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Reviews tagging 'Ableism'
Ace: What Asexuality Reveals about Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen
55 reviews
jostro's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Ableism, and Racism
butlerebecca's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
Minor: Racism
cris_is_in_crisis's review against another edition
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).
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.divine529's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I really enjoyed this and I'm glad I read it and at the time I did.
Essentially this book is a deep dive and overview into Asexuality, but it's done from a journalistic point of view and explores many different facets of the community - sexuality, gender, race, disability, different types of relationships, age...it's absolutely fantastic. That's not to say everyone's experiences are like that in the book because we're all going to be different, but it covers a wide range and for that I think it's an incredible book.
Chen's research and knowledge add an extra layer to it as well, so it's part memoir, part community outreach, so it's own voices as well.
Regardless of how you identify (or don't identify), I'd recommend this. It's definitely a book I can see myself revisiting, and I'm just so glad something like this exists.
Essentially this book is a deep dive and overview into Asexuality, but it's done from a journalistic point of view and explores many different facets of the community - sexuality, gender, race, disability, different types of relationships, age...it's absolutely fantastic. That's not to say everyone's experiences are like that in the book because we're all going to be different, but it covers a wide range and for that I think it's an incredible book.
Chen's research and knowledge add an extra layer to it as well, so it's part memoir, part community outreach, so it's own voices as well.
Regardless of how you identify (or don't identify), I'd recommend this. It's definitely a book I can see myself revisiting, and I'm just so glad something like this exists.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Sexual content, Rape, Acephobia/Arophobia, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Minor: Racial slurs
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia, Toxic relationship, Ableism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, and Homophobia
oh_bother's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
I am so grateful this book exists. Whether you are questioning your sexuality, want to learn more about the ace experience, or just want to question and learn more about your views on sex in general this is a fantastic book. Having words for my experience as an ace person is so valuable. I left this book feeling accepted and less alone.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Rape, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Racism
ashylibrarian's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Sexual content, and Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Racism
displacedcactus's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
This book is a good introduction to asexuality. It covers a lot of topics, including but not limited to:
-What asexuality is and what it's like to be asexual
-The history of asexual communities on the internet
-The intersections of asexuality and gender, race, or disability
-Aromanticism
-How some couples handle an ace/allosexual relationship
-Compulsive heteronormativity, sexuality, and romance in Western culture
The author is pretty clear at the beginning about the limits of her book, and at the end she provides some ideas for further reading. There are also extensive notes for each chapter.
My only real complaint about the book is that it could have used another editing pass. There are some typos and sentences that are either missing words or have extra words, requiring 2-3 rereadings to figure out what the author actually meant.
Over all, this would be a good place to start if you're either considering whether you might be ace, if you want to better understand asexual loved ones, or if you'd like to consider ace/aro characters in your writing projects.
-What asexuality is and what it's like to be asexual
-The history of asexual communities on the internet
-The intersections of asexuality and gender, race, or disability
-Aromanticism
-How some couples handle an ace/allosexual relationship
-Compulsive heteronormativity, sexuality, and romance in Western culture
The author is pretty clear at the beginning about the limits of her book, and at the end she provides some ideas for further reading. There are also extensive notes for each chapter.
My only real complaint about the book is that it could have used another editing pass. There are some typos and sentences that are either missing words or have extra words, requiring 2-3 rereadings to figure out what the author actually meant.
Over all, this would be a good place to start if you're either considering whether you might be ace, if you want to better understand asexual loved ones, or if you'd like to consider ace/aro characters in your writing projects.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Racism
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
All of the -"isms" are discussed as things that people interviewed for the book have experienced, rather than being reflected in the author's opinions or anything like that. Likewise, the discussions of sex and SA are in the framing of asexual people's experiences and are presented in a non-sensationalized way as you would expect from a nonfiction work like this.siebensommer's review against another edition
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
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.
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.