Dans Mon Catalogue

Hardcover, 216 pages

English language

Published Sept. 27, 2014 by Carrel Books.

ISBN:: 9781631440021

(1 review)

What if you weren't sexually attracted to anyone?

A growing number of people are identifying as asexual. They aren't sexually attracted to anyone, and they consider it a sexual orientation—like gay, straight, or bisexual.

Asexuality is the invisible orientation. Most people believe that "everyone" wants sex, that "everyone" understands what it means to be attracted to other people, and that "everyone" wants to date and mate. But that's where asexual people are left out—they don't find other people sexually attractive, and if and when they say so, they are very rarely treated as though that's okay.

When an asexual person comes out, alarming reactions regularly follow; loved ones fear that an asexual person is sick, or psychologically warped, or suffering from abuse. Critics confront asexual people with accusations of following a fad, hiding homosexuality, or making excuses for romantic failures. And all of this contributes to a discouraging master narrative: …

What if you weren't sexually attracted to anyone?

A growing number of people are identifying as asexual. They aren't sexually attracted to anyone, and they consider it a sexual orientation—like gay, straight, or bisexual.

Asexuality is the invisible orientation. Most people believe that "everyone" wants sex, that "everyone" understands what it means to be attracted to other people, and that "everyone" wants to date and mate. But that's where asexual people are left out—they don't find other people sexually attractive, and if and when they say so, they are very rarely treated as though that's okay.

When an asexual person comes out, alarming reactions regularly follow; loved ones fear that an asexual person is sick, or psychologically warped, or suffering from abuse. Critics confront asexual people with accusations of following a fad, hiding homosexuality, or making excuses for romantic failures. And all of this contributes to a discouraging master narrative: there is no such thing as "asexual." Being an asexual person is a lie or an illness, and it needs to be fixed.

In The Invisible Orientation, Julie Sondra Decker outlines what asexuality is, counters misconceptions, provides resources, and puts asexual people's experiences in context as they move through a very sexualized world. It includes information for asexual people to help understand their orientation and what it means for their relationships, as well as tips and facts for those who want to understand their asexual friends and loved ones.

1 edition

nachtvlucht reviewed The Invisible Orientation by Julie Sondra Decker

Review of 'The invisible orientation' on 'Storygraph'

2 stars

I can only recommend the first two parts of this book. It makes for a good beginner's introduction to asexuality. However, skip the other parts, especially the third, because it gets extremely repetitive and the writing itself is not... great. It could have been more concise to my taste. I ended up skimming a lot. Just skip or pick out any sections that interest you from the index.

As it is an introduction to asexuality, there isn't much depth to the book for asexuals. Much of the information can also be found on the internet. In addition, the claims/opinions feel outdated despite only being published in 2014, and it will only increase even more so after this.

Lastly, I don't understand the inclusion of (Author's Note: [...]) rather than making use of footnotes. What is this? An early 00s fanfic? It really took me out of the text.