new zine! Taking the Cake: An Illustrated Primer on Asexuality

[Anara]

I recently finished my first-ever zine! It's called Taking the Cake: An Illustrated Primer on Asexuality.

It also doubles as a coloring book. And it's got tons of resources in it!

It's free and printable online here: http://zinelibrary.info/taking-cake-illustrated-primer-asexuality

I'm also going to work in getting some distributors (like Microcosm) to carry it, so if you'd rather order it in print format, hold tight! In the meantime, you can order it from my Etsy, here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/100903220/zine-taking-the-cake-an-illustrated

[Siggy]

Oh, very nice! I would totally put this on my list of educational tools. It's quite comprehensive, free of obvious problems, and the illustrations are very successful at maintaining interest and organizing the information.

:cake:

[(A) & A]

Read through it the other day. Really cool, DIY-style art. If possible, keep us (or well, me) updated when if you get it on Microcosm. Been wanting to place an order there for a while and it'd give me an excuse.

[Jillianimal]

Neat. Too bad they conflated romantic attraction with interpersonal/social attraction though. It makes it sound like the only way you can want to be in some kind of relationship is if that relationship is romantic & that that's what defines romantic attraction, which I can see really confusing a lot of people.

[Anara]

Neat. Too bad they conflated romantic attraction with interpersonal/social attraction though. It makes it sound like the only way you can want to be in some kind of relationship is if that relationship is romantic & that that's what defines romantic attraction, which I can see really confusing a lot of people.

Hi Jillianimal,

Hmmm... I think of the term "relationship" as being pretty broad, we have lots of different types of relationships with lots of people, even though "relationship" is often used as shorthand for "romantic-sexual relationship" (ie, boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife/spouse/partner, SO, etc.). I did try to pull apart attraction a little bit (about as much as I could do in a short illustrated zine), defining romantic attraction as "what makes a person want a romantic relationship with a particular person," which obviously isn't the only possible way to be in a romantic relationship, but that's kind of the challenge with bulletpoint definitions - they're simplistic.

I guess I think of this zine as a 101 (hence calling it a primer), and my hope would be that people don't take it as the end-all be-all, and that their interest is piqued enough to do some more research and learn more about the nuances of identity, attraction, and asexuality.

[Siggy]

Neat. Too bad they conflated romantic attraction with interpersonal/social attraction though. It makes it sound like the only way you can want to be in some kind of relationship is if that relationship is romantic & that that's what defines romantic attraction, which I can see really confusing a lot of people.

I did not see where it did that.

[Jillianimal]

Neat. Too bad they conflated romantic attraction with interpersonal/social attraction though. It makes it sound like the only way you can want to be in some kind of relationship is if that relationship is romantic & that that's what defines romantic attraction, which I can see really confusing a lot of people.

I did not see where it did that.

On the attraction page. The only attraction that describes having an interest in a relationship is only described under romantic.

[Jillianimal]

Neat. Too bad they conflated romantic attraction with interpersonal/social attraction though. It makes it sound like the only way you can want to be in some kind of relationship is if that relationship is romantic & that that's what defines romantic attraction, which I can see really confusing a lot of people.

Hi Jillianimal,

Hmmm... I think of the term "relationship" as being pretty broad, we have lots of different types of relationships with lots of people, even though "relationship" is often used as shorthand for "romantic-sexual relationship" (ie, boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife/spouse/partner, SO, etc.). I did try to pull apart attraction a little bit (about as much as I could do in a short illustrated zine), defining romantic attraction as "what makes a person want a romantic relationship with a particular person," which obviously isn't the only possible way to be in a romantic relationship, but that's kind of the challenge with bulletpoint definitions - they're simplistic.

Yea, but I'm talking about when people desire a relationship that isn't romantically driven/involves romance, wanting a friendship, having a squish on someone. Also being romantically attracted to someone doesn't necessarily mean you're drawn into being in a romantic relationship with your crush. It's an extremely common part of it, I can't deny that, but for some people that desire isn't there. It isn't a requirement for romantic attraction.

[Anara]

Neat. Too bad they conflated romantic attraction with interpersonal/social attraction though. It makes it sound like the only way you can want to be in some kind of relationship is if that relationship is romantic & that that's what defines romantic attraction, which I can see really confusing a lot of people.

Hi Jillianimal,

Hmmm... I think of the term "relationship" as being pretty broad, we have lots of different types of relationships with lots of people, even though "relationship" is often used as shorthand for "romantic-sexual relationship" (ie, boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife/spouse/partner, SO, etc.). I did try to pull apart attraction a little bit (about as much as I could do in a short illustrated zine), defining romantic attraction as "what makes a person want a romantic relationship with a particular person," which obviously isn't the only possible way to be in a romantic relationship, but that's kind of the challenge with bulletpoint definitions - they're simplistic.

Yea, but I'm talking about when people desire a relationship that isn't romantically driven/involves romance, wanting a friendship, having a squish on someone. Also being romantically attracted to someone doesn't necessarily mean you're drawn into being in a romantic relationship with your crush. It's an extremely common part of it, I can't deny that, but for some people that desire isn't there. It isn't a requirement for romantic attraction.

Out of curiosity, what brief definition would you give for "romantic attraction" to differentiate it from "sexual attraction," "aesthetic attraction," and "sensual attraction"? Attraction is a really big category and can be broken down a lot of different ways, and those were the four I picked as a starting place. Especially because the zine is aimed at people who may be unfamiliar with asexuality (especially sexuals who want to be allies), I wanted to pull apart Attraction a little bit but not to the point of being overwhelming. Hence, the somewhat simplistic exploration of (and by no means final word on) Attraction.

[Jillianimal]

Neat. Too bad they conflated romantic attraction with interpersonal/social attraction though. It makes it sound like the only way you can want to be in some kind of relationship is if that relationship is romantic & that that's what defines romantic attraction, which I can see really confusing a lot of people.

Hi Jillianimal,

Hmmm... I think of the term "relationship" as being pretty broad, we have lots of different types of relationships with lots of people, even though "relationship" is often used as shorthand for "romantic-sexual relationship" (ie, boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife/spouse/partner, SO, etc.). I did try to pull apart attraction a little bit (about as much as I could do in a short illustrated zine), defining romantic attraction as "what makes a person want a romantic relationship with a particular person," which obviously isn't the only possible way to be in a romantic relationship, but that's kind of the challenge with bulletpoint definitions - they're simplistic.

Yea, but I'm talking about when people desire a relationship that isn't romantically driven/involves romance, wanting a friendship, having a squish on someone. Also being romantically attracted to someone doesn't necessarily mean you're drawn into being in a romantic relationship with your crush. It's an extremely common part of it, I can't deny that, but for some people that desire isn't there. It isn't a requirement for romantic attraction.

Out of curiosity, what brief definition would you give for "romantic attraction" to differentiate it from "sexual attraction," "aesthetic attraction," and "sensual attraction"? Attraction is a really big category and can be broken down a lot of different ways, and those were the four I picked as a starting place. Especially because the zine is aimed at people who may be unfamiliar with asexuality (especially sexuals who want to be allies), I wanted to pull apart Attraction a little bit but not to the point of being overwhelming. Hence, the somewhat simplistic exploration of (and by no means final word on) Attraction.

Usually I tend to just describe it. I do think defining it is hard since it can vary so much.....I guess put as simply as I can "a distinct fondness for someone that involves a unique, surreal nervous-excitement when thinking of or being around this person"

[Anara]

Neat. Too bad they conflated romantic attraction with interpersonal/social attraction though. It makes it sound like the only way you can want to be in some kind of relationship is if that relationship is romantic & that that's what defines romantic attraction, which I can see really confusing a lot of people.

Hi Jillianimal,

Hmmm... I think of the term "relationship" as being pretty broad, we have lots of different types of relationships with lots of people, even though "relationship" is often used as shorthand for "romantic-sexual relationship" (ie, boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife/spouse/partner, SO, etc.). I did try to pull apart attraction a little bit (about as much as I could do in a short illustrated zine), defining romantic attraction as "what makes a person want a romantic relationship with a particular person," which obviously isn't the only possible way to be in a romantic relationship, but that's kind of the challenge with bulletpoint definitions - they're simplistic.

Yea, but I'm talking about when people desire a relationship that isn't romantically driven/involves romance, wanting a friendship, having a squish on someone. Also being romantically attracted to someone doesn't necessarily mean you're drawn into being in a romantic relationship with your crush. It's an extremely common part of it, I can't deny that, but for some people that desire isn't there. It isn't a requirement for romantic attraction.

Out of curiosity, what brief definition would you give for "romantic attraction" to differentiate it from "sexual attraction," "aesthetic attraction," and "sensual attraction"? Attraction is a really big category and can be broken down a lot of different ways, and those were the four I picked as a starting place. Especially because the zine is aimed at people who may be unfamiliar with asexuality (especially sexuals who want to be allies), I wanted to pull apart Attraction a little bit but not to the point of being overwhelming. Hence, the somewhat simplistic exploration of (and by no means final word on) Attraction.

Usually I tend to just describe it. I do think defining it is hard since it can vary so much.....I guess put as simply as I can "a distinct fondness for someone that involves a unique, surreal nervous-excitement when thinking of or being around this person"

Hmm, interesting, I sometimes get feelings like that for people who I wouldn't say I'm romantically attracted to, and I also sometimes feel romantically attracted to someone for whom I don't feel those things. Definitions are tough, I guess! They're never gonna fit perfectly. Sigh.

[Siggy]

Neat. Too bad they conflated romantic attraction with interpersonal/social attraction though. It makes it sound like the only way you can want to be in some kind of relationship is if that relationship is romantic & that that's what defines romantic attraction, which I can see really confusing a lot of people.

I did not see where it did that.

On the attraction page. The only attraction that describes having an interest in a relationship is only described under romantic.

But the other attractions (sensual, aesthetic, and sexual) are not defined as having an interest in relationships. Romantic attraction is frequently (though not exclusively) defined as an intrinsic desire for romantic relationships. If this is a problem, it seems like it's a problem with the standard definitions, not a problem with the zine.

[Jillianimal]

Neat. Too bad they conflated romantic attraction with interpersonal/social attraction though. It makes it sound like the only way you can want to be in some kind of relationship is if that relationship is romantic & that that's what defines romantic attraction, which I can see really confusing a lot of people.

I did not see where it did that.

On the attraction page. The only attraction that describes having an interest in a relationship is only described under romantic.

But the other attractions (sensual, aesthetic, and sexual) are not defined as having an interest in relationships. Romantic attraction is frequently (though not exclusively) defined as an intrinsic desire for romantic relationships. If this is a problem, it seems like it's a problem with the standard definitions, not a problem with the zine.

Ok, fine, I get that, but there's still the problem of leaving out the kind of attraction that makes you want a relationships with someone that has nothing to do with romance. In AVENese, a squish.

[HighwayToHell]

Congrats!

[Oxalis]

Very cute! I just might show my parents to help them understand. :cake: :cake:

[Leelian]

I think it's pretty comprehensible and helpful for others. It breaks it down in a light manner. Yes, there is not a lot of detailed information, but too much would overload the viewer. It introduces them and allows them the opportunity to do more research or go on the knowledge they gained.

[Anara]

Very cute! I just might show my parents to help them understand. :cake: :cake:

I used it to come out to MY parents. "Hi Mom & Dad, I wrote a zine about my identity, read it and email me later if you've got any questions." Worked great.

[(A) & A]

I think it's pretty comprehensible and helpful for others. It breaks it down in a light manner. Yes, there is not a lot of detailed information, but too much would overload the viewer. It introduces them and allows them the opportunity to do more research or go on the knowledge they gained.

This. It's a 'zine (though to be honest, I'm not sure most people here understand DIY culture enough to know what a 'zine really is) not a scientific essay.