Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

Ace by Angela Chen

7 reviews

enybub's review against another edition

I felt there wasn't much sensitivity with the writing, it really needed content warnings. One second it would be describing the love of friendships and the next it would be describing a literal murder scene. 

It gave me a bad impression with discussing "male asexuality" at the forefront of the book. At one point the author said something like, "Not to be an incel apologist.." which I believe she would not have to say if she wasn't being an incel apologist 😅 (she was) 

I was disappointed with this because it was reccomended to me a lot. It is not all bad, just kind of all over the place, which happened to be a lot of bad places. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia, Dysphoria, Murder, and Sexual content

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.

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.

zombiezami's review

emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book was very well done. The author masterfully explains basic concepts while avoiding getting stuck in the 101 area. She raises some great questions that don't all get answered but that are important for a wide range of people to ponder. I learned so much from this.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia and Sexual content

Moderate: Ableism, Transphobia, Rape, Gaslighting, Sexism, Racism, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Bullying, and Chronic illness

Minor: Dementia, Dysphoria, Cursing, and Infidelity

Forced sterilization

pastelkerstin's review

informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

[For context: I'm asexual and somewhere on the aromantic spectrum. This is an ownvoice review.]

This book fills a previous gap of non-fiction about asexuality that goes beyond mere Asexuality 101 (definition of asexuality, busting of common misconceptions) but that is still accessible to a broader audience. It has deservedly become the go-to rec for people looking for non-fiction books about asexuality.

In terms of non-fiction about asexuality, I've previously read Ace and Proud: An Asexual Anthology, which is mostly made up of ace people talking about their personal experiences, and it's fine for what it is, but as an anthology, it doesn't have an overarching structure. And then there was also Sex or Ice cream?: Secrets of an Asexual; Asexuality in a Sexed Up World—A Thought-Provoking and Comically Quirky Memoir, a memoir I strongly disliked for several reasons (see my review of it for details). Another non-fiction book about asexuality that I have started to read (and intend on finishing) is the more academic Asexual Erotics: Intimate Readings of Compulsory Sexuality. But ACE is different from all of those books and if you are a) not ace but want to learn more about asexuality and how it relates to other topics, b) questioning whether you are ace, or c) are ace and are tired of Asexuality 101 explanations, I'd say read ACE. It's a good introduction to asexuality if you need that but it also has so much more in store. I've known I'm asexual for over eight years. I'm not interested in basic definitions anymore. I'm interested in intersectionality and politics and the complexity of human relationships. I'm interested in analyses of how being a-spec in a world where you are assumed to be attracted to people romantically and sexually shapes your life. And ACE delivers just that.

Chen manages to cover quite a lot of ground in the pages of this books, talking about toxic masculinity, feminism, race, disability, compulsory sexuality, the pathologization of low/no sexual attraction, hermeneutical injustice, relationships, marriage law, consent and more, and how those topics relate to asexual people but also to many non-aces. A lot of the things ace activists fight for are things that would also benefit other people, who do not identify as a-spec, because ace activism often gets to the core of societal problems. I believe you will get something out of this book even if you're not ace for that reason as well.

Also, it should be noted that despite the title, the author also talks about aromanticism. She interviewed not only aroace but also aromantic allosexual people. Most of the book is more concerned with asexuality, so the branding makes sense, but there is a-spec content beyond and seperate from asexuality in here, which I think is great because aromanticism is often overlooked.

I really enjoyed my time with this book and I hope that we'll see even more good non-fiction about a-spec themes in the future. A lot of the topics that Chen mentions are so big and interesting that they could probably fill a whole book on their own. I think the topic of how asexuality intersects with gender roles and gender identity would be a great book, for example. Books like Chen's make me optimistic about the future of a-spec activism and literature!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Medical trauma, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, and Misogyny

Minor: Bullying, Dysphoria, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Murder, Death, and Death of parent

rini's review against another edition

challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia and Ableism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Rape, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Dysphoria