Jump to content

Aphobia?


Hexpiral

Recommended Posts

See, I worte some AVEN latrinalia (graffitti) in several of my university's toilets (which are quite the anouncement system, intensively used by the gay community for personals), playing with some of the T-shirt slogans. Some days ago I noticed someone had replied to one of my scribblings with "Imbecile". In a fit of queerness I accused him of "aphobia", but then I realised my mistake. Not necessarily a political mistake, but the obvious linguistic error in my usage of the word "aphobia", which would mean "absence of fear". Essentially, I said exactly the opposite of what I intended (though he might never know that).

Any ideas about it? Any other useful word? Am I just ridiculous?

Link to post
Share on other sites

I do that, actually...although to date it's just been the AVEN logo with "asexuality.org" underneath it. The slogans sound like fun, though.

And the way I look at it...if some guy can write "PENIS" on my desk, then I can talk about my orientation on the bathroom stalls.

Link to post
Share on other sites
False Keraptis

There should certainly be a word for bigotry against the asexual, but aphobia may not be it. Of course, etymologically, homophobia should mean fear of men/people or maybe fear of sameness.

Maybe if you hyphenate it? A-phobia? I'd rather not go down the -phobia route, just because it assumes that hate is always caused by fear, but right now I don't have anything better to offer.

Link to post
Share on other sites
virginangelic

i don't really care what it's called. just get it a name so that i can finally call those people in school by that. yes, they have a phobia against asexuality...especially those who are also homophobes...sometimes i just wished i could make them understand but most of the time, i just tell them to shut up or i walk away.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Agreed there should be a word for it.

What that word should I don't know.....

Link to post
Share on other sites

agreed, agreed. although i think agree with perhaps not going down the route of 'phobia' as no one i've encountered is actually afraid of asexuals so much as ignorant and/or has his/her head shoved too far up his/her ass to see another perspective...

people should be afraid of asexuals, though. without thinking of sex, think of the time we have to think of other devious things... :wink:

Link to post
Share on other sites
shotinthedark

I should start doing that over those stupid Zoom Media advertisements they have in the stalls at my university. I mean, it's the most privacy you get all day and you look up and there's an ad for a car. Do they honestly think the average university student can afford a brand new car? It's so invasive and annoying. Yes, I think that's what I'll do.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Phobia is no longer the same as "the fear of ______". Now it is more like "an aversion to ______". However, it is most commonly used in regard to irrational fears.

Take xenophobia for example: a xenophobe doesn't always fear foreigners, s/he just really doesn't like them.

So if there is an a___phobia word which represents the aversion to asexuals or that orientation, I think it would be acceptable.

Link to post
Share on other sites
CorruptDictatorNumber2

Someonewhoselifeactuallyisn'truledbytheirhormonesophobia.

Hmm, maybe that's a little long.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm thinking along the lines of heterosexism. However, homo-'s, bi-'s, etc can partake in disliking/hating/fearing/misunderstanding/whatever asexuals, so it would need to be more inclusive. But I like CD#2's idea... by the time they can decipher what you said, you can be gone :P

Link to post
Share on other sites
Some days ago I noticed someone had replied to one of my scribblings with "Imbecile". In a fit of queerness I accused him of "aphobia"... Any ideas about it? Any other useful word? Am I just ridiculous?

Hexpiral, I admire your subversive graffiti action! You've inspired me to carry a thick felt-tip pen with me when I go out into the public domain.

I'd have had another take on the "imbecile" intervention. I'd have replied something like - "a sexual imbecile reacts to this message" - or the like.

As for a word for people who express incomprehension etc against asexuality, I think we'd have to invent or find, then promote a word other than "asexual" for this to work in a snappy way like : Lesbophobe - transphobe - xenophobe... Asexualphobe is way to cumbersome, and Aphobe might not mean much to people who haven't even heard of asexuality and its acronym A.

Perhaps attachements or linguistic permutations other than "phobia" could bear fruit : (just an idea)

An aphobe could also be a : Libidocrat. sexuopath. cupidophile

Or be suffering from : Coolitis. musthavesexomania...

Well ok, my ideas of the early hours ideas need substantial tweeking, but I do suggest a quasi-latin/greek/psycho epithet for the diversophobic, asexually-challenged in our society.

This is a good brain teaser! thanks, Hex!

Link to post
Share on other sites

My first choice is:

Aerotophobia- the "A" prefix implies absence e.g. amoral,

"eroto" as in sexual e.g. autoeroticism is masturbation, phobia implies

fear. Someone with aerotophobia would be an aerotophobe.

Other choices are:

Aphallophobia- Fear of having no penis implies fear of having no sex.

Vestaphobe-fear of being or becoming a virgin. Vestaphobic

Vesta is the goddess for which you have vestal virigns.

Related Terms:

Satyromania-Mania for sex. Satyr, a mythical symbol of lust.

Satyromaniac. Or Faunomania

Satyrodementia-lack of mental function caused by excessive emphasis on sex. Or Nymphodementia.

Satyrostupidity or Nymphostupidity

Satyro-idiot or Nympho-idiot.

Link to post
Share on other sites
TheBlueGreenie

I might be out of place here but what kind of response were you expecting from something written on a toilet stall? To be honest, "Imbecile" is a relatively tame retort from other things I have read on bathroom walls. Correct me if I am mistaken but are you having a disagreement with someone you have never met and probably will never speak to and whose only line of communication with you is writing on a bathroom stall?

But it is curious ... if there isn't a word that describes fear of asexuality then there should be maybe we can create our own and have it accepted by dictionary companies.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Someonewhoselifeactuallyisn'truledbytheirhormonesophobia.

lol. :D thanks dictator I found this amazingly funny for some reason.

Link to post
Share on other sites
"Imbecile" is a relatively tame retort from other things I have read on bathroom walls.

The guy actually worte "pelotudo", but there is no correct translation into english.

Correct me if I am mistaken but are you having a disagreement with someone you have never met and probably will never speak to and whose only line of communication with you is writing on a bathroom stall?

Of course. But stalls are great for this kind of things. Today I saw a vacant ad in a McDonald's bathroom, saying that 8 out of 10 people need to read something while defecating/urinating.

Hexpiral, I admire your subversive graffiti action! You've inspired me to carry a thick felt-tip pen with me when I go out into the public domain.

Well, I wrote an essay on graffitti last year (and a damn good one). Stalls are ours, dammit! Gimme back my privacy!

I think a bunch of Apollo's words are interesting. Aerotophobia is good, as is vestaphobia.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Aerotophobia- the "A" prefix implies absence e.g. amoral,

"eroto" as in sexual e.g. autoeroticism is masturbation, phobia implies

fear. Someone with aerotophobia would be an aerotophobe.

Or you could say Anerotophobia, since "an" means the same as "a" and it is the proper prefix for a word that starts with a vowel.

Link to post
Share on other sites
biggreenmonkey

I like Vestaphobe. Maybe it's just my inner mythology geek :D Or Hestiaphobe

Link to post
Share on other sites
slatterly

We could always just go with 'nymphomaniac', which (I think) is the medically accepted term for someone obsessed with sex. I think it sounds nice and sophisticated enough to use as an insult.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Onceburned

sexophobia is fear of the opposite sex, so asexophobia probably doesn't work.... its a double negative.

How about genophobia - the fear of sex? We could use...

agenophobia - the fear of no sex

Link to post
Share on other sites
virginangelic
Aerotophobia- the "A" prefix implies absence e.g. amoral,

"eroto" as in sexual e.g. autoeroticism is masturbation, phobia implies

fear. Someone with aerotophobia would be an aerotophobe.

Or you could say Anerotophobia, since "an" means the same as "a" and it is the proper prefix for a word that starts with a vowel.

i like it!

Link to post
Share on other sites
Islander9

Friends, this is all going the wrong way:

a) messages in toilets are almost always

*insulting

*sexual in nature

*extremely temporary-

there's the few witty ones but-

why not either

-leave the AVEN logo imprinted somewhere or

-Asexualty RULZ OK? -

in loo culture here, that makes sense-

Link to post
Share on other sites
PostPosted: Mon May 02 2005 5:35 am Post subject:

Friends, this is all going the wrong way:

a) messages in toilets are almost always

*insulting

*sexual in nature

*extremely temporary-

We've got quite intellectual stalls here...well, not really.

But I think they make for a good publicity outlet. In any case, my question was actually inspired by the writing, but not about the message itself.

there's the few witty ones but-

why not either

-leave the AVEN logo imprinted somewhere or

-Asexualty RULZ OK? -

in loo culture here, that makes sense-

Done both. Actually, not the second one, but the T-shirt slogans have almost the same effect.

Link to post
Share on other sites
shotinthedark

You never know, someone might make a post on the "Finding this site" thread that says "a toilet stall in Argentina".

Link to post
Share on other sites
You never know, someone might make a post on the "Finding this site" thread that says "a toilet stall in Argentina".

In the Social Sciences Faculty of UBA! ROFLMAO!

Link to post
Share on other sites
You never know, someone might make a post on the "Finding this site" thread that says "a toilet stall in Argentina".

*chokes*

*gigglefit*

Link to post
Share on other sites
You never know, someone might make a post on the "Finding this site" thread that says "a toilet stall in Argentina".

:lol:

Maybe we should all start scrawling the address in toliet stalls across the globe!

Link to post
Share on other sites
Maybe we should all start scrawling the address in toliet stalls across the globe!

Well, it wouldn't hurt. Maybe it would not bring lots of people, but if we get the attention of a single journalist it's more than productive, IMO.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...