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meganmilks's review
5.0
I co-edited this -- out in March! Multidisciplinary, groundbreaking volume -- the first booklength volume of essays on asexualities ever published.
schomj's review
4.0
As is always the case with an edited anthology like this, some sections worked better for me than others. (And some chapters I skipped entirely.) I'm going to focus on the parts that I particularly enjoyed.
Chapter 2 Inhibition, lack of excitation, or suppression: fMRI pilot of asexuality by Nicole Prause and Carla Harenski
Chapter 4 ties with Chapter 13 as my favorite.
Chapter 4 - Radical identity politics: asexuality and contemporary articulations of identity by Erica Chu explores how aromantic/asexual (ace) identities can support radical pluralism, because their existence raises questions about the relationship between sexuality and romantic attraction.
Chapter 5 - Student growth: Asexual politics and the rhetoric of sexual liberation by Megan Milks includes my favorite new term: sex neutral, which signals respecting someone's desire to engage in consensual sex -- or not -- in whichever way they choose.
Chapter 13 - Asexuality and disability: mutual negation in Adams v. Rice and new directions for coalition building by Kristina Gupta explores how the disability rights and asexuality awareness communities set themselves at odds with each other for historical reasons (people with disabilities viewed as asexual without their input, people who identify as asexual viewed as damaged/disabled without their input). This puts those people who are both disabled and asexual, happy to be both, in a difficult place, not recognized by either already marginalized community.
The one downside I noticed was that sometimes I got the sense that some of the authors weren't fully cognizant of the differences between asexual, aromantic, and agender. From the introduction it was clear that the editors are aware that those are different things, so I'm not sure what was going on there.
Chapter 2 Inhibition, lack of excitation, or suppression: fMRI pilot of asexuality by Nicole Prause and Carla Harenski
"These diagnostic tools not only build on the idea that having a sexuality and experiencing sexual desire is non-contestable, they also presuppose the existence of a healthy sexuality. Hence those individuals whose sexualities, or absence thereof, do not fit into a scientific model of sexual normalcy appear in psychiatric frameworks as disordered and pathological."
Chapter 4 ties with Chapter 13 as my favorite.
Chapter 4 - Radical identity politics: asexuality and contemporary articulations of identity by Erica Chu explores how aromantic/asexual (ace) identities can support radical pluralism, because their existence raises questions about the relationship between sexuality and romantic attraction.
Chapter 5 - Student growth: Asexual politics and the rhetoric of sexual liberation by Megan Milks includes my favorite new term: sex neutral, which signals respecting someone's desire to engage in consensual sex -- or not -- in whichever way they choose.
Chapter 13 - Asexuality and disability: mutual negation in Adams v. Rice and new directions for coalition building by Kristina Gupta explores how the disability rights and asexuality awareness communities set themselves at odds with each other for historical reasons (people with disabilities viewed as asexual without their input, people who identify as asexual viewed as damaged/disabled without their input). This puts those people who are both disabled and asexual, happy to be both, in a difficult place, not recognized by either already marginalized community.
The one downside I noticed was that sometimes I got the sense that some of the authors weren't fully cognizant of the differences between asexual, aromantic, and agender. From the introduction it was clear that the editors are aware that those are different things, so I'm not sure what was going on there.
diadaily's review
Really like this notion of "compulsory sexuality" and what that means for "sex-positive" feminism. Just sayin.
Other fascinating, vital lines of inquiry into how asexuality intersects with race and/or disability (or doesn't, as the case may be re: mutual negation) and essays featuring critical media readings (in particular LOVED Andrew Grossman discussing the asexual nature of (the great silent) cinematic clowns).
I've seen this book pop up before, so I finally picked this up to inform my next reading project ASEXUAL EROTICS, as the author has an essay in this collection. I'm lazy, but I do my homework on occasion.
Other fascinating, vital lines of inquiry into how asexuality intersects with race and/or disability (or doesn't, as the case may be re: mutual negation) and essays featuring critical media readings (in particular LOVED Andrew Grossman discussing the asexual nature of (the great silent) cinematic clowns).
I've seen this book pop up before, so I finally picked this up to inform my next reading project ASEXUAL EROTICS, as the author has an essay in this collection. I'm lazy, but I do my homework on occasion.
ssohn's review
5.0
I would give this groundbreaking editorial collection SIX stars if I could. Bravo!
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