The Escapist

millenniumfae:

god the amount of acephobia on this hellhole blogging platform has reached an entire new low

people be making fun of the whole ‘asexuals are called plants’ thing like it’s a irrelevant nonissue and we’re just whining about nonexistent oppression. like there’s tons of worse issues out there in the world, and we’re making a mountain out of a molehill because we want to be oppressed so much

do you know who else is called inhuman, and treated accordingly? people of color. disabled people. women. trans women/nb people. being called a ‘plant’ has a specific name; objectification. infantilization. 

ace people aren’t the only ones being called plants or robots or other nonhuman objects. ‘vegetable’ is slur referring to mobility-impairment. being compared to furniture and other household decor is very much a woc problem. being called childlike, being compared to dolls and collectible items. being called something that should be owned and fixed and altered.

all of that applies to my experience as a neurodivergent trans sga ace of color. i know objectification inside and out. i know what it means when people speak over me, or force intimacy upon me, or worse. and i know when it’s a reaction to my sexuality.

being ‘called a plant’ doesn’t end with words. as with every objectification, people don’t see you as a person; they see you as something they can toy with, or control. your family invades your privacy, your friends don’t treat you as an equal, your dates go from 0 to 100 within seconds, and your sense of self worth suffers all the while.

we all have different experiences with out identities. i, for example, have almost no negative experiences being openly trans and undergoing medical transition, while having an asian face nearly destroyed my youth. no one gets to tell me that my objectification is magically ‘less potent’ because it’s due to my asexuality.