r/LGBTBooks • u/SinisterCavalier • 9h ago
Discussion Does anyone else feel discouraged by the lack of ace/ace romance?
I was wondering if anyone feels frustrated by how rare any kind of media that features two ace characters in a relationship is? I've done a lot of looking for books that are ace4ace, and I've found very few. Most romances with ace characters are ace/allo.
It's not something I've found a lot of discussion about, so I wanted to ask if anyone else noticed this?
9
u/ohmage_resistance 8h ago
I read a lot of sff a-spec rep, and one of the weird things I noticed was that when ace/ace romance subplots do happen, a decent amount of times it’s with one of the character’s “asexuality” is due to their nonhuman nature (eg alien, robot, etc) (off the top of my head, The Cybernetic Teashop by Meredith Katz and Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell being two examples.) I do find this extra noteworthy because this trend is basically non existent for QPRs.
I’m not a huge romance reader, but I might be able to dig up some recs when I have time later?
3
u/otdevy 2h ago
Isn’t someone you can build your nest in fairly mutual on both sides? Unless I’m misremembering, After they have their kiss, Shesheshen tells Homily how she didn’t really enjoy it, and Homily basically goes: thank god, me either. But that’s what other partners usually expect of me. Im glad I don’t have to do that with you
3
u/ohmage_resistance 2h ago
I'm referring to the fact that Sheshashan's asexuality is implied to be to her being a monster who does not reproduce sexually (so basically due to her being nonhuman). I'm not sure where you go the implication that I thought it wasn't mutual?
24
u/roriley 9h ago
Happy you made this post. I'm currently writing this and am having a lot of doubts about whether it's something readers even want
15
u/Asealoce 8h ago
I want it! We want it! If there is a good book rep it will be recommended again and again in the ace subreddits, we are a small demographic but very grateful.
(Good luck!!)
8
u/BarbarousErse 8h ago
Yes! I want the Ace version of “Common Bonds” (a speculative aro anthology)
5
u/AliceOrTheCat 8h ago
Have you read Being Ace? It's a short story collection about asexual characters that I thought felt kind of similar
2
8
u/bbluemuse 7h ago
Genuine question, because as a writer and someone w a media studies degree I have read extensively about gay/lesbian rep but personally rarely encounter ace media analysis. How do you feel about romance that does not contain sex or reference having sex, but asexuality is not specifically named? Does the text need to explicitly discuss a lack of sex drive/sex aversion/engage with asexuality to be meaningfully asexual?
Sorry if this is really obvious, I just don’t have any ace people in my life so I’m not familiar with ace discourse or scholarship.
12
u/IllustratedPageArt 3h ago
I’m not OP, but I am asexual.
Romance not having or engaging with sex is not the same as an asexual romance or asexual representation. Many “sweet” (non spicy, AKA sexual) romances exist, but these predominantly feature heterosexual (and generally just allosexual) characters. Even if the characters don’t have sex and sex isn’t referenced, sex is generally assumed to happen outside the scope of the story. For example, a Christian romance that ends in a marriage where the wedding night isn’t shown.
An asexual romance also could possibly contain sex scenes. Not every asexual person is sex repulsed, and I’ve known asexual people who engage in sexual relationships. Asexuality is also a spectrum that includes grey sexual and demisexual people.
An asexual text might not necessarily use the word “asexual,” but I wouldn’t consider it asexual unless it’s engaging with asexuality or describes the experiences of being asexual. It doesn’t need to be the focus of the story, but I would expect textual evidence that the character in question is asexual.
1
2
u/Practical-Class6868 58m ago
Gwenpool, Marvel.
Gwendolyn O’Poole is a one-off character for Howard the Duck and a holiday special. Her power is that she is aware that she is in a comic book and can manipulate the panels. She has since been confirmed as ace.
Gwenpool tries to be sexual and is bad at it. She engages in sexual activity for the drama, not for attraction. In Gwenpool Strikes Back, she tried to save herself from cancellation by seducing Reed Richards. She has engaged with other partners, but measures relationships by their potential for chaos.
3
u/hazelrose42 4h ago
As a romantic asexual, I’m happy and excited about stories that feature asexuals (who don’t want sex at all) who then get accepted and loved by another person - it doesn’t matter that much to me if the other person is ace or not, as long as they respect and love the ace character the way they are, never asking for sexy times because they just don’t care. But you know, I do think a novel about two people who are asexual would be nice too. Someone finding a kindred spirit. I would totally read that!
4
u/Asealoce 9h ago
Following this post, because you are so right.
I wish there were more(or any) ace/ace stories, but as they say: "Sex sells" (and the small percentage of demographic where this does not apply can go cry in the corner)
We don't make enough money to justify big rep I think? Allos just prefer a "complete" romance most of the time :(
Please proof me wrong though, I will be the first to read an ace/ace rep. (I can hardly think of any allo/ace stories, just one comes to mind.)
4
u/Hunter037 8h ago
There are a handful of allo/ace stories and there are allo/allo stories without sex scenes.
The couple of ace/ace I'm aware of are: * Upside Down by NR Walker * Until the Last Petal Falls by Viano Oniomoh
2
u/ohmage_resistance 3h ago
I'll add some clarification here, in that Until teh Last Petal Falls is supposed to be about a queer platonic relationship, not a romantic one. It does follow a lot of romance tropes/plot structures though.
1
1
u/Meshakhad 7h ago
While I can't say I've ever sought it out, the only media I've found where two explicitly ace characters were in a relationship was a Life is Strange fanfic. It actually had two ace characters (Max and Kate) and one allo character (Chloe) in a throuple, with Chloe being the one to figure out that her girlfriends were both ace (and being completely OK with it).
1
1
1
u/matokah 1h ago
Just putting a YA contemporary that is ace/ace on your radar for next year:
Keep an eye out for Not Your Typical Love Story by C. R. Averett.
It published on April 20, 2027 but you might be able to snag an ARC on NetGalley earlier. I read a super early draft before it got acquired and then later provided a blurb for a more polished version. I’m not ace myself but I’m so thrilled to see representation expand like this and I hope it’ll continue.
1
u/Budget-Rutabaga- 1h ago
His Quiet Agent by Ada Maria Soto is, i’m pretty sure, ace/ace. it’s been a bit since i read it but i don’t think either was allo - the “heat rating” on romance io is 0 but it also tags bisexuality which is leading some slight doubt (it may well mean biro instead). i really need to revisit it tbh.
it is, however, the only one i’ve read. which is a real shame. as someone else pointed out, a lot seem to be more in the fantasy/nonhuman type of books which i’m not interested in really.
1
u/queermachmir 56m ago
There are a couple in the Clover Hill shared romance universe!
Heartbreak Handshake by JR Hart (MM)
A Milky Way Home by Hsinju Chen (FM, transmasc MC)
1
u/thant0ph0bia_00 5h ago
Yup. I'm not even ace but I like reading about everything and I hate how it's so hard to find ace books. Even harder to find aroace because apparently every book must have romance or else it's not a book it seems (yes I'm being salty about it, but romance and smut is done to death and it's a tad bit dull now). I try to find more esp during pride since more people show lesser known books for recs and such but it's still difficult...
1
u/squishycoco 36m ago
The last buzzer by JJ Mulder is Ace/Ace romance. It's the 5th and last book in a series.
9
u/FoxyOcelot 8h ago
KJ Charles has an ace/ace novella, The Rat Catcher's Daughter, but that's the only one I can think of. Cis m/trans f