Strega_Asessuale Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 I saw the thread on Todd Chavez and decided to make this one. What are some characters that are asexual in canon? As in, the creator explicitly states in the text/dialogue/what have you that the character is ace and/or does not feel sexual attraction? By "dialogue", I mean the character flat out says "I've just never been sexually attracted to anyone" or "I'm asexual" because the creator intended the character to be asexual. I'm not asking about headcanons; there's already a thread for that. The only one I know besides Todd is Nancy from Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire. Link to post Share on other sites
NickyTannock Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 @Strega_Asessuale I've always thought Goku from Dragon Ball Z is Asexual, based on dialogue. He promised to marry Chi Chi because he thought marriage was a cake and went through with it because he felt guilty after she explained. He had two kids with her because she wanted them. And he routinely spends years away from his family, doing nothing but training. Link to post Share on other sites
Strega_Asessuale Posted May 15, 2018 Author Share Posted May 15, 2018 6 minutes ago, MichaelTannock said: @Strega_Asessuale I've always thought Goku from Dragon Ball Z is Asexual, based on dialogue. He promised to marry Chi Chi because he thought marriage was a cake and went through with it because he felt guilty after she explained. He had two kids with her because she wanted them. And he routinely spends years away from his family, doing nothing but training. I must not have been clear, sorry; by "in dialogue" I mean the character says "I'm asexual" or "I don't experience sexual attraction". I'll edit my OP. Cool headcanon, though! Link to post Share on other sites
Browncoat10 Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 Liv in Emmerdale has come out as ace I believe. Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/61456.Asexuals_In_Fiction_ https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/79393.Queer_Romance_with_an_Asexual_MC https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/44480.Asexuality_in_YA_Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/96867.Books_With_Asexual_Spectrum_F_F_Romances https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/105434.Aro_and_Ace_Spectrum_Characters_in_SFF https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/116791.Greysexual_Leads_in_Romance_Novels_ https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/116320.Books_With_Asexual_Main_Characters Link to post Share on other sites
Strega_Asessuale Posted May 15, 2018 Author Share Posted May 15, 2018 1 hour ago, fuzzipueo said: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/61456.Asexuals_In_Fiction_ https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/79393.Queer_Romance_with_an_Asexual_MC https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/44480.Asexuality_in_YA_Fiction https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/96867.Books_With_Asexual_Spectrum_F_F_Romances https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/105434.Aro_and_Ace_Spectrum_Characters_in_SFF https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/116791.Greysexual_Leads_in_Romance_Novels_ https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/116320.Books_With_Asexual_Main_Characters You are doing divine work Link to post Share on other sites
Anime Pancake Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 I dont think any characters just say "Im asexual" a lot of characters were made before asexuality was even talked about. Link to post Share on other sites
Rynn Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 There's an asexual vampire named Raphael in some TV show that I don't remember the name of. Mortal instruments? Shadow hunters? It was called something like that. Link to post Share on other sites
xMiki Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 Mhhm, I don't know many character in mainstream media that outright say "I'm ace", just instances where the creator has either confirmed it in an aside or it's simply heavily interpreted that way as a headcanon which is unfortunate So kudos to @Strega_Asessuale for posting all those links, should be fun to check out! Link to post Share on other sites
Strega_Asessuale Posted May 15, 2018 Author Share Posted May 15, 2018 42 minutes ago, xasteriia said: Mhhm, I don't know many character in mainstream media that outright say "I'm ace", just instances where the creator has either confirmed it in an aside or it's simply heavily interpreted that way as a headcanon which is unfortunate So kudos to @Strega_Asessuale for posting all those links, should be fun to check out! @fuzzipueo is the most excellent person who posted the links, so I can't take credit for that Link to post Share on other sites
xMiki Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 Woops, yeah — was looking at wrong post! 😅 Link to post Share on other sites
Elisheva, simachtani Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 The reason I found this website is because of a webcomic I read called Widdershins. One of the main characters is an ace/aro man. I can't recommend it enough. https://www.widdershinscomic.com/about/ Link to post Share on other sites
PirateGirl6423 Posted May 24, 2018 Share Posted May 24, 2018 I've believed for a long time that Sheldon Cooper from "The Big Bang Theory" is ace. He doesn't express sexual attraction and only sleeps with his romantic partner in order to please her. While he finds he enjoys it, it is not something he really craves (he only sleeps with her on her birthday and finds doing science formulas with her more riveting). Seriously, I'm waiting for the creators to confirm it. My other theory is Jughead from the Archie comics. He loves food a whole lot more than girls (I call him "foodromantic"). He does occasionally fall in love so I wouldn't say he's aro. Whenever that "Girls Against Jughead" club tries to get him to date one of them because he's the only guy not actively seeking girls, I actually feel like crying because of how relatable Jughead's position is. I don't know what the comic writers think but I can DEFINITELY say the Jughead from "Riverdale" is NOT the same Jughead from the comics (so why do I still enjoy watching the show?). But it really seems most "asexuality" in mainstream media is implied. I don't think any character's really been "outed." Link to post Share on other sites
Reset Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Didn't Mark Waid's Archie comics explicitly state that Jughead was asexual? I recall seeing a page uploaded to the internet where Jughead was having a conversation with another character about it. While I was writing this, I googled it and it's on the TV Tropes page, so there ya go. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ComicBook/ArchieComics2015 Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainMarvel Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 2 hours ago, Reset said: Jughead was having a conversation with another character about it. Here it is Link to post Share on other sites
Reset Posted May 26, 2018 Share Posted May 26, 2018 @CaptainMarvel Thanks for finding it! I knew it was out there somewhere, and thank you for helping me to illustrate my point in the conversation. Link to post Share on other sites
AceArtist Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 There's a really good web comic that just recently ended called Supernormal Step. The main character, Fiona, is a aro ace. Link to post Share on other sites
NickyTannock Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 @AceArtist Welcome to AVEN! Link to post Share on other sites
AceArtist Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 19 minutes ago, MichaelTannock said: @AceArtist Welcome to AVEN! Oh, thank you! Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 This isn’t the best in terms of representation since he’s not human (he’s a dragon) but Ruth from The Dragonriders of Pern is canonically ace, although Anne McCaffrey never used the word. Link to post Share on other sites
StarButterfly Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 I only know of three books I've ever read where the characters are confirmed aces: Every Heart A Doorway, Bittersweet Symphony and Guardian of the Dead. I only remember Bittersweet Symphony actually having the character state verbally that she was asexual while trying to explain that she wasn't celibate, and she ends up in love with her boss at work, but they don't have a sexual relationship, just a platonic one. It was written by an asexual author. I also remember Jughead from the Archie comics being an asexual and there were characters who discussed it briefly. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25526296-every-heart-a-doorway https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39780161-bittersweet-symphony https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6505358-guardian-of-the-dead Link to post Share on other sites
Browncoat10 Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 It's not out yet so I dunno if it's canon, but there's a British comedy coming out. I read this article. "Asexual innocent." Ugh. Sounds like another ace stereotype. Link to post Share on other sites
AceArtist Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 14 hours ago, Browncoat10 said: It's not out yet so I dunno if it's canon, but there's a British comedy coming out. I read this article. "Asexual innocent." Ugh. Sounds like another ace stereotype. Oof, yeah it's looking like that. Link to post Share on other sites
Anniety Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 It seems most ace representation in books comes from ace/gray authors. I recently read Tash Hearts Tolstoy, a YA novel where the MC is an out and struggling ace. To some degree the paucity of representation could be because of how much explanation asexuality requires. To show two men or women kissing is simple (and rare even so), but asexuality can’t be inferred from context. Link to post Share on other sites
Browncoat10 Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 3 hours ago, Anniety said: asexuality can’t be inferred from context. I think it can though. You just gotta do it right. Think of the portrayal of Todd from BoJack even before the word "asexual" was mentioned. Even before he knew he was ace. Link to post Share on other sites
Strega_Asessuale Posted June 25, 2018 Author Share Posted June 25, 2018 On 6/20/2018 at 6:00 PM, StarButterfly said: I only know of three books I've ever read where the characters are confirmed aces: Every Heart A Doorway, Bittersweet Symphony and Guardian of the Dead. I only remember Bittersweet Symphony actually having the character state verbally that she was asexual while trying to explain that she wasn't celibate, and she ends up in love with her boss at work, but they don't have a sexual relationship, just a platonic one. It was written by an asexual author. I also remember Jughead from the Archie comics being an asexual and there were characters who discussed it briefly. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25526296-every-heart-a-doorway https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39780161-bittersweet-symphony https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6505358-guardian-of-the-dead Nancy does say she's ace in Every Heart a Doorway! I love that book. The author writes really good representation in general. Link to post Share on other sites
Strega_Asessuale Posted June 25, 2018 Author Share Posted June 25, 2018 A librarian friend of mine also just recommended a book called Radio Silence to me because it has an ace main character. Now I'm stoked to read it. Link to post Share on other sites
Anniety Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 2 minutes ago, Browncoat10 said: I think it can though. You just gotta do it right. Think of the portrayal of Todd from BoJack even before the word "asexual" was mentioned. Even before he knew he was ace. You're right, of course. ^.^ I was more thinking of OP's request that the representation be explicitly stated. (Oh, jeez, I've had Radio Silence on my to-read list for ages, but my local library is a no-go. I've heard it's wonderful!) Link to post Share on other sites
JHC (pet in waiting) Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Do you think Vera (the police detective) is asexual? Link to post Share on other sites
Strega_Asessuale Posted June 26, 2018 Author Share Posted June 26, 2018 On 6/25/2018 at 12:08 PM, Anniety said: You're right, of course. ^.^ I was more thinking of OP's request that the representation be explicitly stated. (Oh, jeez, I've had Radio Silence on my to-read list for ages, but my local library is a no-go. I've heard it's wonderful!) Can you get it through inter-library loan? My local library is tiny, and I often have to ILL queer books. Link to post Share on other sites
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