LOTO NEGRO

When Connection Stops Being a Label and Becomes an Architecture       For decades, the Western emotional imaginary has reduced human relationships to an apparently clear dichotomy: friendship or romance. Under this logic, emotional life is organized around a relatively stable narrative: desire leads to attraction, attraction leads to falling in love, and falling in love leads to partnership. Yet at the margins — and increasingly at the center as well — forms of connection are emerging that challenge this simplification. The asexual (ace) and aromantic (aro) spectrums not only question the cultural centrality of sexual and romantic desire, but also introduce a far more complex and philosophically intriguing possibility: that love may not be a single, unified category, but rather a shifting assemblage of intimacies, affinities, and forms of connection.   From this perspective, many human relationships no longer fit comfortably within traditional frameworks. There are e...

Between identity, experience, and necessity: asexuality facing the mirror of the queer umbrella. Is asexuality just another form of dissent within the LGBT spectrum, or a territory of its own that needs no shelter? This text explores an intimate experience shaped by confusion, trial and error, to propose an uncomfortable answer: perhaps belonging is not a matter of definition, but of personal usefulness.   I   An eternal debate with no answer… or perhaps we already know it, but don’t want to admit it.   In any case, I will try to share my personal view on the matter; a view that, I must admit, had been delayed for a long time, lying in wait in my mind, waiting for the right moment to reveal itself.   First of all, I want to make it clear that, regardless of my personal position, I have nothing for or against anyone in this regard. I believe everyone is free to label themselves as they wish, as long as the decision comes from serious reflection and, above all, if thos...

“Asexual orientation currently estimated to describe 1 percent of the population. Asexuality is usually defined as the experience of not being sexually attracted to others. Less commonly, it is defined as not valuing sex or sexual attraction enough to pursue it.”   —Julie Sondra Decker, The Invisible Orientation .   I   My experience was not pleasant, and I want to make that clear from the very beginning. Throughout my youth, I had to go through a number of unpleasant, painful, dark, and even unhealthy situations. To a large extent, these situations were related to my sexuality, but also to many other factors.   My intention is to recount what I experienced on an internal, individual level, primarily, so I will try not to speak about the other people involved in the story. Even so, I know this will be difficult. I ask only one thing of those who read these lines: understanding. This will be a partial truth, but no less true for that. I will speak about my feelings an...