Free copy received via Libro.fm

Thanks to @bookplaits and @thestackspod for their great reviews and podcasts which bumped this book up my TBR! This is truly one of the most informative and eye-opening non-fiction books I've read this year, and one I think everyone should read if they can. Asexuality is not talked about enough, or even understood enough, among us, and Ace provides a brilliant, comprehensive and inclusive overview for Aces (asexuals) and Allos (non-asexuals) alike.

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Angela Chen delves into concepts like compulsory sexuality, hermeneutical injusitce, amatonormativity and much more, explaining everything concisely and clearly. It really opened my eyes to the way sexuality is so deeply embedded in society, that it's taken for granted that everyone is sexual and a lack of (socially approved) sexual attraction is a problem, unnatural or wrong. This ingrained sexuality is so harmful to aces, since it reinforces the notion that not feeling sexual attraction means they're broken.

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Chen talked to tonnes of people for this book, and she makes sure it's as inclusive as possible. Gender, disability, race, class, sexual orientation, everything is considered and addressed. For instance, a wealthy woman with lots of sexual partners is more likely to be seen as liberated and living her best life, while a poor, working-class woman would be more likely to be seen as 'trashy'. Or the fact that some Black and Latinx women must contend with hyper-sexualised racial stereotypes when considering their own asexuality. I also found the section on asexuality among men really interesting, since masculinity is so inherently tied up in sexuality (think 'locker room talk') that ace men are often accused of being secret incels (involuntary celibates). Chen also addresses the overwhelming whiteness of the ace community and the lack of ace representation in the media.

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Not a page is wasted in this book, and hopefully it paves the way for a lot more literature on asexuality - both non-fiction and fiction! Please pick this one up if you can, I literally haven't stopped thinking about it since I read it.