Ace What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex

Wow. It's such a powerful book that is a bit difficult to read because there are so many different people in it and at the same time it feels really researcher-like because of the style of writing. It is powerful because it contains so many problems of the society that seem quite different in an ace perspective and it is really great to read it as a ace person and to feel worshipped, understood and seen. But at the same time it's also great for people that aren't ace because it spreads awareness and helps people to understand the society we live in better - no matter of what sexuality you are, it does help - and it takes away some pressure that comes from society. Because of this I will recommend it and am really thankful for its existence.

A lot of people assume that asexuality is a myth and not real which is wrong. It is a valid sexual orientation. This book dives deeply into the topic and explains what it is from basics to showing the diffrence between ace-people and how they express themselfs. It shows how it impacts our socity and the way we act around our peers. I found it a very interessting readthrough and encourage everyone to read up on it whether you identify as ace or not.

Die Autorin bietet durch die Interviews verschiedene Lebensrealitäten asexueller Menschen, wodurch ersichtlich wird, dass Asexualität für asexuelle Personen anders aussieht. Auch wird durch den Input der verschiedenen Perspektiven deutlich, dass das Thema divers betrachtet werden sollte, damit jede Person ihren Platz in der Community finden kann. Interessant ist zusätzlich, dass hier Themen wie u.a. gesellschaftliche Skripte oder eine Zentrierung auf Partner*innenschaften angesprochen werden. Die besprochenen Thema sind nicht nur für asexuelle Menschen hilfreich, sondern für alle Menschen sinnvoll zu reflektieren.

In times where LGBTQIA+ is finally more and more represented asexuality is still something a lot of people don't know about, don't understand or even think isn't real. That's why this book picked my interest even though I normally don't read non-fictional books. Only when looking at the world through the lens of asexual people (or aces) do you realize how often and how much everything is actually about sex. Because of what it means to be asexual in a world that's obsessed with sexual attraction this book covers so many situations and topics in which compulsory sexuality actually plays a (sometimes underlying) role I never thought about before. "It’s about society, and society’s rules and norms and expectations around sex, sexuality, and all forms of relationships." And because of that I totally agree that this book is not only meant for aces but for allos (people who do experience sexual attraction) too. It gives answers to questions allosexual people don't NEED or think about to ask which is kind of ironic. Angela Chen interviewed a lot of aces to share different stories such as the one about a woman who had blood tests done because she was convinced that "not wanting sex" was a sign of serious illness. Or the man who grew up in an evangelical household and after marriage realized, sex wasn't this wonderful thing everyone promised him to be. There are a whole bunch of questions represented aces ask themselves before they actually come across the term asexuality. Is it related to disabilities, cultural background, a reaction against stereotypes? "Ace" covers the meaning of sex in feminism and politics (which I was fascinated and shocked about), consent, compromise, what is considered "normal" in relationships and what is actually just statistically common and conditioned by society, what platonic love actually is (there's a whole chapter about aromantics too), what happens when asexuality is paired with stereotypes and other identities and how relationships between aces and allos work. It is a book that utilizes the history of asexuality to frame how our society functions. And Chen writes in a fluid and accessible way that makes it understandable for those who don't easily catch the meaning of identifiying as asexual. It left me thinking about a lot of things I never even considered thinking about. If you want to learn something knew I highly recommend giving this a go. Actually I recommend everyone to pick it up XD It's informative, educational and important.

Ich finde das Buch absolut anstrengend zum Lesen. Ich habs nichtmal fertig geschafft.. Die Geschichten der unterschiedlichen Menschen sind zwar interessant, jedoch mag ich die Schreibweise der Autorin nicht.