Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture by Sherronda J. Brown

9 reviews

peggy_racham's review against another edition

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual harassment, Slavery, Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Outing, Forced institutionalization, Acephobia/Arophobia, Body shaming, Medical trauma, Addiction, Racism, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Hate crime, Rape, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia

cogowno's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective slow-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Racism, and Misogyny

workingdaley's review against another edition

challenging hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

I feel like this is a deeply important read for every queer person, especially Black asexuals. It's deeply important for us to be able to understand asexuality in general, as it's a very misunderstood orientation, but I feel it's especially important to understand asexuality through a Black lens. This book managed to not only speak to some of the thoughts about my asexuality as a Black person that I was only partially able to articulate before reading this, but also speaks a lot to my disconnect with gender and my disconnect with the "human experience" as someone who is Black, asexual, aromantic, agender, and autistic. It also manages to speak to my frustrations with the realization that I've fallen out of the chrononormative structure that's been set out for me. And while my hesitations around marriage and children were going to cause this for me eventually, having it happen so early in my life forces me to really reflect on why life is structured in the way that it is, and what it means for me and my future that I've decidedly fallen off of my pre-determined path. This book has also given me tools to help better navigate consent and trying to work towards a world where we can break free of the allonormative assumption that we should all be desiring sex, and the racist assumption that as a Black person, I am always consenting to sex by my mere existence. I cannot recommend this book to enough people. I really do think that our understanding of queerness is improved when we can acknowledge and analyze the Black asexual lens.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Racism

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexism, Fatphobia, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexual harassment, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Biphobia, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Hate crime, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Colonisation, and Transphobia

maddramaqueen's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Racism, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexism, Rape, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Body shaming, Homophobia, Slavery, Outing, Physical abuse, and Colonisation

Minor: Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Biphobia, Classism, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, Pandemic/Epidemic, Abortion, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Transphobia

jugglingcoder's review

challenging informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual assault

beals's review

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Misogyny, Mental illness, Rape, Xenophobia, Slavery, Sexual content, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Violence, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, and Genocide

mfrisk's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.0

This was an excellent read for those wanting to delve into the intersections of asexuality, race, gender, and a multitude of other identities which impact our lives and how we view ourselves and others. I highly recommend folks pick this up and use it as a pathway to keep learning. 

The only reason I’m knocking off a star is it can at times get to be hard to digest all the information as a vast number of topics are covered here and at times it feels more like a research paper than a book. However, I can only hope the author will continue to write and give more space to these topics in further depth. All the topics discussed are worthwhile but some could constitute their own books so it can be hard to absorb all we are learning. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Ableism, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Moderate: Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Domestic abuse, Transphobia, and Toxic relationship

literarycryptid's review

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Homophobia, Colonisation, Slavery, Sexual harassment, and Acephobia/Arophobia

mmccombs's review

informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

This was both a personal and scholarly exploration of not only asexuality, but human sexuality as a whole. This book covers compulsory heterosexuality, anti-Blackness and it’s intersections/similarities/differences with acephobia, how capitalism demands our sexuality to be “productive,” and how this harms us all. I felt that this book was very strong in the beginning, offering very compelling and thoughtful examinations on incredibly complex social structures. After about the halfway point, I began to feel like things started to slide out of focus. I thought the chapter on Octavia E. Butler and other possible ace ancestors was interesting but entirely out of place, it almost felt like it’s own thing. I guess I liked the more academic/ lit review aspect of this book, though I imagine others will be more drawn to the historical connections and stories! All in all I think this is essential reading that goes beyond “Ace 101” (which is largely white and geared towards allo folks). This book left me feeling a lot less lonely and much more valid in my asexuality in a way other works haven’t, and has challenged a lot of my own internalized white cisheteropatriarchal ideas about sexuality, so for that I will be forever grateful.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia and Racism

Moderate: Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexism