Review of Ace and Proud

Ace and Proud: An Asexual Anthology. Edited by A.K. Andrews (2015)

My Rating: 4 of 5 stars

you know yourself better than anyone else knows you, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. – An Asexual Teen by Kaya Brown

Lots of people say labels are a bad thing, but when you think you’re the only one feeling a certain way and you can fit a label to yourself, it means there are others like you. It means you’re not alone. - When I Grow Up by Shannon Brown

Reading Ace and Proud was for me a passion read, I identify as asexual but had never read many perspectives on it. But I found that so many of the stories were reflective of my own experience, or at least to a degree. What intrigued me was the role of Tumblr in the process, so many of the writers first found mention of asexuality on Tumblr.

The stories in Ace and Proud vary in style and length. Some are better than others. I found the ones by the more mature writers were a bit better articulated, but all will be valuable and speak to different people. Finding Grace (the gray-ace sex life of a Gen X-er) by Betty Badinbed and Copper Weddings by Martin Spangsbro-Pedersen were probably my favourites. The dedication to ace with a list negative feelings is beautiful and welcome, it very much set the tone of the book. But the pie analogy to describe asexuality is possibly one of the better things I’ve read in a while. Pie in place of sex it’s accurate. I think this is a great book for people just discovering asexuality either as a part of themselves or as a learning tool.

I want to make it clear this is the first anthology of asexual stories I have read but I can clearly see how they could become very samey. Another issue raised in reviews of Ace and Proud is a late twenty-something felt old reading it. I didn’t but I can see how they would feel this. Many of the stories in this anthology are from people under 30 to me that is a very good thing, young people need to know they are not alone, they are the members of our society that are potentially the most vulnerable. Certainly, during my formative years asexuality was never mentioned, and it is easy to see how one could feel broken when the sex is necessary, everyone wants it, needs it refrain is shoved at them. There are stories from others though, the oldest is possibly in their 40s, I’m not sure, age is fairly irrelevant in the context of the book. While asexual as a term was first recorded in the 1800s (as a biological term, "asexual," n.d.) it is still invisible in society, the rise of the internet has likely led to more people identifying as asexual, due to the increase in access to information.

If a library organisation truly wants to read and be inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community providing books on asexuality, demi-sexuality, pansexuality (and their romantic equivalents) is necessary. It only needs to be one or two for each, but they do need to be included. Ace and Proud or another anthology of experiences is a good starting point and while all participants identify as asexual their romantic orientation differs as do their ages, medical backgrounds, races and geographic locations.

My reading experience in a gif:

 

Crossposted from Goodreads

References

Ace & Proud cover. (2015, August 13). Purple Cake Press. [Image File]. Retrieved from https://purplecakepress.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/ace-proud-cover-tiny-cute-spade-lowered.jpg

Andrews, A. K. (Ed.). (2015). Ace and proud: An asexual anthology [Kindle]. Retrieved from: https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B013TSTLH2/ref=oh_aui_d_detailpage_o00_?ie=UTF8&psc=1

asexual. (n.d.). In Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved May 11, 2018, from http://www.dictionary.com/browse/asexual?s=t

Bustle. (n.d.). Pride asexual flag. Giphy. [Image File]. Retrieved from https://giphy.com/gifs/bustle-lgbtqa-asexual-flag-BrNiAk3eXfD4Q

McPherson, C. (2018, May 11). Catherine McP's review of Ace and Proud: An Asexual Anthology. Goodreads. [Goodreads Review]. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2388274252

octopussoir. (2013, March 20). Normal Sarah Polley. tumblr. [Image File]. Retrieved from http://octopussoir-.tumblr.com/post/45843938229