GrassBoard Posted June 26 Share Posted June 26 Good morning everyone! I took a class on Ace/Aro Studies and Literature with the awesome Dr. Nicole Seymour and it was very interesting (like actually interesting, not like a passive remark from a parent) class. We had a project for our final assignment that required us to analyze or compare texts/sources looking at said text/source through an ace/aro perspective. For my project, I decided to take on the fact that there is very little representation in Hollywood for ace/aro people. The film I chose? The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005). The thesis is how The 40-Year-Old Virgin is one of Hollywood's earliest forms of ace/aro representation, albeit a very loose form of it. What I discovered in my research is that during that time and not for a very long time afterwards, ace/aro representation was almost nonexistent and if there was some sort of representation, it wasn't good. This is why The 40-Year-Old Virgin is immediately thought as a bad film for rep because the whole film is making fun of a virgin but when you watch the film, it's more layered than that. We discover in the film that Steve Carell's character Andy isn't a freak and the absurdity actually comes from his crappy co-workers and everyone else around him. That was the point I wanted to make about the film and representation as a whole in Hollywood and media. Hopefully you all enjoy this little bit of research I did and thank you again to the admins for permission for posting this. If anyone knows of any other media that has representation, please feel free to drop it so we can all see it and maybe even watch it. Here is a link to my comic for my project. Ace Comic Also, here are some of the pieces of literature and texts we read for our class: Henry James, The Beast and the Jungle Sayaka Murata, Convenience Store Woman Sherronda J. Brown, Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture Julia Leyda & Nicole Seymour, "Aromantic Comedy: The Aro/Ace Aesthetics of Together Together" Ela Pryzbylo & Danielle Cooper, "Asexual Resonances: Tracing a Queerly Asexual Archive" Stephen Guy-Bray, "Asexual Aesthetics" Elizabeth Hanna Hanson, "Toward an Asexual Narrative Structure" Thank you! - Eric Just in case link https://lifesfunnycomics.crevado.com/ 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeChat Posted June 27 Share Posted June 27 @GrassBoard Hi. Welcome to AVEN! Thank you, for sharing that. I've seen various opinions from AVEN members and others around the internet about that movie, regarding asexuality and/or virginity, and whether or not they felt represented or related to it. Showing results for '"40 year old virgin"'. - Asexual Visibility and Education Network Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoNotKickThePie Posted June 30 Share Posted June 30 Love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jont Posted July 1 Share Posted July 1 Thanks for this. I never watched The 40-Year-Old Virgin because the promo materials made it look like a dumb movie and also because I don't like the attitude that a virgin is a loser. How strange that it never occurred to me that Andy could be asexual. I love Andy's story: "It just never happened ... I got more and more nervous ... it really didn't happen ... then ... I just kind of stopped trying." That's pretty much my story, too. You've opened my eyes. Now I need to watch this movie! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KraftyCaktus Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 On 6/26/2025 at 9:48 AM, GrassBoard said: Good morning everyone! I took a class on Ace/Aro Studies and Literature with the awesome Dr. Nicole Seymour and it was very interesting (like actually interesting, not like a passive remark from a parent) class. We had a project for our final assignment that required us to analyze or compare texts/sources looking at said text/source through an ace/aro perspective. For my project, I decided to take on the fact that there is very little representation in Hollywood for ace/aro people. The film I chose? The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005). The thesis is how The 40-Year-Old Virgin is one of Hollywood's earliest forms of ace/aro representation, albeit a very loose form of it. What I discovered in my research is that during that time and not for a very long time afterwards, ace/aro representation was almost nonexistent and if there was some sort of representation, it wasn't good. This is why The 40-Year-Old Virgin is immediately thought as a bad film for rep because the whole film is making fun of a virgin but when you watch the film, it's more layered than that. We discover in the film that Steve Carell's character Andy isn't a freak and the absurdity actually comes from his crappy co-workers and everyone else around him. That was the point I wanted to make about the film and representation as a whole in Hollywood and media. Hopefully you all enjoy this little bit of research I did and thank you again to the admins for permission for posting this. If anyone knows of any other media that has representation, please feel free to drop it so we can all see it and maybe even watch it. Here is a link to my comic for my project. Ace Comic Also, here are some of the pieces of literature and texts we read for our class: Henry James, The Beast and the Jungle Sayaka Murata, Convenience Store Woman Sherronda J. Brown, Refusing Compulsory Sexuality: A Black Asexual Lens on Our Sex-Obsessed Culture Julia Leyda & Nicole Seymour, "Aromantic Comedy: The Aro/Ace Aesthetics of Together Together" Ela Pryzbylo & Danielle Cooper, "Asexual Resonances: Tracing a Queerly Asexual Archive" Stephen Guy-Bray, "Asexual Aesthetics" Elizabeth Hanna Hanson, "Toward an Asexual Narrative Structure" Thank you! - Eric Just in case link https://lifesfunnycomics.crevado.com/ Nice comic! Never saw that movie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tystie Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 Love your comic. I did see the movie and I remember not liking it at the time. But I don’t remember much about it and you almost make me want to watch it again. Would I feel differently, watching through an ace lens? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrassBoard Posted July 11 Author Share Posted July 11 14 hours ago, Tystie said: Love your comic. I did see the movie and I remember not liking it at the time. But I don’t remember much about it and you almost make me want to watch it again. Would I feel differently, watching through an ace lens? Thank you! I think watching through an ace lens would definitely make it feel like a different movie but keeping in mind that it's definitely a little dated with some jokes but if anything, the lens would add some perspective at an attempt at recognition as well as representation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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