In this series, we interview a variety of Disabled Aces with diverse backgrounds in honor of #DisabledAceDay and in conjunction with Ace Week.

Emphasizing a diversity of disabled opinions is a priority for our Disabled Ace Day initiative, and the invisible disability experience is a vital one, yet sadly, it is often overlooked. In this interview, we are joined by Adam Myers from Mayrland who tells us of some of his personal struggles with mental disabilities and what that means for his asexual identity.  

Please introduce yourself! How do you identify in terms of asexuality, disability, passions, professions, or anything else you’d like to share with us? 

Hi, I’m Adam. I’m a touch-favorable, sex-averse heteroromantic asexual with adhd, chronic depression, chronic anxiety and autism. I’m a storyteller, and I tell those stories through writing, acting, singing and dabbling in much, much more. 

I’m a gentle giant, and I care deeply about friends and family as well as social justice and making the world a kinder, gentler place. I’m also a budding entrepreneur, a dedicated student at Goddard College and a newly minted twitch streamer with a focus on the under-appreciated, undervalued and under-represented niche of non-violent games.

How do your asexual and disabled identities interact with one another and what unique challenges have you faced while living at this intersection? 

My mental disabilities have made being asexual far harder. While I won’t invalidate any physical disabilities as I can’t know their struggles, having the actual invisible (and often unprovable) illnesses often accused of being linked to asexuality as well as the feelings of brokenness, insecurity, imposter syndrome and being somehow "abnormal" that many people with autism, chronic depression or chronic anxiety often suffer from (I have all three) while actually being asexual creates a multifaceted feedback loop of a struggle that can easily be claimed isn’t real. 

Being a heteroromantic asexual with part of my love language being physical touch doesn’t help ease the struggle for validity of my existence either, as it can often make me feel like I’m too close to straight to be part of the asexual or queer communities but not straight enough to belong with the straights either.

Have you personally experienced any ableism from within the asexual or other LGBTQ2IA+ communities?

A little bit, online. I’ve gotten lucky there for the most part.

Have you personally experienced any acephobia from the disability community?

Yes. An unfortunate amount.

What advice do you have for folks who wish to become better allies to disabled aces?

As someone with mental disabilities, I definitely think I have to talk about the so-called "invisibility". I get how difficult it is to wrap your mind around something you can’t prove the existence of, but we really need you to listen more than you speak. 

Shameless self-promotion time! Do you have a business, project, artwork, or other content we should know about? Give us those links!

Twitch channel: asm5129

I’m also a member of the DC Creators Network:  

and I have a YouTube channel for my various projects: