Midway Check In: Being Ace: An Anthology of Queer, Trans, Femme, and Disabled Stories of Asexual Love and Connection
I can probably feel what you're feeling
If they can put a pulse into a spinach leaf
Can they turn the two of us into a tree?
You still have the spare key
I got vegan peanut butter chocolate ice cream
Sex with me is mediocre
But I can give you asexual wellbeing
Sex with me is mediocre
But I can probably feel what you're feeling
Asexual Wellbeing, Okay Kaya
Schedule
Kick-off:March 1, 2024Midway Check In:March 15, 2024Final Discussion: March 29, 2024 - 6PM PST 💜
You can RSVP for the Digital Hang here - This means you get an email with the link to join on the day of and gives me a good idea of how many folks to expect!
If you can’t make it to the digital hang, you can always use the comment section to leave your thoughts, reviews, and reflections at any time.
RepresentACEon*
Before I took it upon myself to learn more about asexuality I think some of the first characters that I knew as asexual was Todd Chavez from Bojack Horseman1 and Caduceus Clay from Critical Role’s The Mighty Nein. I’m sure I’ve run across more characters — especially in books, but if you were to ask me to name aro/ace characters these would be the first that would come to my mind. I wanted to know which ones I had overlooked.
I watched these videos from Rowan Ellis about asexual characters and it’s equal parts interesting, infuriating, and exciting to see how far we’ve come and how far we have to go in terms of diverse and intersectional asexual representation in media. Stereotypes and clichés abound but there are some strides being made. We still have a long way to go as Ellis says in the conclusion of her video:
“With only around two decades or so of asexual characters on screen, we're still very much in the early era of this representation. The chances that shows would kick the ball out of the park the first time were pretty slim, and we can see that in a lot of the examples in this video and beyond. Hopefully, as asexual representation continues its upward trajectory, we can get to a point where seeing asexual characters is more of a common occurrence, across all genres, to give us a chance to explore the diverse and differing experiences of asexuality that exist in the real world.”
It was great to see my beloved Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation mentioned, but saddened that they didn’t do better by him. Still, I discovered new characters and saw the hidden potential of other characters I hadn’t initially read as asexual (i.e. Sherlock, though now that I think of it that makes so much sense.) I thought you might want to check it out too so here are the videos. Let me know what you think!
Family Time
I have family in town this week and haven’t had much time to read (I hope that also explains the brevity of this post!) I’ll make sure to catch up this weekend, but in the meantime check out my wonderful friend
’s post on Instagram where she shares some thoughts and her favorite stories, which I find incredibly helpful. If you haven’t gotten around to reading and just want to jump in, these stories are probably some of the best!Trans Rights Readathon 🏳️⚧️
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The Trans Rights Readathon is in a week and I’m getting my TBR ready! For the uninitiated, The Trans Rights Readathon is an annual action call to readers in support of Trans Day of Visibility on March 31st.
One goal of the readathon is to uplift books written by and/or featuring trans, genderqueer, nonbinary, gender-nonconforming, and 2Spirit authors and characters. Participants are also encouraged to fundraise for trans aid organizations in their communities.
I participated last year and raised over $300 for Trans Lifeline with the help of friends, family, and book club members. This year I’d like to do it again. I’m working on my book list and deciding on the charity so stay tuned! In the meantime, make sure to follow the Trans Rights Readathon Instagram page and sign up to be a part of it in whatever way you can.
Your Reading So Far
How is your reading going?
Are you reading in order or jumping around?
Have you been able to write down any thoughts, journal, draw, etc. as you read?
Thoughts and Feelings
Are there any stories or poems that you already know will be your favorites?
Are there any entries that have resonated with you very strongly?
How do you think you’ll feel once you are done reading?
What is the strongest feeling you get as you read through the anthology?
Representation
Can you name any examples of asexual characters in literature, film, or television? What did you think of how they were portrayed?
Do you believe there is enough diversity within asexual representation in media?
Do you have any recommendations for books, movies, TV shows, or other forms of media that provide accurate and respectful portrayals of asexuality? Share them in the comments.
Don’t forget to like the post before you go ♥ Use the comments, reply to this email, or seek me out on social media and let me know how the reading is going.
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☕️
*I’m sorry.
https://studybreaks.com/tvfilm/bojack-horseman-asexual-todd-chavez/