Empathize This Presents: Asexual. Not Broken.
Panel 1
Text: I’m a genderqueer asexual.
Panel 2
A middle-aged woman, sitting in a chair, hand raised dismissively. Another woman wearing glasses and a nurse’s uniform, looking skeptical.
Text: When I was young, my sexuality was dismissed.
Middle-Aged Woman: Oh, you’ll grow out of it.
Nurse: Self-diagnosis of a mental illness is tricky…
Panel 3
Text: I was either “confused” or “mentally ill.”
Panel 4
A car on the road, buildings behind it.
Text: No one took me seriously. But then I left my small rural town.
Panel 5
Text: A block in a big city.
Panel 6
The narrator, a genderqueer person with short brown hair, waving at two other people. All are smiling.
Text: I met other asexuals for the first time.
Panel 7
The narrator in closeup, smiling.
Text: I began to explore my identity more.
Panel 8
A heart on a black background.
Text: …And my romantic life went from non-existent… to scary.
Panel 9
The narrator, smiling. Behind them, and looking at them, a smiling man wearing glasses.
Panel 10
The narrator, turning to face the man, still smiling.
Text: My best friend told me he liked me.
Panel 11
The man, his hand extended. A speech bubble indicates a heart.
Panel 12
Three nondescript people – one woman and two men, over a banner that reads: “Assumptions about Asexuality!”
Nondescript woman: You can’t be in a relationship… Do you even care?
Man 1: How can you ever love him? You’re not attracted to him!
Man 2: He’s still sexual. You’re not. How is that going to work?
Panel 13
The narrator and the man with glasses, facing each other and smiling.
Narrator: And I’ll never find you attractive! I’ll always have trouble having sex… I’ll get bored when we kiss… And people will doubt your sexuality if they knew.
Panel 14
The narrator, still facing the man, looking concerned. The man is shrugging.
Man: …So?
Panel 15
The man, smiling, holding his hand out to the narrator, who is smiling.
Man: I like you for you.
Panel 16
The narrator and the man holding hands.
Text: And we’ve had a great relationship. I still have trouble getting over my fears, and my feelings of guilt for not being sexually attracted to him. I still get people saying that this relationship isn’t “real.” Or that we’re lying to each other. Society erases my identity as a valid possibility. But it isn’t hard to understand. Isn’t what I have what everyone wants?
Panel 17
The narrator, eyes closed and smiling, in a hugging embrace with the man.
Text: I’m ridiculously in love, and I don’t have to hide.
Panel 18
The narrator and the man on a park bench, smiling, legs crossed casually.
Man: Ha ha ha ha!
Text: I make stupid jokes and he listens.
Panel 19
The narrator reaching up to touch the man’s face. The man is holding the narrator around the waist. They are looking at each other intently and smiling.
Text: I am guarded, but with him I can laugh, cry, and know that he won’t use them against me. He’s never pressured me into doing anything I don’t want to. We love each other for who we are. We’re just a couple in love. Is that so hard to understand?
