The Invisible Orientation
The Invisible Orientation

Author: Julie Sondra Decker

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2015-10-13

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 1510700641

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Lambda Literary Award 2014 Finalist in LGBT Nonfiction Foreword Reviews’ INDIEFAB Book of the Year Award 2014 Finalist in Family & Relationships Independent Publisher Book Awards 2015 (IPPY) Silver Medal in Sexuality/Relationships Next Generation Indie Book Awards 2015 Winner in LGBT -- 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.

Understanding Asexuality
Understanding Asexuality

Author: Anthony F. Bogaert

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1442201002

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Asexuality can be defined as an enduring lack of sexual attraction. Thus, asexual individuals do not find (and perhaps never have) others sexually appealing. Some consider "asexuality" as a fourth category of sexual orientation, distinct from heterosexuality, homosexuality, or bisexuality. However, there is also recent evidence that the label "asexual" may be used in a broader way than merely as "a lack of sexual attraction." People who say they have sexual attraction to others, but indicate little or no desire for sexual activity are also self-identifying as asexual. Distinct from celibacy, which refers to sexual abstinence by choice where sexual attraction and desire may still be present, asexuality is experienced by those having a lack or sexual attraction or a lack of sexual desire. More and more, those who identify as asexual are "coming out," joining up, and forging a common identity. The time is right for a better understanding of this sexual orientation, written by an expert in the field who has conducted studies on asexuality and who has provided important contributions to understanding asexuality. This timely resource will be one of the first books written on the topic for general readers, and the first to look at the historical, biological, and social aspects of asexuality. It includes firsthand accounts throughout from people who identify as asexual. The study of asexuality, as it contrasts so clearly with sexuality, also holds up a lens and reveals clues to the mystery of sexuality.

All But Invisible
All But Invisible

Author: Nate Collins

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: 2017-09-12

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0310526035

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What does it mean to be gay ... and a Christian? Beginning with how the Bible describes the Church, author Nate Collins outlines a vision for community life that challenges Christians to examine obstacles that inhibit spiritual unity. This new vision calls straight and non-straight believers alike to patterns of Christian obedience that respect and honor their similarities and differences.In addition, Collins provides a theological framework for understanding how Genesis 1-2 describes both gender and sexuality. He then unpacks biblical concepts like desire, lust, and temptation, and applies them to modern constructs like sexual attraction and orientation.Collins explores the theme of identity, focusing on facets of personal identity that are central to the experience of Christian gender minorities. He looks at what Scripture says about the formation and function of Christian identity, highlighting several theological and sociological tensions. Collins writes for believers who have a traditional sexual ethic and provides a compelling vision of gospel flourishing for gay, lesbian, and other same-sex attracted individuals.

How to Be Ace
How to Be Ace

Author: Rebecca Burgess

Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Published: 2020-10-21

Total Pages: 183

ISBN-13: 178775216X

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PRISM AWARDS FINALIST 2021 GREAT GRAPHIC NOVELS FOR TEENS - YOUNG ADULT LIBRARY SERVICES ASSOCIATION (YALSA) 2022 "When I was in school, everyone got to a certain age where they became interested in talking about only one thing: boys, girls and sex. Me though? I was only interested in comics." Growing up, Rebecca assumes sex is just a scary new thing they will 'grow into' as they get older, but when they leave school, start working and do grow up, they start to wonder why they don't want to have sex with other people. In this brave, hilarious and empowering graphic memoir, we follow Rebecca as they navigate a culture obsessed with sex - from being bullied at school and trying to fit in with friends, to forcing themselves into relationships and experiencing anxiety and OCD - before coming to understand and embrace their asexual identity. Giving unparalleled insight into asexuality and asexual relationships, How To Be Ace shows the importance of learning to be happy and proud of who you are.

Microaggressions in Everyday Life
Microaggressions in Everyday Life

Author: Derald Wing Sue

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2010-02-09

Total Pages: 436

ISBN-13: 0470594152

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Praise for Microaggressions in Everyday Life "In a very constructive way, Dr. Sue provides time-tested psychological suggestions to make our society free of microaggressions. It is a brilliant resource and ideal teaching tool for all those who wish to alter the forces that promote pain for people." —Melba J. T. Vasquez, PhD, ABPPPresident, American Psychological Association "Microaggressions in Everyday Life offers an insightful, scholarly, and thought-provoking analysis of the existence of subtle, often unintentional biases, and their profound impact on members of traditionally disadvantaged groups. The concept of microaggressions is one of the most important developments in the study of intergroup relations over the past decade, and this volume is the definitive source on the topic." —John F. Dovidio, PhD Professor of Psychology, Yale University "Derald Wing Sue has written a must-read book for anyone who deals with diversity at any level. Microaggressions in Everyday Life will bring great rewards in understanding and awareness along with practical guides to put them to good use." —James M. Jones, PhD Professor of Psychology and Director of Black American Studies, University of Delaware "This is a major contribution to the multicultural discourse and to understanding the myriad ways that discrimination can be represented and its insidious effects. Accessible and well documented, it is a pleasure to read." —Beverly Greene, PhD, ABPP Diplomate in Clinical Psychology and Professor of Psychology, St. John's University A transformative look at covert bias, prejudice, and discrimination with hopeful solutions for their eventual dissolution Written by bestselling author Derald Wing Sue, Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation is a first-of-its-kind guide on the subject of microaggressions. This book insightfully looks at the various kinds of microaggressions and their psychological effects on both perpetrators and their targets. Thought provoking and timely, Dr. Sue suggests realistic and optimistic guidance for combating—and ending—microaggressions in our society.

Sexual Fluidity
Sexual Fluidity

Author: Lisa M. Diamond

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 9780674026247

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Is love “blind” when it comes to gender? For women, it just might be. This unsettling and original book offers a radical new understanding of the context-dependent nature of female sexuality. Lisa M. Diamond argues that for some women, love and desire are not rigidly heterosexual or homosexual but fluid, changing as women move through the stages of life, various social groups, and, most important, different love relationships.This perspective clashes with traditional views of sexual orientation as a stable and fixed trait. But that view is based on research conducted almost entirely on men. Diamond is the first to study a large group of women over time. She has tracked one hundred women for more than ten years as they have emerged from adolescence into adulthood. She summarizes their experiences and reviews research ranging from the psychology of love to the biology of sex differences. Sexual Fluidity offers moving first-person accounts of women falling in and out of love with men or women at different times in their lives. For some, gender becomes irrelevant: “I fall in love with the person, not the gender,” say some respondents.Sexual Fluidity offers a new understanding of women’s sexuality—and of the central importance of love.

Ace
Ace

Author: Angela Chen

Publisher: Beacon Press

Published: 2020-09-15

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 080701379X

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An engaging exploration of what it means to be asexual in a world that’s obsessed with sexual attraction, and what the ace perspective can teach all of us about desire and identity. What exactly is sexual attraction and what is it like to go through life not experiencing it? What does asexuality reveal about gender roles, about romance and consent, and the pressures of society? This accessible examination of asexuality shows that the issues that aces face—confusion around sexual activity, the intersection of sexuality and identity, navigating different needs in relationships—are the same conflicts that nearly all of us will experience. Through a blend of reporting, cultural criticism, and memoir, Ace addresses the misconceptions around the “A” of LGBTQIA and invites everyone to rethink pleasure and intimacy. Journalist Angela Chen creates her path to understanding her own asexuality with the perspectives of a diverse group of asexual people. Vulnerable and honest, these stories include a woman who had blood tests done because she was convinced that “not wanting sex” was a sign of serious illness, and a man who grew up in a religious household and did everything “right,” only to realize after marriage that his experience of sexuality had never been the same as that of others. Disabled aces, aces of color, gender-nonconforming aces, and aces who both do and don’t want romantic relationships all share their experiences navigating a society in which a lack of sexual attraction is considered abnormal. Chen’s careful cultural analysis explores how societal norms limit understanding of sex and relationships and celebrates the breadth of sexuality and queerness.

Black LGBT Health in the United States
Black LGBT Health in the United States

Author: Lourdes Dolores Follins

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2016-12-13

Total Pages: 243

ISBN-13: 1498535771

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Black LGBT Health in the United States: The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Sexual Orientation focuses on the mental, physical, and spiritual aspects of health, and considers both risk and resiliency factors for the Black LGBT population. Contributors to this collection intimately understand the associations between health and intersectional anti-Black racism, heterosexism, homonegativity, biphobia, transphobia, and social class. This collection fills a gap in current scholarship by providing information about an array of health issues like cancer, juvenile incarceration, and depression that affect all subpopulations of Black LGBT people, especially Black bisexual-identified women, Black bisexual-identified men, and Black transgender men. This book is recommended for readers interested in psychology, health, gender studies, race studies, social work, and sociology.

Invisible Families
Invisible Families

Author: Mignon Moore

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2011-10-17

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0520950151

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Mignon R. Moore brings to light the family life of a group that has been largely invisible—gay women of color—in a book that challenges long-standing ideas about racial identity, family formation, and motherhood. Drawing from interviews and surveys of one hundred black gay women in New York City, Invisible Families explores the ways that race and class have influenced how these women understand their sexual orientation, find partners, and form families. In particular, the study looks at the ways in which the past experiences of women who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s shape their thinking, and have structured their lives in communities that are not always accepting of their openly gay status. Overturning generalizations about lesbian families derived largely from research focused on white, middle-class feminists, Invisible Families reveals experiences within black American and Caribbean communities as it asks how people with multiple stigmatized identities imagine and construct an individual and collective sense of self.

Queer Questions, Clear Answers
Queer Questions, Clear Answers

Author: Thomas S. Serwatka

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2010-05-05

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 0313386137

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This provocative book examines the important issues in contemporary debates on sexual orientation—from our various religious beliefs to our stereotypes about homosexuals, from questions about the origin of sexual orientation to the lessons we can learn from history. Queer Questions, Clear Answers: The Contemporary Debates on Sexual Orientation offers an eye-opening conversation about questions, facts—and fears—relative to sexual orientation. The book is framed around a series of nine sets of "queer questions," including, Who is queer and who is not? How do we interpret and use sacred scriptures to control behavior and set public policy? What lessons can we learn from history and psychology? and What is the homosexual agenda? The author, himself a gay man and prominent academic, combines cross-disciplinary research and personal anecdotes in his intriguing search for answers to questions that are central to ongoing cultural and political debates. In discussing each set of questions, he examines perspectives and arguments from across the political spectrum. The clear, articulate, and wholly candid answers he offers will help readers get beyond the headlines—and the sound bites—to better understand many important arguments about homosexuality and human rights.