Jadedness & acephobia
Apr. 6th, 2017 07:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rainwatersparkSo, for those who aren't aware of BookTwitter debates (which I assume is most of the world), recently there's been talk of the upcoming book Vanilla by Billy Merrell, and how the blurb seems to be somewhat acephobic, and it became a conversation about whether or not people are allowed to make judgments about books from their blurbs or not.
This debate actually made me realize that, while other aces have been badly burned by acephobic books, I've somehow become so jaded toward acephobia that I'll still read books that might end up being acephobic, just so I can critically tear them apart for being acephobic afterwards.
I guess it's a result of spending my time in the romance genre, the vast majority of which perpetuate the idea that sex = love, but in a way, I've become so used to seeing that association that it doesn't necessarily hurt me, emotionally. Or at least, I have a standing expectation of being disappointed by depictions of asexuals in fictional romantic relationships. That's how jaded I am.
(Or maybe it's just that the threshold of what hurts me is different than for other people. These days, I tend to be way more hurt by books that sell me an asexual romance and then end up portraying an ace character who's totally eager and fine with having sex.)
So I plan to read Vanilla when it comes out, unless I see other people posting comprehensive reviews on the book being acephobic. (Though I'm also kind of concerned by the implication in the summary that it's a poetry novel, because I really don't like poetry novels.) I do think Vanilla is a ridiculous name (and I'm pretty sure a real life boy with that name would get mercilessly teased), and it is concerning that the book summary seems to imply Vanilla is aro-ace but only calls him ace. To me, the blurb is vague enough that I'm not completely pessimistic, though I could easily see the book becoming acephobic if Vanilla was a gay ace and his aceness caused his boyfriend to leave him. And if Vanilla is aro-ace...just saying, aro-aces can be in romantic relationships too, if they wanted to be.
This debate actually made me realize that, while other aces have been badly burned by acephobic books, I've somehow become so jaded toward acephobia that I'll still read books that might end up being acephobic, just so I can critically tear them apart for being acephobic afterwards.
I guess it's a result of spending my time in the romance genre, the vast majority of which perpetuate the idea that sex = love, but in a way, I've become so used to seeing that association that it doesn't necessarily hurt me, emotionally. Or at least, I have a standing expectation of being disappointed by depictions of asexuals in fictional romantic relationships. That's how jaded I am.
(Or maybe it's just that the threshold of what hurts me is different than for other people. These days, I tend to be way more hurt by books that sell me an asexual romance and then end up portraying an ace character who's totally eager and fine with having sex.)
So I plan to read Vanilla when it comes out, unless I see other people posting comprehensive reviews on the book being acephobic. (Though I'm also kind of concerned by the implication in the summary that it's a poetry novel, because I really don't like poetry novels.) I do think Vanilla is a ridiculous name (and I'm pretty sure a real life boy with that name would get mercilessly teased), and it is concerning that the book summary seems to imply Vanilla is aro-ace but only calls him ace. To me, the blurb is vague enough that I'm not completely pessimistic, though I could easily see the book becoming acephobic if Vanilla was a gay ace and his aceness caused his boyfriend to leave him. And if Vanilla is aro-ace...just saying, aro-aces can be in romantic relationships too, if they wanted to be.
