intj-confessions:
auditorycheesecakes:
onyxjuniper:
frecklesandsky:
I just read this super sad post about this girl whoâs asexual and married and everyone is basically telling her that she doesnât deserve her husband/sheâs just a prude/she should just do it anyway.
So I want to tell you all right now that if people tell you this, or if they tell you youâll never have a relationship, it is BULLSHIT.
My husband is asexual and Iâm not. Heâs sex repulsed, we donât have sex, we never have.
And it doesnât matter to me. You know what does? He does. His mental health and wellbeing matter to me. Because he is my best friend and heâs one of the smartest, kindest, funniest people Iâve ever met. And heâs had people tel him that heâs broken and it makes me SO ANGRY because they are WRONG.
Being different doesnt mean youâre broken.
If you donât like sex/donât want it/etc. Do not let anyone tell you that youâre inferior because youâre not.
Do not let anyone convice you that youâll never have a relationship because theyâre wrong(if you want one).
You are not broken, and it will be okay.
This made me feel really good. Remember this, for all my ace spectrum friends out there
#itâs really reassuring to hear from the partner #the one whoâs not ace #but is totally cool with having no sex #loves her husband anyway #is in a stable and happy relationship #itâs such a relief when you discover that asexuality is a thing #that youâre okay #but then you start to wonder if it means your only chance at not ending up alone is finding someone else whoâs also ace #but no #turns out itâs not #thatâs really good to hear #so #thanks #so ace #so space
I hope you donât mind me reblogging your tags but these are my feelings EXACTLY
Iâm always a little nervous that Iâm not âgood enoughâ for a âreal relationshipâ because sex isnât on the table. So yeah, these stories are reassuring
The amount of pressure from society to have sex is incredible. Weâre told itâs linked to relationship health and if youâre not willing to do every damn thing youâre labeled a prude. Itâs incredibly disheartening, especially considering how oneâs libido can change over the years even if youâre not ace. Nice to see a supportive piece from a partner.
OK, kids, buckle up itâs story time.
When I got married, I hadnât had sex yet. Â Waiting until marriage was important to me, so thatâs what I did. Â My wedding night was the first time I had sex.
It sucked.
I figured, ok, this is new for both of us, itâs probably going to take some practice.
A year later?  It still sucked  We tried a lot of different stuff.  A lot  of different stuff.Â
It sucked so bad, we even bought a copy of âSex for Dummiesâ.
(it didnât help)
I started working late so I didnât go to bed at the same time as my husband. Â Every time he would travel for work, Iâd be grateful that I didnât have to go through the awkwardness of avoiding his advances when I went to bed.
He didnât think it was healthy for a newlywed couple to have sex less than once a week. Â So we scheduled it. Â Repeat, scheduled intimacy. Â I thought I was putting on a brave face and doing what I needed to do to maintain a good relationship.
Because I had no idea that asexuality was a thing.
I talked to my husband, told him I didnât like sex. Â He didnât understand. Â I lost track of how many times I said:Â âItâs not that I donât want to have sex with you. Â I donât want to have sex with anyone.â
So it was established, Amber doesnât like sex.
But we still did it. Â Because I wanted my husband to be happy. Â Sometimes halfway through, Iâd start crying.
And heâd always be supportive, and apologize.
After he finished.
So when I found out about asexuality, and told him how I felt, he suggested I go to a doctor. Â Because obviously there was something wrong with me.
So I went to a doctor.
(surprise, surprise, Iâm perfectly healthy)
Then I told my mom. Â When she suggested meds to improve my sex drive, I broke down in tears. Â I told her there was nothing wrong with me. Â And my mom has been 100% supportive of my orientation ever since. Â When people ask if Iâm a lesbian, she teaches them about asexuality. Â
But anyway back to my journey of self-discovery
So I tell my husband, Iâm asexual, I donât want to have sex.  You are not asexual, you do want to have sex.  One of us is going to be miserable in this relationship, and Iâm tired of it being me.  I love you too much to make you miserable for the rest of your life, but I love myself too much to be miserable for the rest of my life.  We might have to face the fact that weâre not right for each other.
So his immediate response is âno, I can change, Iâll do anything, divorce is not an option, etcâ
But I canât exactly ask him to stop wanting to have sex. Â Because thatâs not how allosexual people work. Â And he canât seduce me into wanting to have sex, because thatâs not how asexual people work.
Anyway. Â He cries, I cry, we decide on marriage counseling to help our comunication.
Because weâd been married for almost 6 years by this point, and had been together for 3 years before that, and we still canât really talk about what we want (or donât want) in regards to sex.
So we go to counselling for 6 weeks. Â The first 3 sessions individually, and the last 3 together. Â During the together sessions, the therapist would prompt us with a question, and weâd talk to each other, being completely honest about things.
During (what turned out to be) our last session, Iâd finally had enough. Â Iâd had enough of being embarrassed about what anyone else would think. Â Enough of the gender roles I was being forced into. Â Enough of paying someone to watch me talk to my husband. Â Enough of pretending to salvage a relationship that I had been increasingly avoiding over the past 2 years, and I said:
âJosh, I love you. Â We have communication problems, but weâve been together almost ten years and Iâm willing to work through those if you think we can make it work. Â But I am never having sex with you again.â
(At this point, the therapist whoâd been trying to get us to communicate put down her notebook and said, ok I think weâre done.)
Then and only then, did he agree to file for divorce.
ââââââ
I say all that to say this:
Donât you dare fucking tell me that asexual representation doesnât matter.  I would have six years of my life back if I had known.
And if youâre in a relationship, talk to each other oh my God. Â About everything. Â What dream you had last night. Â That song from scout camp that randomly gets stuck in your head. Â The reason you donât like sweet potato. Â That embarrassing thing you did in third grade that still makes you mad when you think about it. Â If you and your partner can share these tiny, intimate details, talking about sex is no big deal. Â And it takes practice, so practice.
âââââ
On a happy note, now, 3 years after the divorce, I am in a happy, stable relationship with another ace.  And if you happen to ask my mom how Iâm doing, sheâll tell you âIâve never seen my baby girl happier.â
It gets better. Â But itâs up to you to make it that way.
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