Romance-Ambivalent

Romance-ambivalent, or romance-conflicted, is a romance stance that describes an individual who has mixed or complicated feelings regarding the act or concept of romantic interaction. The term is commonly used by aromantic spectrum individuals, but is not exclusive to this community or romantic orientation.

Romance-ambivalent individuals do not fit neatly into the basic romance stance categories of romance-favorable, romance-indifferent, or romance-repulsed. This can be for any number of reasons. Common romance-ambivalent experiences include the following:


 * One’s feelings towards romantic interaction change or fluctuate over time (romance-oscillating).
 * One’s feelings towards romantic interaction are different depending on the situation or involved individuals. For example, one may feel romance-repulsed normally, but feel romance-favorable only when in a relationship with a partner who is romantically attracted to them.
 * One’s feelings towards romantic interaction are different depending on the specific romantic acts. For example one may feel repulsed by the idea of affectionate speech, but feel favorable towards other forms of romantic interaction.
 * One’s feelings towards romantic interaction are confusing or unidentifiable. For example, one may struggle to tell if they are romance-favorable or if their desires for romance are caused by the internalized thought that an individual “should” want to have a romantic relationship.

History
This term has existed within the aromantic community with no clear first coining for many years. The term was recoined for the purpose of providing a concrete source by AnonymousHermitCrab on the subreddit r/asexuality on April 27th, 2022.