What do you think non-aro people need to give up to better support aro people?

shades-of-grayro:

arokaladin:

• ‘cute’ aspects of fandom culture that hurt us
• the idea that romantic partners should always come before friends
• the entire concept of soulmates
• the idea that sex without love is in any way wrong
• the idea that aromantic headcanons are wrong or bad, even if the character in question is commonly headcanoned as gay.
• shipping aromantic characters, even if you like the pairing. Jughead is ours. So are Keladry, Raphael Santiago, and the hunters of Artemis.
• assuming that the ‘goal’ of life is romantic love/marriage without actually considering any other options. ie. accepting the status quo.
• Ever in any context calling aromantics ‘lucky’ for being aro
• dismissing aromantic struggles no matter your opinion

hope it’s okay to suggest a few more.

• expanding on the second bullet point of the op: a hierarchy of relationships that prioritizes romantic partners and devalues literally every other kind of relationship
• expanding on the “goal of life” point: assumptions about what people want/why they’re interacting with you (maybe their reason for talking to you is not because they want to date you)
• the stigma of being alone–not only being single and/or not dating, but also eating out alone, going on trips alone, etc. 
• a narrow definition of “(real) love" as something that exists only in romantic relationships
• unhealthy ideas about what relationships are supposed to be (replace those toxic ideals with things like open communication, boundaries, consent, lack of possessiveness, etc.)
• the idea that your love for one person can take away from your love for another