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Next Step for Pamphlets (my bad!)


AVENguy

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...but alientating them because they are not familiar with the complexities of human sexuality.

Thanks echidna for saying what I was trying to say in a much more understandable way.

Following the comment about commas, "whether you think you might be asexual, or know you are not....." could be simplified to "whether or not you think you might be asexual....".

Sorry, but I really like the original version. It has a bit of flair and keeps the paragraph from sounding too dry.

Edit:

Mmm, if we work on how people ask questions I would change to graph order to the following:

What is asexuality

Is asexuality the same as abstinance or celibacy?

What causes asexuality?

So we introduce the main idea, show how it relates to more familiar concepts (and so help the process of understanding) and then give a little more information.

Can asexual people fall in love?

What do asexual relationships look like?

How does asexuality relate to other identities?

Then we explain to them that, yes, asexuals are still human and that we have hearts, emotions and needs. Then we tell them how we would like those relationships to be in order to pre-empt all the usual questions about asexual relationships. Then we give more information about asexual orientation.

Why does awareness of asexuality matter?

I would leave this at the end. It would look out of place anywhere else.

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Can you give me some citations? /interested/ I know nothing about celibacy/abstinence (and their associations with spirituality) in Muslim, Sub-Saharan African, and Vaishnavan cultures.

Well, not scholarly citations, as I'm not a sociologist, but a good starting place might be http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginity#Religion or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celibacy both of which have further citations.

Not sure if it's always conflated with "spirituality" as such, but it's certainly widely associated with virtue, at least before you're married.

I never said it was "randomly made up", it's been around for a very long time in Christianity. By "we", I assume you mean Christians, of which you are one?

Yes. And sorry about the "randomly made up" comment, that wasn't really fair of me.

Anyway, this has nothing to do with the pamphlets really, so... *is quiet now*

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Omnes et Nihil
It's my turn to pick nits.

Are we doing British or American spellings? I noticed behaviour, fulfil, recognise. The only one that bothers me is fulfil, it looks like a typo without the second L.

As is, the pamphlet is written in standard British, which calls for one "l" in fulfil. Standard American would call for two.

If the "fulfil" looks wrong to the Americans, we can go with standard Canadian which calls for two "l"'s in fulfill, but which would keep the British folks happy with the "u" in behaviour. And in Standard Canadian, the s/z is negociable in words like recognise. I personally prefer the "s". And that would be less to change.

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It's my turn to pick nits.

Are we doing British or American spellings? I noticed behaviour, fulfil, recognise. The only one that bothers me is fulfil, it looks like a typo without the second L.

As is, the pamphlet is written in standard British, which calls for one "l" in fulfil. Standard American would call for two.

If the "fulfil" looks wrong to the Americans, we can go with standard Canadian which calls for two "l"'s in fulfill, but which would keep the British folks happy with the "u" in behaviour. And in Standard Canadian, the s/z is negociable in words like recognise. I personally prefer the "s". And that would be less to change.

The pamphlets are being distributed by a group started in the States, so while I'm partial to the British/Canadian spelling of things, I think we should go with the Americanized spelling... It makes more sense that way, I find, especially since these pamphlets are going to be going world-wide, so people will know the originated where AVEN started...

I've been really booked up all weekend, but I'll try and be on tonight or tomorrow night to make changes and re-upload...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just wondering how things are going. You were so nearly there it would be a shame if this went back into hibernation. Especially if it was resurrected in a few months and then had to be discussed all over again because another batch of people were giving their input. Some leaflets need to be printed! (but, yes I know everyone has a lot to do so I'm not criticising!)

Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

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Yikes, I totally thought I posted the new versions up!

In any case, here they are: http://www.take-flight.net/pictures/AVEN-p...lets-inside.jpg

- Changed all spelling to the Americanized versions of the words.

- Ran each paragraph through spell check.

- Reordered the paragraphs.

- Further edited gender identity and relationships sections (Fixed the intense spacing...)

- Got nit-picky with commas.

Is it safe to call these "done" yet?

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Three extremely minor things:

First, this sentence:

"Like all other sexual orientations, the causes of asexuality are still unknown."

Something about it bugs me. The reflection isn't reflecting or something. I think that if you replace "like" with "as with" then it would work better grammatically. It would become:

"As with all other sexual orientations, the causes of asexuality are still unknown."

Second:

"Physical intimacy may be either important or minimal ..."

I would switch the order to "... may either be important or minimal ..."

Third:

I think the ending of this sentence is a little bit redundant since the term "gender" is in it three times. (This is REALLY getting nit picky!)

"Asexuals can also have any gender identity and may identify as male, female, transgender, androgynous, or otherwise gendered."

It could simply end with "or otherwise."

Otherwise, (I'm redundant, too.:wink:) I think it looks okay.

-GB

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I agree with GBRD's comments.

Great progress, Cole! Thanks for all of your hard work.

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Awesome, Cole! Now, I don't mean to split hairs, but would it be possible to put the two sides in the same location, like on two consecutive pages? That might make it easier for people to print. If not, it's no biggie.

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Hmm, well I'm assuming that these are being hosted separately for demo purposes, and that these links are not their final homes...

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I was going to wait until we said FINALE! to them, then I was going to stick them on a PDF, in a grey scale version as well for at-home printing... They also need to be printed on legal size paper, because otherwise folded pamphlets are too narrow and would look out of place among other pamphlets. Standard legal is 8.5 x 14 inches (215.9 × 355.6 mm for you Canadians/Brits!)

I'll send them off to DJ, get some say in from him, then... How 'bout calling this project done?

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Omnes et Nihil
Third:

I think the ending of this sentence is a little bit redundant since the term "gender" is in it three times. (This is REALLY getting nit picky!)

"Asexuals can also have any gender identity and may identify as male, female, transgender, androgynous, or otherwise gendered."

It could simply end with "or otherwise."

Otherwise, (I'm redundant, too.:wink:) I think it looks okay.

-GB

I think gramatically, the sentence can't end in "otherwise" because "may identify as otherwise" doesn't make any sense. I think the sentence does need the "gendered" on the end of that.

[i can understand taking out the other ones for simplicity sake-- it does change the meaning, but not very much.]

Anyway, thanks Coleslaw for all your work on this. I think we've arrived.

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It still bothers me when I read it out loud.

Saying "any other gender" is slightly redundant, but not offensively so, and that would work.

In order of statistical probability, it would be:

"Asexuals can also have any gender identity, and may identify as female, male, androgynous, transgendered, or any other variation."

Like I said, it's an extremely minor point.

I can readily accept it the way it is.

-GB

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Edited that.

Tonight I'll reformat to fit 8.5 x 14, send them off to DJ, get 'em finalized, and ask about where to go from here.

I'll post up a grey scale version as soon as they're finalized in the Wiki and PT forum with a stick. I'll also make an announcement.

*Plops down in corner and sleeps*

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*gives Coleslaw a pillow and a blanket*

funny-pictures-exhausted-cat-alphabetized-cds.jpg

Ya done good!

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Omnes et Nihil
*Plops down in corner and sleeps*

Thank you so much for all the work you've put into this. It's very much appreciated. Sincerely. Awesomeness all around!

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Wonderful! Now we just need them in an easy-to-find location and everyone can start using them (assuming DJ's happy).

Would it be a good idea to lock the various old threads discussing leaflets and directing people towards this latest one?

Thanks again.

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Okay, everyone! They are DONE! I have reformatted them to fit legal paper and DJ has made his edits.

*Official FINISHED! stamp stamp staaamp*

Colour PDF: http://www.asexuality.org/docs/AVEN%20pamphlets.pdf

Grey scale PDF: http://www.asexuality.org/docs/AVEN%20pamphlets%20gs.pdf

We're going to have to vote in the PT forum about printing issues, so I direct anyone who cares to this thread: http://www.asexuality.org/discussion/viewt...p=810775#810775

Thanks, everyone, for your help!

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THANK YOU COLE! The pamphlets are fab and so are you! I'm so psyched to distribute these! :D

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Coley-Coleslaw is an angel!!!!! *sends :cake: and :vis: to her cloud*

THANK YOU!! I'll get a bunch printed up for Douglas College, strike one!

A very big thank you to everyone who has worked on these. :cake: :vis: :cake: :vis: :cake: :vis: :D

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Thank you, guys, and thank you everyone who gave feedback, and Kez, who wrote the original draft of the content... This was a really good example of what a collaboration should look like, and I'm just happy I could help out!

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VivreEstEsperer

I have to admit the pamphlet looks great and is probably my favorite incarnation so far - the way it is laid out especially - but I am curious why people feel like they have to reinvent the wheel and keep designing new pamphlets when the information about asexuality has not changed in the five years we've been doing this :)

Seems like it woild be simpler to stay with the old ones. That said, I do like the stylistic changes of the new one. And I think it's great that you guys are still doing this.

Kate

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I have to admit the pamphlet looks great and is probably my favorite incarnation so far - the way it is laid out especially - but I am curious why people feel like they have to reinvent the wheel and keep designing new pamphlets when the information about asexuality has not changed in the five years we've been doing this :)

Seems like it woild be simpler to stay with the old ones. That said, I do like the stylistic changes of the new one. And I think it's great that you guys are still doing this.

Kate

The information on the old pamphlets was not as professional as we'd like it, nor as informative. The changes made were far from stylistic in nature; that was an element that got changed, but it wasn't the basis for change.

I have an old copy of the pamphlets here, and I'll be honest with you, it is not something I would want to leave in my school's counselling centre. It looks like an ad for a discussion group, not an informational pamphlet on asexuality as a sexual orientation. Five years ago, this pamphlet was good for the job it was required to do. Now, it's outdated, and the new version better outlines the main points of asexuality for someone who wants to learn a bit about it.

Cole

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