Black Rings

[mayve]

I'm new to the asexual community, what is the symbolism of a black ring?

http://www.asexuality.org/wiki/index.php?title=Black_rings

:)

[ScorchedEarth]

It would definitely be a nice little thing to own. Black is a very nice color for a ring IMO, and even though I'm not technically an Asexual, it wouldn't hurt to show my subtle support :)

[Perkins]

I don't own one and I never plan on owning one.

Why should I draw attention to my orientation through jewellery?

[paper_head]

I didn't even know about it before I stumbled upon this thread, so I answered no to all question, but I actually like the idea of it. So: maybe.

[Benjfcarter]

I have a nice one with butterflies on it, and I wear it so often that I get really stressed out if I have to take it offf for too long. I just feel way more confident in it, like I'm not hiding myself about who I am, even though I don't expect anyone to know what it actually means. I get asked about it often enough, though, so I suppose i's not too bad as a visibility thing. And I have another nice one from AlGoth with a rose on it, for special occasions.

[piratedeb]

I am undecided, probabaly not. I am not really a jewelry wearer, and because of my job, 95% of the time I dont even wear my wedding rings.
Right now on my weekend I am experimenting with the obviousness of a black mini hair band thats the right size. It is a nice secret code to spot out other aces though :)

[Ace of Swords]

I had one, and I wore it on the correct finger but I lost weight and it doesn't fit me anymore. My son hijacked it and wears it on the correct finger. :)

[flesh-pocket]

i like the idea of the rings, but im not really the type to wear rings on my fingers, so i dont see myself getting one. i often think that if i ever get married i'd wear the ring on a chain around my neck!

[LaMaestra]

I don't own one and don't plan on getting one. And that, my friends, is that.

[the bumbling rotifer]

Got one today from the british heart foundation charity shop for £1. It's actually three twisted hematite rings that you wear together.

EDIT: they were sold new, so should be available in other BHF stores, but they were half price, suggesting they won't have them for long.

[House of Chimeras]

Own a black ring and wear in on my middle finger, but not because of asexuality. I had a black ring and was wearing it on my middle finger before I knew about asexuality or AVEN.

I wear it as it was found and given to me on my first ever camping trip by some camping friends at the time.

The ring now also meaning asexuality is more or less a side thing for me, and its not why I have grown to wear it everyday.

[Elnae]

Yes, I have a black tungsten carbide Lord of the Rings ring and I wear it every day.

Last month I also had the Ace flag colours tattooed on the same finger which are just nicely hidden under my black ring.

I don't wear it for visibility at all, that's not what it's about for me. I would be flabbergasted if anyone actually commented on it, I don't notice jewellery on anybody else, so I wouldn't expect anyone to notice mine either.

I wear it because it is a visual reminder of how much my life has changed since I found Aven and reminds me of the Ace friends I've made. Plus the added bonus of being able to look at it and smile to myself whenever someone is quizzing me about my single status or flirting with me. It's like a secret "SCREW YOU!". Oh and let's not forget it's on the middle finger, so if I felt the need to flip the bird at somebody bugging me, it's like flipping the Ace bird, double whammy!! ^_^

[Vivaldi Ives]

I bought a plain black ring last year and promptly lost it the first day I wore it. I didn't really like it, though; I'd rather wear something more decorative, like an ace of hearts necklace or something with asexual colors. I really love meaningful, yet understated jewelry, but don't wear any jewelry very often.

[Bakeneko]

My first black ring has been broken. But now I have a second one and I wear it on my right middle finger.

[ani laurel]

I have had a ring for a while now and some people comment on it but it is really there for me and to affirm my identity. Some people don;t need a physical reminder but I like to attach reminders to objects since it strengthens them for me. I find I have also gotten very much used to the weight and feel strange when I remove it. I am a student and write mostly so I don't find it encumbering at all.

[Anhamirak]

I would like to do the whole wearing-a-black-ring thing. Not particularly as a way to proclaim anything to other people, but just as a reminder to myself that I belong to a group of people with whom I share a perspective. It's the same principle as me wearing this necklace I have that has a cross charm on it. And after feeling alone because of my sexuality for so long, it would be nice to have a physical sign that the very thing which once set me apart is now the thing that connects me to a whole new community. If that's not really your thing, no big deal, but for those of us who are perhaps more sentimental about such things, it can be very comforting.

[Jarle]

I got one a few weeks back, and I wear it pretty much constantly. Before then, I never used to wear any type of jewelry or accessories, but no-one seems to notice it. Like others have said, I wear it as a reminder to myself that I'm not alone, but also that even if I was, that I'm strong enough to be able to follow the type of lifestyle that I want, rather than what society says I should want.

It's some type of ceramic, and reflects pretty much every light source it finds - I think there's something philosophical in that, about finding a light in the darkness.

[jebadesu]

Like others have said, I wear it as a reminder to myself that I'm not alone, but also that even if I was, that I'm strong enough to be able to follow the type of lifestyle that I want, rather than what society says I should want.

You worded it perfectly. I currently don't own one, but I'd love to get a ring someday for those exact reasons :)

[Appello]

I wear the black ring. It is the way of being open about myself for me. It gives me warm and fuzzy feeling and I like seeing it on my hand. I actually own two black rings. One of them is more feminine and I wear it with dresses. Both are made from steel (stainless and surgical).

[Schrecken]

I don't and probably won't, but my reasons are more practical. I'm getting arthritis in my hands and often times, I will find that I want to wear a ring or two when I go out, but find that some days they will fit and some days not. And the other thing is the kind of work I do - I am always exposing my hands to paints, chemicals (or I'm putting gloves on all the time to avoid stuff and rings can be really annoying when you are wearing gloves) and just rough treatment - I handle sand paper, tools and other things that would ding and crap up pretty much any kind of hand jewelry pretty quickly.

[Queer As Cat]

*copies and pastes*

personally, i don't bother with wearing a black ring... partially because i already wear various silver rings and don't really want another and partially because i see black rings being far too common a thing for it to be a reliable indicator of anything. i'd much rather wear other accessories with the colors of the asexual flag, such as my ace pride bracelet. if someone who is aware of asexuality spots that, i think there will be little question as to what it means, which wouldn't be the case with a black ring.

[Waist of Thyme]

I don't have a black ring, but I want one.

[A Taste of Harmony]

I don't have one.

Not planning on getting one because my tolerance level to wearing ring is just few hours maximum. :p

Also I don't enjoy black colour. :D

[Garin]

I finally managed to track down a black ceramic ring in my size on ebay for a reasonable price and wear it on right middle finger and as others have mentioned it does serve as a nice reminder that one is not alone, there are others here.

One thing I've noticed is that it reflects a lot of light appearing almost silver/hematite at times/angles, can anyone recommend some typical band materials that give a plain matte black look regardless of lighting? does that even exist?

black tungsten carbide or black titanium might do it but I'm not keen on shelling out $225+ for one

[The Crispy Mushroom]

I'm not a jewelry wearer but I do have a back ring! However, I haven't been wearing it as much recently -- mostly out of laziness, and a little because I don't want questions from the super-conservatives I'm usually around nowadays...

[OfTheGood]

I don't have a ring I had one but it was a little annoying and I lost it. Now I have a necklace that says my name, Ace and the date I accepted my asexuality. It is not for any visibility or pride purpose, it's just a little part of me out in the open; I am usually so quite and in my own world.

[Cyfyndyfy]

I was actually on amazon yesterday at uni browsing for black rings. I'm still iff-y on black rings but I got curious. After googling asexual black rings and finding nothing, I realized there is no specific type of black ring and all/any black rings will work. That makes things easier and complicated at the same time?? Easier because I could pick and choose whichever ring I want but complicated because black rings can be open to interpretation. I found some really nice black Tungsten rings but don't know if I actually want them... I normally don't wear jewelry because I get lazy, forget to, or find them bothersome. =P I would like to wear a black ring to remind myself that I finally "found" who I am and understand myself more but at the same time I don't know if I actually would wear a black ring. I guess those black rings will stay in my "wishlist" lol

[Uranium]

I don't have a black ring. I've been casually looking but haven't found a decent one yet. I do have a very pretty ornate ring in the shape of a rose, but it's huge and kind of annoying to wear...

[Garin]

As far as finding each other it occurs to me that maybe we should just skip ahead to the asexual version of "grindr" (an app used to locate physically nearby homosexuals, except of course ours wouldn't be used to seek out any sexual hookups) although not all of us have or want cellphones/cell phone plans.

In the meantime yeah the ring seems mostly for one's self with the benefit of possibly (albeit I suspect very unlikely) helping another ace spot you

[Jarle]

After googling asexual black rings and finding nothing, I realized there is no specific type of black ring and all/any black rings will work. That makes things easier and complicated at the same time?? Easier because I could pick and choose whichever ring I want but complicated because black rings can be open to interpretation.

I actually love this part! Some people at meetups have some beautiful rings!