Opinion What do you think of asexuality and aromantics?

[Shireling]

tldr; so long as no one is hurting anyone else, people should be allowed to define themselves as they please, even if it seems impossible to others. People could identify as dogs. Yes, they obviously are not a dog, but is their decision to call themselves dogs, and even act like it, harming anyone? Providing they're not vandalising public property by pissing on fire hydrants and chewing park benches, then no. They are not. Let them get on with it, and seek health counselling/treatment if it proves to cause harm to others or themselves. 


Edited 19 minutes ago by Cup of Mek

I mean, I'll let asexual people be as they don't really harm society by their existence. But this is a terrible example to use to illustrate your point. Anyone who legitimately thinks they are a dog should be medicated. They are clinically insane.

 

[Shireling]

Harm to others is not a good criterion for approaching mental illness treatment. Schizophrenic people are largely not violent, but we shouldn't humor them and pretend that the voices in their heads are real.

 

[Count Gensokyo]

Harm to others is not a good criterion for approaching mental illness treatment. Schizophrenic people are largely not violent, but we shouldn't humor them and pretend that the voices in their heads are real.

I know I said I was bowing out earlier, but regardless of whether asexuality actually exists or not, if it does exist, I think it's a legitimate mental illness that a treatment should be researched and made for. I liked the comparison to schizophrenia—just because an illness isn't really harming anyone doesn't mean that the victim couldn't be suffering knowingly or unknowingly.

 

[call me rae]

Harm to others is not a good criterion for approaching mental illness treatment. Schizophrenic people are largely not violent, but we shouldn't humor them and pretend that the voices in their heads are real.

But would you really antagonize them though? Like if you saw someone talking to themselves are you going to go up to them and say - yo mate your imaginary friend isn't actually real so could you keep it down?


That's not actually going to help anything. It's not like they're choosing to have a mental illness and just saying that it is one doesn't really effect their interactions with people. Medication would yes - but you have to want to take medication for it to be effective.


You can't just say - well medicate people if they have a mental illness and it's all fine. You got to want help or else you got to be a sufficient danger to those around you or yourself that your personal wants and needs are immaterial


We have schizophrenics come to my place of work all the time. We also get people who are homeless or just a little off. And as long as they are not violent or harming anyone/anything than we leave them alone. ( also you can't actually interfere with them from a legal perspective unless they are a danger to themselves/other people/or property )

 

[Shireling]

I know I said I was bowing out earlier, but regardless of whether asexuality actually exists or not, if it does exist, I think it's a legitimate mental illness that a treatment should be researched and made for. I liked the comparison to schizophrenia—just because an illness isn't really harming anyone doesn't mean that the victim couldn't be suffering knowingly or unknowingly.

I don't know if I would go as far as to call it a mental illness. I would characterize it as a hormonal phenomenon or a cognitive quirk.

 

[Cup of Mek]

Harm to others is not a good criterion for approaching mental illness treatment. Schizophrenic people are largely not violent, but we shouldn't humor them and pretend that the voices in their heads are real.

I agree that the dog example was more for the sakes of satirical comic relief than a good parallel for the topic at hand, but there are definitely people out their who say they identify as dogs without being schizophrenic/psychotic (and this is not me in anyway encouraging the dog-kin/ any 'kin' culture) but do no harm to themselves or others. Largely it's just a phase, particularly during adolescence, to give them an identity and sense of self. 


With schizophrenia, or people who actually believe they are a dog in the very literal sense, however, I agree, they should be treated and medicated, as they're unlikely to be able to care for themselves or lead a good quality of life. 


But this is waaaay off of the asexual thing, and I think your attitude is awesome of letting asexuals just be as they don't harm anyone. That's all I really wanted to encourage/support. 

 

[Cup of Mek]

I don't know if I would go as far as to call it a mental illness. I would characterize it as a hormonal phenomenon or a cognitive quirk.

Agreed with this. I think asexuality is a valid sexuality, but agree that it may well be a genetic mutation or something along those lines. 


And regarding schizophrenia, I have never heard of/encountered a case where it does not cause harm to the individual/others if left untreated, so I don't think it can be used as a parallel. 

 

[Shireling]

But would you really antagonize them though? Like if you saw someone talking to themselves are you going to go up to them and say - yo mate your imaginary friend isn't actually real so could you keep it down?


That's not actually going to help anything. It's not like they're choosing to have a mental illness and just saying that it is one doesn't really effect their interactions with people. Medication would yes - but you have to want to take medication for it to be effective.


You can't just say - well medicate people if they have a mental illness and it's all fine. You got to want help or else you got to be a sufficient danger to those around you or yourself that your personal wants and needs are immaterial


We have schizophrenics come to my place of work all the time. We also get people who are homeless or just a little off. And as long as they are not violent or harming anyone/anything than we leave them alone. ( also you can't actually interfere with them from a legal perspective unless they are a danger to themselves/other people/or property )

Does it not bother you that they live a life disconnected from reality? Of course many of them don't consent to taking meds. They're crazy! I'm not saying I don't like them or I look down on them for being crazy. Having a mental illness is a bad thing, but it isn't some kind of moral failing. Don't you think you owe it to them to help them, whether they want the help or not, see the world as it really is? Don't you think that would improve the quality of their life?

 

[Cup of Mek]

Ooh, now I see it, lol. I thought I saw something else...optical illusions are weird like that.


She's from a game series called Touhou Project. It doesn't have an *official* anime, but there are a handful of fan-made ones with great production quality, and there's also official manga and stuff. 


@Cup of Mek

Ah! I absolutely ADORE the music for those games  And lol, sorry if it looks weird, I saw it in context of a larger photo and I think the crop maybe makes it look confusing. 

 

[The Mechanist]

I say leave people to their own devices, offer them help but don't force it upon them, if they think something is wrong and they wish for help then help, but if they're content the way they are then who are we to intervene in their life? As long as they aren't jeopardizing someone or something (referring to other life forms) else's way of life then all is fine.

 

[Count Gensokyo]

Ah! I absolutely ADORE the music for those games  And lol, sorry if it looks weird, I saw it in context of a larger photo and I think the crop maybe makes it look confusing. 

I know, right? ZUN has actually risen to become my favorite composer ever. That might just be me being a crazed fanboy, but there is some merit to that statement. He churns out at least 17-20 tracks per game, and their releases are usually annual. He actually made the games to show off his music, which is something I love about his creative process. Music-making sounds like an interesting hobby for me to take up now...maybe if I get somehing like FL Studio in the future, I'll toy around with it a bit!  :smile2:

 

[call me rae]

Does it not bother you that they live a life disconnected from reality? Of course many of them don't consent to taking meds. They're crazy! I'm not saying I don't like them or I look down on them for being crazy. Having a mental illness is a bad thing, but it isn't some kind of moral failing. Don't you think you owe it to them to help them, whether they want the help or not, see the world as it really is? Don't you think that would improve the quality of their life?

If I was related to them or in some way directly responsible for them than yes I would do my best to see to it that they got help. But as I am an impartial bystander to the people who come into our business I can't really offer any legal or medical advice. To anyone really whether or not they have a mental illness or not.


And has been said the difference is simply this - being asexual ( whether you choose to believe it is an illness, a hormone deficiency, whatever ) does not actually negatively effect the persons quality of life. It isn't hurting them, preventing them from living full lives, or really negatively impacting their ability to interact with society as a whole.


Being schizophrenic on the otherhand does effect basic quality of life. And while it's not for me to say what a stranger does for their own life I would hope that the people in charge of them would look out for their best interests if they are unable to do so.

 

[Cup of Mek]

Can I request we steer this conversation AWAY from discussion of mental health? Solely because it is something I'm currently struggling with. If not that's cool, totally understand, I'll duck out of here. The asexuality/aromantic elements were just an interesting discussion point to me, and I've heard some really interesting discussion + debate on it thus far (sorry if I ever came across as aggressive by the way, typed text is a difficult medium to communicate nuance through ) 

 

[Cup of Mek]

I know, right? ZUN has actually risen to become my favorite composer ever. That might just be me being a crazed fanboy, but there is some merit to that statement. He churns out at least 17-20 tracks per game, and their releases are usually annual. He actually made the games to show off his music, which is something I love about his creative process. Music-making sounds like an interesting hobby for me to take up now...maybe if I get somehing like FL Studio in the future, I'll toy around with it a bit!  :smile2:

Oh best of luck with it if you do, I have some friends with similar hobbies and I know it's something of a rabbit hole once you get into it, but they absolutely adore it, and have honestly produced some fantastic stuff through it (though I may be biased ) 

 

[The Mechanist]

Honestly we really need to stop having threads that cover touchy subjects, I'm glad to see this one hasn't spiraled out of control yet but still

Oh best of luck with it if you do, I have some friends with similar hobbies and I know it's something of a rabbit hole once you get into it, but they absolutely adore it, and have honestly produced some fantastic stuff through it (though I may be biased ) 

And can you please stay on topic? Save that conversation for a pm or another thread

 

[Cup of Mek]

Honestly we really need to stop having threads that cover touchy subjects, I'm glad to see this one hasn't spiraled out of control yet but still


And can you please stay on topic? Save that conversation for a pm or another thread

Heh, sorry, I was conscious of it being off topic I just thought some light-hearted #chat could be a positive force in this fairly heavy subject. But agreed, and apologies for the interruption. 


And yeah, public forums on the internet are often not the most wise or controllable spaces to discuss serious topics in, but at the same time, they do expose people to a wide range of opinions, and can help people understand others who aren't in their IRL social sphere, so I think they have their uses, so long as approached with severe caution and perhaps a hot cup of tea/pillow to scream into when needed. 

 

[Shireling]

If I was related to them or in some way directly responsible for them than yes I would do my best to see to it that they got help. But as I am an impartial bystander to the people who come into our business I can't really offer any legal or medical advice. To anyone really whether or not they have a mental illness or not.


And has been said the difference is simply this - being asexual ( whether you choose to believe it is an illness, a hormone deficiency, whatever ) does not actually negatively effect the persons quality of life. It isn't hurting them, preventing them from living full lives, or really negatively impacting their ability to interact with society as a whole.


Being schizophrenic on the otherhand does effect basic quality of life. And while it's not for me to say what a stranger does for their own life I would hope that the people in charge of them would look out for their best interests if they are unable to do so.

....then you just agreed with me? 

 

[call me rae]

....then you just agreed with me? 

Well about mental illness yes, that asexuality is one than no.

 

[Shireling]

Well about mental illness yes, that asexuality is one than no.

I never said it was one. 

 

[call me rae]

I never said it was one. 

Then we're not arguing. 

 

[Axel The Englishman]

I don't care if someone's Bi, A, Homo(sexual) or Hetero as long as we all do our part.

 

[Cup of Mek]

I don't care if someone's Bi, A, Homo(sexual) or Hetero as long as we all do our part.

our part in what?

 

[Axel The Englishman]

our part in what?

Society.

 

[Cup of Mek]

Society.

What does that mean though? Like what does 'doing our part in society' entail? 

 

[Axel The Englishman]

What does that mean though? Like what does 'doing our part in society' entail? 

Work.