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sarahtribble's review against another edition
5.0
When I say that this is essential reading, I do not say that lightly. Asexuality exists on a wide, highly fluid, and often misunderstood spectrum that defies succinct categorisation, but Angela Chen makes a valiant effort to explore the many intersections that comprise the asexual spectrum. Not every essay hit its mark for me, given that some of the topics in the broad expanse that Chen examined weren't relevant to my experience, but on the whole I found this book to be extraordinarily life-affirming and I truly believe that everyone, asexual or not, should consider reading it. It provides invaluable insight into not only the nuances of the asexual experience, but sexuality as a whole, how it controls us, and how much freer we can be if we choose to prioritise relationships and connections other than those of the sexual variety.
My favourite essay: Just Let Me Liberate You: An eye-opening analysis of how feminism and asexuality intersect, and how female sexual liberation has come to mean that women are free to have lots of sex — not that they are free to have as much sex as they choose.
My favourite excerpt from that chapter: "It seems that the message is 'we have liberated our sexuality, therefore we must now celebrate it and have as much sex as we want' [...] except 'as much sex as we want' is always lots of sex and not no sex, because then we are oppressed, or possibly repressed, and we're either not being true to our authentic selves, or we haven't discovered this crucial side of ourselves that is our sexuality in relation to other people, or we haven't grown up properly or awakened yet [...] There [is] 'little to no prominent affirmation of non-desire in sex positivity, and a lot of suggestions on how to 'fix' yourself'".
My favourite essay: Just Let Me Liberate You: An eye-opening analysis of how feminism and asexuality intersect, and how female sexual liberation has come to mean that women are free to have lots of sex — not that they are free to have as much sex as they choose.
My favourite excerpt from that chapter: "It seems that the message is 'we have liberated our sexuality, therefore we must now celebrate it and have as much sex as we want' [...] except 'as much sex as we want' is always lots of sex and not no sex, because then we are oppressed, or possibly repressed, and we're either not being true to our authentic selves, or we haven't discovered this crucial side of ourselves that is our sexuality in relation to other people, or we haven't grown up properly or awakened yet [...] There [is] 'little to no prominent affirmation of non-desire in sex positivity, and a lot of suggestions on how to 'fix' yourself'".
eversaurus's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
martisaksen's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
5.0
clownntownn's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Compulsory sex, intersectionality, language of lacking, spectrum of asexuality, consent language, visibility
jobarn's review against another edition
5.0
had me at the dedication. buying a copy for everyone i care about
jadeyen's review against another edition
4.25
An interesting *intro* on the topic of asexuality that takes it both as an orientation and as a lens— which I thought was a bold way of looking at it. It’s a lens to “queer” (and we’re talking small q) views on progressive feminism, consent, sexuality, relationships, intersectionality, culture, philosophy, romance, marriage. Weaving these all together and seeing how expanding the understanding of a/sexuality is a bold and effective lens to look at it, even as someone who is more familiar than the general public about asexuality.
To me, this leans a bit too much on personal anecdotes. Whether that may be due to lack of research/broader understanding or may just seem so due to the shorter page count is unclear but sometimes those and some of the logical jumps can be a bit difficult to follow as an introductory text. Not to discount the good research that is there! Interesting references stud the book from Nicki lyrics to anthropological to biological artifacts.
Ultimately to say, this is an expansive intro work and hoping to see enriched content as the fields grow.
To me, this leans a bit too much on personal anecdotes. Whether that may be due to lack of research/broader understanding or may just seem so due to the shorter page count is unclear but sometimes those and some of the logical jumps can be a bit difficult to follow as an introductory text. Not to discount the good research that is there! Interesting references stud the book from Nicki lyrics to anthropological to biological artifacts.
Ultimately to say, this is an expansive intro work and hoping to see enriched content as the fields grow.