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The Invisible Orientation
- An Introduction to Asexuality
- Narrated by: Reay Kaplan
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
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The Invisible Orientation
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Summary
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.
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What listeners say about The Invisible Orientation
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Godzilla
- 02-01-18
Pretty basic stuff
What did you like best about The Invisible Orientation? What did you like least?
The book was easy to understand and a good primer for those who have done zero research. What I liked least was that it didn't really provide any guidance or relevant materials for people who are more seriously questioning and have already researched the FAQ themselves.
There seemed to be a lot of listing of different possible combinations of asexual and romantic orientations, rather than any more valuable information about cultural challenges, context, history, etc. Overall the book lacked a thesis and was more like an explanatory page from a website.
What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)
The conclusion was lacking- what was the point of the book? Where is asexuality going now? It wasn't cohesive in this sense. It didn't seem to offer much comfort or vision- more just lists of orientations and a general 'don't be rude' message.
The reading of the reference section was gruelling and made the book stand out as something amateurish.
Do you think The Invisible Orientation needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
I think a more detailed text looking at the cultural significance of asexuality and a more in depth examination of the psychological struggle of coming to terms with being asexual/trying to find a place in a world where you are not readily accepted is needed, though a different author may be better placed to do this.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Helen Gladwin
- 26-01-18
Haven't learnt anything yet
I wanted to try and learn about Asexuality. I've listened to half of the book so far and it is so difficult to listen too and to understand what is being said. This book essentially preaches about how hard it can be to be Asexuality in our "terrible" society. I wanted to learn about it
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Elizabeth
- 18-05-18
Information can be found elsewhere
Very whiny and bee-in-a-bonnet approach to explaining asexuality. Perhaps it could be informative to some though she spends too much time moaning about how cruel the world is. A less emotionally laden approach would have been better.
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1 person found this helpful