YA LGBT Books discussion

Amy wrote: "Hey guys!
If anyone is interested, recently I made an Asexuality Awareness facebook page. Here is the link
https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn

And as for tumblr, well, I post other stuff, like Trans stuff, feminist stuff, depression stuff, but most of it is about Asexuality. And so if anyone is interested have a look here:
http://transasexypexy.tumblr.com/..."

Cool - thanks for posting. ETA - Amy's links are no longer valid, but the topic is still one that's really important for this group. Try the link below.

A link to AVEN - the Asexuality Visibility and Education Network -
http://www.asexuality.org/home/

This is a great site for information.

^-^
Also, if anyone had questions about Asexuality, I'd be happy to answer them. As long as they are respectful, of course

An author I follow has an interesting post on asexuality with some video discussion - (Warning - there may be 18+ content on this site) - "Love is Love" - http://zallora.blogspot.com/2015/10/a...

Another good post about being Ace, I think - http://thevarsity.ca/2015/02/09/its-n...

These are great!!

A blog post by YA author Matthew Metzger about Asexuality Awareness Week and being Ace - http://www.queerromancemonth.com/matt...

5 Things You Can Do Right Now to Support the Asexual Youth in Your Life

http://everydayfeminism.com/2016/01/s...

I really liked that article. It's very true. I've yet to meet anyone, who is even willing to understand what I feel

Sarah wrote: "I really liked that article. It's very true. I've yet to meet anyone, who is even willing to understand what I feel "

I'm glad you felt that was a worthwhile list.

An Archie Comics Character Comes Out As Asexual

http://www.newnownext.com/archie-comi...

Interview With an Asexual Clarifying What I Got Wrong About Asexuality

http://jezebel.com/interview-with-an-...

"What I want everyone to know about being asexual"...
For Asexuality Awareness Week, 19-year-old Katie shares her story of realising she identified with the label and what she’s learnt people don’t seem to understand about it

http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandcu...

An interesting self-discovery story -

Borderlands & Asexual Representation: How I Discovered My Sexuality While Playing a First-Person Shooter

http://www.themarysue.com/borderlands...

I'm going to move this to Hot Topics for a while, since I'm seeing a few scattered comments about being Ace in YA life and fiction

Kim points us to : Booklist: Asexuality in Young Adult Fiction

http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2016/...

Not a complete list, but some I hadn't heard of, and some links down lower in the article.

The Biggest Misconceptions About Asexuality, According To Asexuals

“That we’re robots or children or some sort of innocent mythical being that transcends the human need for intimacy.”

http://www.buzzfeed.com/skarlan/the-b...

Meet America’s First Out Asexual Politician,

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles...

And a good article on Demisexualty (which some people equate with Gray-Asexuality)

http://demisexuality.org/articles/wha...

And another term : autochorissexual - a subset of asexuality which is defined as: a disconnection between oneself and a sexual target/object of arousal; may involve sexual fantasies or arousal in response to erotica or pornography, but lacking any desire to be a participant in the sexual activities therein.

Remember labels are only useful if they help you understand yourself, or to feel less alone in the awareness that others share your sexual (and/or gender) identity. Especially for teens, don't get too hung up on the words.

http://asexuals.wikia.com/wiki/Autoch...

Kaje wrote: "And another term : autochorissexual - a subset of asexuality which is defined as: a disconnection between oneself and a sexual target/object of arousal; may involve sexual fantasies or arousal in r..."

Just learned this one yesterday and almost perfectly describes me.

:) Sometimes it's cool to find something that resonates, if only because it says enough other people feel the same that they went to the trouble of coming up with a word for it.

The BBC News site is running a series of articles about LGBTQI* themes and today's article is about a young man who identifies as asexual it also has a link to the podcast Pieces of Ace which he and two others who identify as ACE run.

I have no desire to experience sexual attraction and I never have


The series has been really interesting - it covers quite a range of topics including an article about a Canadian film maker who is intersex At 12 I grew a beard and had a period

K wrote: "The BBC News site is running a series of articles about LGBTQI* themes and today's article is about a young man who identifies as asexual it also has a link to the podcast Pieces of Ace which he an..."

Great article, very enlightening.

People can have sex without love. So why can't people have love without sex.

Thanks for posting the link.

Thanks for the link, K!

Identity 2016: What's it like to date someone who's asexual?

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-3615...

HuffPost has a great video blog series that I've been following,The Spectrum. The newest episode deals with asexuality. It's an often misunderstood topic, if anyone is interest here's the link:

https://www.facebook.com/HuffPostQuee...

Thanks Jason.

I have a few asexual friends, it's great people are talking more about this because, I mean, for example the only instance of asexuality i see in media is BBT and that's used as a joke.

♫✯Emerson loves #Pricefield✯♫❤NO EMOJI❤No one looks up anymore 'cause you might get a raindrop in your eye and heaven forbid they see you cry wrote: "I have a few asexual friends, it's great people are talking more about this because, I mean, for example the only instance of asexuality i see in media is BBT and that's used as a joke."

I agree, it's underrepresented in media, and as a result often misunderstood. One of my best friends is asexual, she came out to me a year ago. And I also was in a relationship once with a guy who identified as "graysexual".

Traditional thinking, makes the mistake of assuming that sexualility is binary. It's never that simple. The Kinsey scale makes more sense. (0-6; 0-being exclusively heterosexual, 6-being exclusively homosexual). But asexuality isn't even represented in the Kinsey scale. My best friend, for example. She has no desire for any kind of sexual activity. The guy I dated, however, had desire for some things, but no interest in others.

I remember Mike telling me. "I had to deal not only with my grandmother asking me when I'm going to get married and have kids, but also my mom saying 'you know its OK if you're gay?', they never accepted the possibility of asexuality." Must be frustrating sometimes.

A great resource I always turn to when trying to explain the complexities of sexuality (and gender identity) is the Genderbread Person.
The visual representation seems to help make everything click for some people. I know the GBP is not perfect, but it's the best I've found.

I was just pointed towards an Ace book group here on Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/... (books for all ages, not just YA)

And don't forget that Goodreads does have a list - Asexuality in YA Fiction - https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/4...

All Of Your Questions About What It’s Like To Be Asexual Answered
“I can have a crush on someone ... but I never would have invented sex if nobody had told me that it was a thing.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a...

Kaje wrote: ""

*claps* That is a great post, thanks for sharing. This is why I just don't get into it with people outside places like this. They already know I have no interest in relationships. They don't need a word that's just going to confuse them and frustrate me.

Kaje wrote: ""

Love that! I'm totally stealing that one for facebook. :)

I am working on a project with an acearo boy as my MC, so this is a very helpful section. I also made a questionnaire and spread it on Tumblr for the subject - I got a ton of feedback! Everyone were so eager and ready to answer all my questions.

Lucy wrote: "Bitch Magazine just published my article about asexuals in YA.

https://bitchmedia.org/article/not-ac..."
I read that! Very well said and very helpful to understanding the emotional part better when not ace yourself. :) Or myself is this case.

anyone else REALLY excited for "We Awaken" by Calista Lynn? HUGE ace f/f representation out this week! Tomorrow I think! :)

It is tomorrow! Hello there, I'm Calista Lynne

And it is two female asexuals in a same sex relationship! YA magical realism. I'm really excited for all of you to be able to read it. Representation matters <3 rock on

^^^ HEY THERE! (sorry for the misspell of your last name) thanks for writing awesome representation! I'm so pumped! :)

Very cool - I love seeing books start to represent the wider spectrum of characters. Best of luck with the release Calista.

I'm not usually big on just listing celebrities, but in this case with the celebrity world very sexualized, it's good to see some coming out as Ace too.

15 Asexual Celebrities

http://www.rebelcircus.com/blog/15-as...

Arcus Forum: Invisible No More

Invisible No More, an Arcus Forum featuring an international panel of intersex activists exploring the landscape of this growing human rights movement, shed light on challenges that face current advocacy efforts as well as developments that are driving increased levels of awareness and support for intersex issues worldwide.

http://www.arcusfoundation.org/events...

Here are the 11 biggest asexual myths busted

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/he...

Kaje wrote: "Here are the 11 biggest asexual myths busted

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/he..."

Very enlightening. I thought I knew all about asexuality, but I learned something new! Thanks for posting :)

Kaje wrote: "Here are the 11 biggest asexual myths busted

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/he..."

Wow! Thats interesting

Asexual Awareness Week is October 23-29th!

http://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/14...

Am I Still Asexual If…?

http://asexualeducation.tumblr.com/as...

5 Things You Can Do Right Now to Support the Asexual Youth in Your Life

http://everydayfeminism.com/2016/01/s...