Ace Your Bookshelf
We live in a world where we are surrounded by media. It has the power to anchor our sense of how we fit into society when we see characters that look and act like us. It also has the power to shape how society see us, as others often base their ideas of marginalized groups off of what they see in the media.
Representation makes us feel visible. We feel relieved knowing that there are other people who are like us, somewhere out there and that we are not the only one who experiences life the way we do. More diverse media representation for queer identities helps to de-stigmatize and normalize all intersections of identities to create a more inclusive world for all. Many of us who are aro/ace, especially young people, often won’t realise it for so long because asexuality tends to get left out of 2SLGBTQIA+ representation and when it is included, many representations often perpetuate the narrative that non-sexual activity is taboo. There are entire movies that revolve around characters being pressured to engage in dating or sexual activity in order to adhere to societal norms or in the case of House that something is medically wrong. Often all the representation is only white, further erasing asexual people of colour.
Every asexual person feels relieved when they finally get a word to describe how they feel. It can take years of struggle, search, denial, and, finally, acceptance to realise that a person is asexual. Representation in media, when it is written in positive terms that challenge us to reconceive our definitions of sexual normalcy is incredibly important.
Here's a list of books to help make your bookshelf a little more inclusive and educate you further if you are an ally, and if you are questioning/ asexual, I hope that you can have that moment of seeing yourself and feeling a little less alone in these books.
Non-Fiction
Fiction
Food for Queers
Stay Safe. Not Hungry
Providing support for 2SLGBTQ+ folks experiencing food insecurities within the city of London