Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Ace by Angela Chen

23 reviews

_alias_ali's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring medium-paced

3.75

overall i'm glad i read this book. i learned a bunch of new things about asexuality, aces, and myself (i'm allo). i especially liked the chapter about sex-positivity in contemporary feminism. her perspective on feeling like a 'real feminist' needing to be very sexual (ly liberated) was new and important to me. i also appreciated the look at the intersectionality of asexuality.
some things i stumbled upon/found problematic were:
- the author reproducing harmful virginity narratives and not once questioning them while she questions so many other sexual narratives in this book about questioning societal sexual narratives?? 
- her very badly chosen examples of _passionate non-sexual relationships_ that had some unnecessary connection to MURDER?? very unlucky choices and one didn't even have anything to do with asexuality. (especially since she does criticize the harmful typecasting of aces as heartless sociopaths but then partakes in it as well tho implicitly?)
-the book imtroduces many many names of people and i got them mixed up easily. their experiences are thrown in at random places in the text when i had already forgotten about their introduction

anyway, i still really did enjoy this read and took a lot away from it, and be it the need for further exploration and discussion of socially constructed narratives of sexuality and relationships.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia

Moderate: Murder, Ableism, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual violence

celestepaed's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

The beginning of the book was a little hard to get through because it was a lot of information I already knew but I feel like I’m walking away from this book with a better understanding of myself. There’s a special kind of security that comes from validation and that’s exactly what this book gifted me. One of the better parts of this book is that it’s perfect for if you’re already ace identifying or someone who is looking to better understand their relationship to sex or to better understand the meaning of asexuality with no prior knowledge on the subject.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia

Minor: Rape, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Ableism, Sexism, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

samchase112's review against another edition

hopeful informative fast-paced

4.5

Part cultural analysis, part introduction to asexuality and aromanticism, this is a well-written, well-researched exploration of sexuality in modern culture — mixed with experiences of people who identify as asexual. I knew this would be a fascinating, eye-opening read, and it lived up to those expectations. I hope this book continues to reach more people and educate, because this is an aspect of our culture that — as this book illustrates so clearly — needs to be understood on a wider scale.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Deportation, Sexism, Rape, Death, Murder, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: Religious bigotry, Terminal illness, Medical content, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Transphobia

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

It took me a really long time to finish this, partially because I took a long break. It’s pretty dense, and several chapters covered some emotionally turbulent topics I wasn’t prepared to feel right then. Overall an excellent read and many interesting insights. I related to a lot of what was said and filled my copy with sticky tabs marking that and other content. A few times I felt this went off course or reached odd conclusions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Ableism, Abandonment, Body shaming, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Sexism, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Aphobia

suzannasbookshelf's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Acephobia/Arophobia, Rape, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Outing

cris_is_in_crisis's review

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.75

A book dealing with asexuality, its meaning and all that derives from it told from the perspective of actual ace people. An intriguing lense in a world that is too often forgotten in the vast ocean of civil and LGBTQ+ rights (so much so that the book states that some people in the LGBTQ+ community don't even recognise aces or aros as their own sexualities).

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Biphobia, Body shaming, Classism, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

All the trigger warnings are dealt in a way as to explain why they are wrong, if so, and minimise the impact that they could have on a reader.

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

angela chen's ace is an informative, revelatory book on asexuality and its implications for society, though it's not as earth-shattering as i thought it'd be.

while the book can be repetitive at times, it affirms many of my own previous conjectures, reiterates the existence and importance of a variety of identities, and definitively offers a new and ace perspective thru which to see and exist in a hetero- and amatonormative world, in turn offering possibilities and hope for a society that values non-sexual relationships more, though reality def has a lot to catch up to.

overall im glad to have come across and read this book - esp since it's very intersectional - learn from it, and hope to go back for another more thorough read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia, Toxic relationship, Ableism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Lesbophobia, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, and Homophobia

julianh's review against another edition

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Misogyny, Rape, and Sexual violence

siebensommer's review

challenging informative slow-paced

4.0

No one remarks on the fact that if anyone needs to make up an identity to get out of having sex, that is the bigger problem.
It is a failure of society if anyone needs to say “I have a partner" to turn someone down, and it is a failure of society if anyone needs to invoke a sexual orientation to avoid unwanted sex because saying no doesn't do the job.

a worthy read that makes you think and feel. i found this still put a major focus on a supremacy of relationships between two people over a kinship-oriented approach, at least up until the final chapter - kinda disappointing because the space for a general new view of worthy relationships would have been right there 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Dysphoria, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Sexual content

takarakei's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

4.5

I highly recommend this book to everyone, especially those in the LGBTQIA+ community and allies. This is a fascinating examination of our wider (mostly American) culture, and how sex obsessed it is. As someone who is alo (not ace), there was so much I gained from listening. I really enjoyed the intersectionality of acephobia and homophobia, racism, ableism, transphobia - basically the oppression of all marginalized groups. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Sexual content, and Acephobia/Arophobia

Moderate: Rape, Racism, Transphobia, Sexism, Dysphoria, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Misogyny

sexual content: discussed in generally fairly clinical terms, but as this book deals with sex in society it is the main topic of the book.