rotswap's review against another edition
5.0
I have a degree in gender and sexuality studies and I'm also on the ace spectrum. And yet this book exposed me to concepts and perspectives I've never encountered anywhere else. I had never heard the term "compulsory sexuality" or engaged with such robust writing about asexuality. Sherronda J. Brown's work is truly groundbreaking.
This book was intellectually engaging and challenging. It made me reexamine a lot of things and validated the complicated thoughts and feelings I've always had around sex. It was affirming and healing to read about asexuality from a person who is ace themselves and who can so skillfully and lovingly argue their theories and perspectives.
This book was intellectually engaging and challenging. It made me reexamine a lot of things and validated the complicated thoughts and feelings I've always had around sex. It was affirming and healing to read about asexuality from a person who is ace themselves and who can so skillfully and lovingly argue their theories and perspectives.
lanid's review against another edition
informative
reflective
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Racism, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
kebbymoxie's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
5.0
One of the best books I've read covering a number of topics about or in relation to asexuality
shaysbookshelf's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
doraeina's review against another edition
great content but it requires more focus than i have atm 🩷
leweylibrarian's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
slow-paced
4.5
I'm really glad I read Ace by Angela Chen before this one just because this one was much drier and more academic. That took me out of it and the experience a bit, especially because the author is writing about such big parts of their identity but not really addressing their own experiences of those identifies much. I'm not at all saying this makes the book worse by any means, just that it would've made me feel more invested in it and see even more connections to myself than I did.
That being said, a lot did still resonate with me, and I saw myself in a lot of parts. But by far the most valuable part of this book is how it connects asexuality and compulsive sexuality in our society and cultures is connected to all of the other massive, systemic issues of our world, including white supremacy, cisgender, patriarchy, heteronormative, colonialism, etc. I had never made this connection, but the more this book spelled it out, he more undeniable it became. This also went a long way in reassuring me that asexuality is a queer identity and that it belongs in the LGBTQIA+ acronym and larger culture and world. I'm not a fake queer for having this identity. It's weirdly comforting to know that this part of my identity, especially when paired with my childfree identity, are so terrifying to the "normal" culture. *Punches fist into air triumphantly* All of this made the dryness well worth it.
That being said, a lot did still resonate with me, and I saw myself in a lot of parts. But by far the most valuable part of this book is how it connects asexuality and compulsive sexuality in our society and cultures is connected to all of the other massive, systemic issues of our world, including white supremacy, cisgender, patriarchy, heteronormative, colonialism, etc. I had never made this connection, but the more this book spelled it out, he more undeniable it became. This also went a long way in reassuring me that asexuality is a queer identity and that it belongs in the LGBTQIA+ acronym and larger culture and world. I'm not a fake queer for having this identity. It's weirdly comforting to know that this part of my identity, especially when paired with my childfree identity, are so terrifying to the "normal" culture. *Punches fist into air triumphantly* All of this made the dryness well worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia, Gaslighting, and Homophobia
Moderate: Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry