Below is the statement submitted by our organization to Duluth-Superior Pride in response to their recent call for a logo design for this year’s pride festival. This call brought awareness to our broader organization of the fact that Duluth-Superior Pride continues to use the A in GLBTAQI2S to stand for allies instead of asexual, aromantic, and agender individuals.
To Duluth Superior Pride:
Some of our members have made Minnesota Asexuals aware of your recent call for a logo design for this years Pride, specifically in relation to the A in GLBTAQI2S being used for Ally instead of Asexual, Aromantic, and/or Agender. While we understand that this is not new for your organization, the realization that Duluth-Superior Pride does not explicitly include asexual, aromantic, or agender individuals was difficult for many people.
The purpose of Minnesota Asexuals is to advocate for the visibility of asexual and aromantic spectrum people. However, in this situation, we felt it would be remiss to exclude agender people from this conversation as well. Many of our members also identify in this way, and not all agender or otherwise non-binary-gendered people feel comfortable identifying under the transgender umbrella.
Using A to represent allies to the exclusion of asexual, aromantic, and agender people further contributes to the marginalization these groups face from society at large. When this exclusion comes from groups that also face this marginalization, it makes us question if spaces we thought were safe truly are.
We recognize that it is extremely difficult to go through the full process to change not only your organization’s bylaws but also the name you go by during the key lead up time for planning this year’s pride festival. However, we request that the use of the word ally be taken under consideration when selecting the logo design.
As we enter pride season, we also hope that this is taken into account when creating other official media as well as statements made at events, especially throughout your pride weekend. We specifically want to mention this in the context of the statements made at the Mayor’s reception, where it is our understanding that GLBTAQI2S is read out in full, rather than used as an acronym.
Furthermore, we appreciate your willingness to discuss updates to your bylaws to make your mission explicitly more inclusive of additional queer identities.
We hope that this statement from our organization is taken into consideration when making your decision regarding the acronym and its definition included in your bylaws. We do hope to have a presence at your upcoming March meeting, but some of our Duluth-Superior area members are unable to attend.
We would be glad to assist with additional information if needed and look forward to your partnership.
Minnesota Asexuals