Towards an asexual-affirming communication pedagogy

ABSTRACT

In this essay, we move towards theorizing an asexual-affirming communication pedagogy. We position asexual-affirming (or ace-affirming) communication pedagogy as having two core commitments: (1) challenging allonormativity and (2) creating ace-affirming spaces. In developing pedagogical praxis points for these commitments, we address the tensions of challenging allonormativity on stolen land and offer classroom interventions designed to affirm intersectionally diverse asexual-spectrum individuals and communities in popular communication courses including intercultural and gender communication, interpersonal and family communication, mass media, organizational communication, and health communication. We weave interview data from 20 asexual-spectrum individuals to support our theorizing towards our goal of worldmaking radically affirming classrooms, curricula, and communities.

KEYWORDS:

• asexual
• rhetorics of allonormativity
• queer communication pedagogy
• ace-affirming communication pedagogy
• curriculum interventions

Acknowledgments

We're grateful for the Transformation Project and I-4C Collective for their seed grants, the reviewers for their feedback, and most of all, the interviewees for their time, energy, vulnerability, and wisdom in building this knowledge with us. This is for pedagogues who have created radically affirming spaces, like the ones Lore/tta LeMaster has modeled for us. (Thank you, Lore!) May we continue to craft and sustain these spaces.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).