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A review by neonpomegranate
Ace: What Asexuality Reveals about Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen
informative
slow-paced
1.0
This topic needs and deserves a well written and thoughtful book, but this isn't it. The author doesn't understand that books are maps, especially this type of book that's trying to be a resource. Books are maps in the sense that they point to previous writers, activists, and thinkers, and curious readers will follow those trails, read those works. Unfortunately, this book uncritically creates a map to huge numbers of disgusting terfs. There is no question in my mind that the existence of this book is going to lead to more people becoming horrifying transphobes. I'm sure the author didn't mean to do that, but nonetheless that's what this is. It was extremely painful to read uncritical and often flattering references to the most infamous terfs of the past.
The author also undermines her own points constantly - for example she says aromantics are often seen as unfeeling and dangerous, and yet in the same chapter she muses that some famous murderers must have been aromantic. What?!? The book is full of harmful and bafflingly illogical collections of thoughts that create meanings that seem to be outside of the author’s stated intent over and over. This writer seems to lack any ability to imagine how a narrative or idea is built.
I just looked this author up and saw she's a science journalist and I'm shocked. This is not the writing of someone who thinks systematically or knows how to write at all. This book maybe could have been ok if it had a rigorous editor, which I hear basically no longer exists as a standard part of publishing.
My friend who asked me to read this is ace and trans, as am I. They loved feeling seen in the book. They’re also extremely naive and lack critical reading skills - something I’ve seen up close many times. They are exactly who I’m scared this book will harm in self-hating, shameful, long term ways.
Ace is unreadably bad. The ace community deserves a much better book than this ghastly, transphobic thing.
The author also undermines her own points constantly - for example she says aromantics are often seen as unfeeling and dangerous, and yet in the same chapter she muses that some famous murderers must have been aromantic. What?!? The book is full of harmful and bafflingly illogical collections of thoughts that create meanings that seem to be outside of the author’s stated intent over and over. This writer seems to lack any ability to imagine how a narrative or idea is built.
I just looked this author up and saw she's a science journalist and I'm shocked. This is not the writing of someone who thinks systematically or knows how to write at all. This book maybe could have been ok if it had a rigorous editor, which I hear basically no longer exists as a standard part of publishing.
My friend who asked me to read this is ace and trans, as am I. They loved feeling seen in the book. They’re also extremely naive and lack critical reading skills - something I’ve seen up close many times. They are exactly who I’m scared this book will harm in self-hating, shameful, long term ways.
Ace is unreadably bad. The ace community deserves a much better book than this ghastly, transphobic thing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Transphobia
Transphobic through and through