered relationships of some kind, characters who stay resolutely single often register as aromantic.
32	* DidYouThinkICantFeel: In defiance of common assumptions, aromantic people have a full range of feelings and are just as likely as alloromantic people to have large, emotional hearts.
33	* FriendsWithBenefits: Since aromantic people may well feel sexual attraction, an amicable relationship for sex without romance is appealing to some.
34	* IntentionalHeartbreaker: An unfortunate stereotype of aromantic people (and asexual people) is that they lead alloromantics on, often by simply existing, while being uninterested in a romantic relationship.
35	* MaidenAunt: Oftentimes, characters who have no significant love life throughout their entire life will come across as aromantic, intentionally or not.
36	* MarriedToTheJob: A common stereotype of aromantic people is simply having more time for things like work or hobbies than dating and romance.
37	* MistakenForRomance: Being mistaken for being in a romantic relationship is as common for aromantic people in real life ''and'' in fiction, especially aromantic people who are very close to their friends or have a QPP.
38	* NoLoveForTheWicked: A character who feels neither sexual nor romantic attraction and is portrayed as monstrous, villainous, or otherwise heartless because of it.
39	* ObliviousToLove: Aromantics are frequently as unaware of romantic cues as asexuals are to sexual ones.
40	* PlatonicLifePartners: This regularly appears to an aromantic audience like a Queerplatonic Relationship.
41	* PragmaticPansexuality: Sleeping with someone that they're not actually interested in to further their own goals? If they're not interested in ''anyone'', they're likely to come across as aromantic and asexual (or even be aromantic and/or asexual canonically), especially a [[NoLoveForTheWicked villainous aromantic asexual]].
42	* UnwantedHarem: What kind of person wouldn't want a harem? The kind who isn't attracted to anyone.
43	* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: A common source of UnfortunateImplications based on stereotypes, aromantic characters may often be portrayed as nonhumans with a complete lack of understanding of or ability to feel human love, or even emotion more generally. While actual aromantic people may have difficulty understanding the definitions and experiences, many people of any romantic orientation find the experience confusing.

Context UsefulNotes / Aromantic