For asexual folks, it means that ace and A-spec identity is often defined by a queerness that's not queer enough, seen through a lens of perceived lack: lack of pleasure, connection, joy, maturity, and even humanity.
And it impacts the most marginalized among us. It's intertwined with our ideas about capitalism, race, gender, and queerness. The notion that everyone wants sex-and that we all have to have it-is false. Image: Background vector created by – readers of Ace and Belly of the Beast A Black queer feminist exploration of asexuality-and an incisive interrogation of the sex-obsessed culture that invisibilizes and ignores asexual and A-spec identity.Įverything you know about sex and asexuality is (probably) wrong. Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture by Sherronda J.Minimizing Marriage: Morality, Marriage, and the Law by Elizabeth Brake.Chen argues, through a fantastic blend of nuanced and clear-eyed reporting, research, and personal reflection, that true liberation requires the dismantling of compulsory sexuality.” So yeah, this book is great. And while queer sex is indeed liberating for allosexuals (or those that do experience sexual attraction), so is the ability not to have sex. Even in the queer community, though we hate to be oversexualized by the straights, we often sexualize ourselves and each other. Compulsory sexuality posits that sex is a primal human need, ties sex to maturity, and places sex in relationship hierarchies.
This episode is more about what asexuality says about our societies.Īnd as I’m notoriously crap at explaining why I like the books I like, I am going to read a paragraph written by Sarah Neilson for which summarizes really well why Chen’s book matters: “The crux of society’s difficulty with accepting asexuality is, Chen argues, because compulsory sexuality is ingrained in societal narratives about mental and physical health, politics and liberation, and interpersonal relationships. There are loads of asexuals who do explain what it means, Angela Chen’s book including. Feel free to look up the basics if you want. The Fire These Times is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor, Breaker, Amazon Music, Audible, Stitcher, Radio Public, Pocket Casts, Castro and RSS. This is a conversation with Angela Chen, author of the book ‘ Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex‘.
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