Our Plan
For our project, we set up book displays at three different schools fort he purpose of promoting awareness for asexuality and aromanticism.
The books we choose for the displays all focused on asexuality and/or aromanticism, but were diverse in their form: some were fiction/fantasy novels (such as Guardian of the Dead and Sherlock Holmes), while others were non-fiction, fact-focused books (such as Boston Marriages: Romantic but Asexual Relationships Among Contemporary Lesbians). The schools we partnered with were Austin High School, Murchison Middle School, and Lanier High School.
The books we choose for the displays all focused on asexuality and/or aromanticism, but were diverse in their form: some were fiction/fantasy novels (such as Guardian of the Dead and Sherlock Holmes), while others were non-fiction, fact-focused books (such as Boston Marriages: Romantic but Asexual Relationships Among Contemporary Lesbians). The schools we partnered with were Austin High School, Murchison Middle School, and Lanier High School.
After deciding that our project would focus on books, we created a list of about ten books that dealt with asexuality and/or aromanticism in some form or fashion. While creating this list, we tried to pick a variety of different books (fantasty, non-fiction, mystery, etc), so as to appeal to a wider audience. However, this process got a bit difficult at times, as it was hard to find a comprehensive list of books that focused or even mentioned asexuality and/or aromanticism, and even harder to confirm that the book did indeed deal with asexuality and/or aromanticism. After creating the list, since we were doing a display, we created two posters, one for asexual awareness and one for aromantic awareness (because we wanted people to see asexuality and aromanticism as two separate identities), as posters are good ways to bring attention to a display.
In addition, we also created info slips to go into the books when they aren't in the displays, and instruction sheets for the librarians so they know when and how to set up the displays in years to come. In addition, we also sold buttons to promote asexuality and aromanticism. The main purpose of this sale was not to raise money (as the libraries were able to order books with their budget), but to raise awareness. The money received from this sale went to the libraries as thanks for their support.
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Unfortunately, due to it being the end of the school year, we were only able to actually set up a display at Austin High, which is set up in the glass cases outside the library (these books were not available for check-out at this time because they were brand new, and thus hadn't been recorded into the library or laminated). In the other two libraries, since most of the books were beginning to be pack up and people were no longer able to check out books, we simply gave the librarians all of the necessary supplies (the posters, the slips, etc), so they would be able to set up the display in the coming years.
Impact
While our project was not large in scope, we feel as if we achieved our main goal: to raise awareness. Every aspect of this project has been geared towards raising awareness for asexuality and aromanticism: the website, the fundraising, the displays, etc. Books are durable goods, so the librarians of the libraries we partnered with should be able to set up the displays for many years to come. And with each new year, new students will arrive to the school, and see the display and learn of the concept of asexuality and aromanticism. So while it does not have a large reach, it is long-lasting and achieves it's main goal. After all, the first step to acceptance is first raising awareness.