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A review by yourbookishbff
Ace: What Asexuality Reveals about Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This is a comprehensive and accessible introduction to asexual and aromantic identities, particularly for allosexual folks (Chen does indicate that this is a primary goal in framing the text). I appreciated how steadily Chen built a foundation for the reader, exploring first what asexuality and aromanticism are not and how our culture understands (and misunderstands) desire vs. attraction before exploring how race, gender identity and more intersect to create different individual experiences (and additional cultural barriers to acceptance). Chen writes of her own experience while also weaving in interviews with a diverse group of aces to help the reader understand the spectrum of asexual and aromantic experience.
I am particularly grateful for Chen's reflection on compulsory sexuality and amatonormativity (a new term for me - the belief that everyone desires romantic and/or sexual relationships). She breaks down media in ways I hadn't previously considered and provides new insight into what a more inclusive world for aces might look like, where nonromantic partnerships have access to legal protections traditionally afforded only to romantic partnerships, where popular media explores the vast spectrum of human attraction while not assuming romantic arcs are necessary, where asexuality becomes so understood and acceptable that young folks better understand themselves at earlier ages, where aces aren't immediately medicalized by therapists, physicians, friends and family as somehow "wrong" or "broken."
I highly recommend Ace to any nonfiction reader interested in learning more about asexuality - this is a fantastic introduction to the topic with takeaways relevant to all of us, regardless of our sexual orientation.
I am particularly grateful for Chen's reflection on compulsory sexuality and amatonormativity (a new term for me - the belief that everyone desires romantic and/or sexual relationships). She breaks down media in ways I hadn't previously considered and provides new insight into what a more inclusive world for aces might look like, where nonromantic partnerships have access to legal protections traditionally afforded only to romantic partnerships, where popular media explores the vast spectrum of human attraction while not assuming romantic arcs are necessary, where asexuality becomes so understood and acceptable that young folks better understand themselves at earlier ages, where aces aren't immediately medicalized by therapists, physicians, friends and family as somehow "wrong" or "broken."
I highly recommend Ace to any nonfiction reader interested in learning more about asexuality - this is a fantastic introduction to the topic with takeaways relevant to all of us, regardless of our sexual orientation.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexism, Racism, Sexual content, and Pregnancy