I can’t help but help but feel that claiming aces don’t belong in the lgbtq+ community contributes to asexual erasure and aphobia. It implies that asexuals are straight, which is just incorrect. We aren’t straight, straight people feel sexual attraction to the opposite sex, we don’t feel it for anyone, we aren’t straight. It doesn’t matter if you’re heteroromantc or not, if you’re ace, you are not straight.
Hetero people don’t respect us (I don’t mean like, individual hetero folks. I’m sure you’re lovely), and when we’re denied a community with other queer people, well, it’s not long before no one will acknowledge our existence. Denying us doesn’t make us stop existing, it just makes life a thousand times harder for ace people
Aces are valid, important members of our community. Always have been, always will be