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Todd comes out as ace on BoJack Horseman


bailzofhay

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I didn't realise how much an ace representation on tv would mean to me until I saw this episode. Granted I'm sure there have been other ace characters in tv/film/books, etc. but none in the ones I've seen or read. And if they were ace they never specifically said so. It was more of a joke like, "he's awkward around girls and that's why he's a virgin" (not that ace = virginity). Or it was an ace, but the person was a robot or someone unfeeling who of course couldn't have sexual desire because robot.  

I've been a fan of Bojack Horseman since the start (when I thought it was a silly cartoon and then suddenly morphed into this intense look into depression, anxiety, alcohol and drug dependency among other things). Spoilers if you haven't seen season 4.

I think the way the handled Todd's coming out was fantastic. It was natural for his character. He had questions, and even wasn't sure what to label himself. He had supportive friends, but when Bojack made a quip at his expense Todd had the courage to speak his mind and tell him he wasn't, "ready to joke about it yet."


But the other thing I love was that the focus wasn't just on Todd's sexuality. They didn't hit the nail over the head over and over, because personally I feel my asexual identity is the least important thing about me. I'm happy with who I am, but it's not the only thing about me. That's why i loved that they went and followed Todd on his silly adventure of clown/dentist training. And I loved that they circled back to the asexual story when Yolanda (who's an axolotl) asked Todd out on a date and he found out that asexuals can date, and fall in love. I was actually kind of wondering if axolotls are asexual (in the scientific reproduction definition) because the show can have jokes like that with double meaning, but I didn't find anything about it. Still really cool though. 

Also I read this on Reddit (sorry can't find the original post ), but someone pointed out when Todd is in the restaurant talking to Yolanda (in the last episode when she asks him out) that everyone else is dressed like Todd. If you'll recall that's from a few episodes earlier when he walked onto the fashion runway by accident when he was fake dating Courtney Portnoy. First Sharc Jacobs and Tim Gunn were aghast, but when Todd said fashion should be for the people they decided his couchsurfer chic style was the latest fashion trend. Anyway it was pointed out that this restaurant scene could be taken as a clever joke about asexual reproduction with the Todd lookalikes being like a multiple reproductions of Todd. But then it also shows that Todd isn't alone. That there are others like him (in a visual sense with the lookalikes, but also with Yolanda being an ace too). Here's a screenshot from the episode to show what I mean. 

 

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Also Aaron Paul (who voices Todd) sent out This ace supportive tweet .

 

it's great that not only the show is representing asexuality, but that Aaron Paul is advocating for this, and isn't diminishing this characters's representation. 

Of course Todd Chavez doesn't represent all asexuals or all asexual's experience with sexual identity and romantic identity (for starters), but it's a great representation for our community, and I think it's a great way to help allosexuals understand what asexuality is about. 

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On 21/09/2017 at 9:13 AM, travelerahoy said:

Of course Todd Chavez doesn't represent all asexuals or all asexual's experience with sexual identity and romantic identity (for starters), but it's a great representation for our community, and I think it's a great way to help allosexuals understand what asexuality is about. 

That Todd needed to learn just as much about asexuality as the average person gave opportunities to show the range of different needs and experiences within asexuality. The way they incorporated Todd's questions at that meetup was great. And it all tied in with faking that relationship, which overlapped with the lives of Princess Caroline and Diana, with no need for including asexuality in all elements. I think it was very well done in giving examples of where it matters and where it doesn't. 

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Lotta_Biscotti

Late to the party, but just popping in on the thread to say it was so refreshing and validating to have Todd come out and for it to be cool with everybody. I'm glad they went as far as they did. I basically disappear on here and periodically pop back now that I have an account, but what really made me pop back up this time was BoJack. I'm hoping that there will be an influx of people, who will start to understand they're ace, and maybe want to hang out and have cake sometime. Central FL represent *cough*

 

Anyway, I thought they handled it really well. I'd really like to read an interview or see an AMA where the writers talk about their experiences with asexuality and/or the asexual community.

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scarletlatitude

I'm actually going to move this to the musings and rantings forum, since it has become a discussion about asexuality rather than just a media thing. ;) 

 

scarletlatitude

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@Philip027 Gosh, Tim Gunn is brave to talk about his suicide attempt and feelings.

 

I'm not familiar with this show, but I'm glad it helped other asexuals feel happy, discovering themselves through watching the show (i.e. saying so in their tweets to Aaron Paul) or validated.

 

I wish I could write a novel, to help normalize asexuality, but it's not easy to write an entertaining story.

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CrazyDiamond

At first I was indifferent to the inclusion of the asexual plotline, but now I'm really glad they wrote it in. I find  it really helped push me in the right direction.

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  • 1 month later...

Sorry for digging this topic up. I just want to say, even though I had never thought of myself as asexual, Todd's coming out got stuck in my head. I rewatched it multiple times. It felt.... so relieved that people don't have to have sex to be considered normal, that others can respect the act of loving/fucking nobody. And the labels of Aro and Ace are so eye-opening. I did't even know they can be different things. 

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