Curate, connect, and discover
I relate to this so much, especially the part about caring(?) about your friends, but not necessarily wanting(?) friendship (I’m not sure if I’m wording this right)
Being aplspec makes discussions about friendships in aro spaces so awkward like. Yeah I agree friendship should be given more respect and amatonormativity should be dismantled. Yes I care very deeply for my friend(s). No I can't relate to your experiences with friendship or wanting friends. You've lost me. Why are you talking about friendship as if everyone has and/or wants it. Hey. Whatever happened to allowing people to decide what relationships they want and what those relationships entail for themselves.
It's exhausting because aro spaces are often one of the only spaces that will respect my devotion and care (sometimes I even call it love, depending on how I'm feeling that day) for my friend, but friendship is also just treated like romance is everywhere else and no one even seems to notice. You're not gonna defeat amatonormativity with the power of platonormativity. Have you considered readjusting your understanding of relationship anarchy and questioning your own biases and assumptions about platonic relationships? I'm drowning in "use friendship as a substitute for romance" posts over here
(and it's like. I don't want to criticize people's love for their friends or anything like that. I'm just so tired of all the assumptions of having and wanting friends. They're everywhere in here and make me feel so estranged from my own community)
(this turned into a bit of a vent but it's okay to rb and add on)