Finally, the tension between the LGBTQ+ community and asexuals is discussed in terms of the debate about including asexuals in this community, with the groups often speaking at cross-purposes. The facets of the asexual orientation are then discussed: levels of sexual attraction, sexual desire, and romantic orientation, displaying the complex attempt to define asexuality, made even more difficult by a lack of sources concerning these facets. nevertheless, they persist in society because little is known about the nature of asexuality.

These causes are shown to be invalid due to the key element of self-identification in determining an orientation. This paper outlines the misconceptions of the ‘causes’ of asexuality, namely Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD), abuse, and religious abstinence. This is partly due to misconceptions and marginalization of asexual people, and partly by a lack of information about the orientation. I explore the tropes, stereotypes, and misconceptions that have traditionally informed media depictions of asexuality, and how these novels divert from them to provide a more accurate and nuanced representation of the asexual experience and, in doing so, establish patterns and tropes of their own from which a uniquely ‘asexual narrative’ suggests itself.Īsexuality is a deeply misunderstood and little-known sexual orientation. In this paper I examine two young adult novels with asexual protagonists-Kathryn Ormsbee’s Tash Hearts Tolstoy (2017) and Claire Kann’s Let’s Talk About Love (2018)-and how their protagonists’ asexual identity is woven into their coming-of-age stories and romance arcs. This is why-as with all queer identities-it is important to represent and normalise asexuality within fiction, particularly fiction aimed at young people. This can have an especially negative effect on asexual adolescents who are not experiencing the ‘rite of passage’ that is sexual desire and experimentation with sexual relationships.

This societal narrative leaves people on the asexual spectrum-those who do not experience sexual attraction-on the margins and considered abnormal. Sex is considered an intrinsic part of being human, and the development of a relationship with sex and sexuality an intrinsic part of growing up.

Tash Hearts Tolstoy by Kathryn Ormsbee