What's Queer About Zines and Asexuality? A Personal and Political Exploration

ABOUT

In this presentation, the presenter will use their lived experience and independent historical research into asexuality as it was understood in queer DIY print media from 1950 to the present day to illustrate to the impact of inclusion and representation (or lack thereof) of lesser-known identities in queer spaces.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Recognize the existence of asexual people and asexual identity in historical and contemporary queer DIY print media and activism.
Identify parallels between the development of asexual community spaces and other LGBTQ+ community spaces.
Question how modern queer community spaces and historical preservation projects can better include and recognize the presence of asexual and other less-centered queer identities.

Olivia Patricia Montoya (She/They)

Connect with Olivia:

Meet the Presenter:

Olivia Montoya (she/they) is a millennial queer, non binary, biromantic arospec asexual creative and DIY community archivist/activist from Northwest CT, USA.

They are a game designer (analog and digital), larper and larpwright, zinester, AuDHD, chronic illness haver, chronic project starter, DIY event organizer, digital artist, hobbyist programmer, writer, asexual activist, queer history nerd, hoarder of books and zines, comics enjoyer, game jammer, Stanford dropout and graphic designer. Olivia has been active in asexual spaces since 2011 and has spent more than 10 years documenting the history of asexuality in DIY print media through the Ace Zine Archive and other independent research. Olivia has also run the Ace Jam game jam for 9 years and the Aro Jam game jam for 7 years.

They run the Zines and Zinesters Discord server and the Queer Exchange Connecticut Facebook group, as well as other smaller online communities. Olivia has spoken about zines, queerness, and queer zines at a variety of conferences, libraries, and other spaces, including the 2019 WorldPride Ace & Aro Conference in New York City and remotely for the Queerness and Games Conference 2020. Find more about her at https://metaparadox.itch.io/ and https://www.OliviaMontoya.com/

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I learned more from this conference than I did from most of my grad school classes. As a queer nonbinary provider working with primarily queer and gender nonconforming folks, it is so important to hear from others who share these identities in how to best support and affirm my clients. I also really appreciated the letter writing training as it has allowed me to help so many clients access affirming care. I look forward to attending this upcoming year and continuing to listen and learn!

Every presenter was amazing and brought a wealth of information and experience to each session. I continue to use what I learned in the conference and in Van’s other trainings as a jumping off point to do my own self work and to better support my clients and the community. I've gotten so much out of previous conferences and I can't wait to attend this year's!

Attending this conference was a game-changer for me. It took me from being informed to embracing an affirming lens and practice, and I couldn't be more grateful for the experience. If you're looking to level up your understanding and support of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, trust me, the Do Something Identity(ies) conference is where it's at. You won't regret it!

As a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and addiction specialist, I was blown away by the quality of content and selection offered during the conference. The robust selection of top-notch presenters was impressive and the topics covered a wide array of timely and relevant material. I would strongly encourage anyone working in any helping profession to attend this conference if at all possible. It is exactly this kind of content and presentation that is needed in order for us to heal ourselves and those around us.