Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex

„It is an opportunity to focus more on other passions, to be less distracted by sexuality, to break the scripts, to choose your own adventure and your own values.“ Ein wichtiger Beitrag den Angela Chen zum Thema Asexualität liefert. Aus meiner Sicht ein must-read, welches sich nicht nur mit dem Thema an sich beschäftigt, sondern auch Rollenbilder, Beziehungskonstellationen und den Status von Sexualität in der Gesellschaft kritisch hinterfragt.

[The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.] CN: mentions of aphobia, ableism and rape What I liked: • This book covers so many important topics – race, disabilities, dating, gender, trauma, rape… I think it’s a really good introduction to asexuality and its intersections. • I really liked how the author connected the different topics to her own experiences as an asexual person. • I love how diverse this book is! The author interviewed lots of people across the asexual spectrum, and their different backgrounds, opinions and experiences make the book very special. • My favorite chapter was the one about romance and dating. As an aroace person, it really resonated with me and made me feel more secure in my identity. What I didn’t like: • The structure of the book was a little confusing at first. I recommend this book to everyone, whether asexual or allosexual, who wants to learn more about asexuality!

Rtc 🧡

This opened eyes for me that I did not know had been closed xD Minus one star because it dragged in parts but it's a great book overall! This was the first book EVER that I annotated and put tabs in (I don't generally do that because I like to keep my books in pristine condition) but I read the following (eye-opening) sentence: For them, a word like "hot" could indicate a physical pull of the type Jane had described. For me, "hot" conveyed an admiration of excellent bone structure. (chapter 1, page 9) And I sat there in silence for a solid two minutes.

As someone who’s on a little journey to self discovery I found this book to be very eye-opening. There were so many scenarios where I saw myself. I particularly enjoyed the broad spectrum of themes Angela Chen managed to look into in just a few pages -the roles feminism and racism play for instance. I’m sure there is more literature that goes into greater detail, though this book might be a great start for everyone who’s either questioning or has someone in their life who’s on the ace spectrum. Not to forget the list of book recommendations at the end, which I’ll definitely look into! Angela Chen found ways to break this multifaceted topic down into easy to understand metaphors (“(…) it is possible to neither physically crave nor be disgusted by (…) crackers but still enjoy eating them as part of a cherished social ritual.”), helped me put my feelings into words (“Sex felt “forced and unnatural” -not forced as in nonconsensual (…). Not unnatural as in uncomfortable, but rather that it was unintuitive and he had to focus intently (…)”) and I’ll forever be grateful for all of these insights, that helped me understand myself a little bit more!

Chen führt ein in das Thema Asexualität und verknüpft dies mit Interviews verschiedener asexueller Menschen. Dabei beschäftigt sie sich mit verschiedenen Lebensbereichen: asexuelle People of Colour, Trans* Sein, Asexualität und Behinderung, … Auch für allosexuelle Menschen ist ihr Buch unglaublich spannend, kritisiert sie doch grundlegend unsere Stereotypen von Liebe, Verlangen und Beziehungen.

True sexual liberation means having many choices - no sex forever, sex three times a day, and everything in between - that all feel equally available and accepted, and that all can lead to happiness if they are right for you. I think parts of this book were well-written. I liked the fact that the author decided to address toxic masculinity, and that she included an intersectional approach by highlightning experiences of disabled aces and POCs. I also share her assumptation that marriage isn't as important as everyone makes it out to be, and the idea that marriage and its benefits shouldn't just be targeted towards people in a romantic relationship. I think it's very important that an author explores and highlights those experiences, and that she shows that world that there is more to the world than sex and romance. I cannot really put my finger on it, but something was off. I had to convince myself to read this book but it felt a little bit like a chore. I didn't really like the writing, which is shame because I agreed with a lot of her arguments. But my mind wandered whenever I read this book and the structure of it was a bit messy. I think this book would be a good starting point for people not familiar with sexuality and queer studies. For me personally, it was a little bit too dry.

Not ACE but def great book to learn more about the topic!

Please read this. Now.