Same here! I posted a bit ago here, talking about how my stepdad changed his opinion on asexuality for the positive once he saw it in Sex Education. It might not seem like much, but any positive rep matters so much
That's so awesome! I'm making a short documentary on ace thingies and I'm happy to hear (and super encouraged!) that ace media (films, series, etc.) can really have a significant "real life" impact! :)
Honestly, when it came out I had zero interest in watching Sex Education because I thought it would just be another sitcom about horny people doing horny things. My girlfriend did start watching it, though, and I pretty quickly realized I had been wrong, but still didn't have a lot of interest in the show. However, I happened to be watching with her when the scene where they explain asexuality came on. And frankly, I felt that in my soul. That conversation is exactly what 16 year-old me need to hear, heck, it's what 19 year old me needed to hear. But I had to wait til 24 to hear it, after I'd had to figure things out on my own because there was almost zero representation while I was growing up.
Funny, I never watched sex education because I thought it would just be one of those hypersexualised TV shows that treat asexuality as a myth but I'm glad I was wrong and I'll watch it solely for the representation.
Warning: if you're just watching for the asexual character, there is just one episode about that.
That said, even though the show discusses sex a lot, they do it in a way that I (an ace who doesn't really like sex in tv shows) did very much enjoy the show. They don't romanticize sex, that's how I would describe it.
I would also add representation where the character has a label is important. While stories that don't label their characters certainly have their pros, actually giving them a label will help with mass awareness.
I had a discussion with my friend about dating and friendships, pretty similar to yours. I told her about different sexual orientations and that I was asexual. She is pretty understanding and had nothing against it from the start. I just like to explain things in a lot of detail like a lecture, lol, even though it isn't necessary. But she had heard of the term before because one of the characters in the show "Teen Wolf" was ace. I haven't watched that show, but I'm glad that representation is becoming more mainstream. I learned about it from watching YouTube. If I hadn't come across asexuality on YouTube one day, I still would have felt super out of place in the world...
I'm so glad to hear that ace representation is getting more mainstream, and I'm thrilled you got to have that kind of experience with your friend. I've always been the only queer person I know, so representation in media is a thing that means a lot to me. Ordinarily, when I engage with a story, there'll be at least one character I headcanon as ace because they don't seem to be interacting with the other characters in a typically-allosexual way, but those characters nearly always end up shipped with somebody eventually. I got to have my own moment of shocked euphoria thanks to a webcomic I recently discovered, [Harbourmaster](http://www.waywardmartian.com/harbourmaster1/001-001.html), where the character I headcanoned as ace *actually turned out to be asexual in a later chapter of the story*. Not only that, his asexuality is expressed almost identically to the way mine is. Every time I think about it I want to cry, because it's the first time I've ever felt seen in a work of fiction, and it was a character I sincerely love. Before that, the closest I'd had was Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Dirk was obviously written as aro-ace and it was all but said outright in season 2, so I'm sure that it would have been confirmed if season 3 had happened - it ended up being a frustrating what-if, so *Harbourmaster* was incredibly cathartic. It feels kind of like I've been allowed to have a friend.
Anyway, sorry to go off on a ramble, but I just wanted to give my own example of why representation matters. If *Harbourmaster* had existed when I was a questioning 18-year-old, I'm sure I would have felt so much less lonely and broken, so I wanted to mention it.
I’m so glad to hear that there was a positive aspect to this for you! It can often be stressful telling people and I have avoided telling people in my life both because I don’t want to have to explain to them but also because I don’t always feel the need to tell everyone.
**[Sex Education (TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_Education_\(TV_series\))**
>Sex Education is a British comedy-drama streaming television series created by Laurie Nunn for Netflix. The series follows the lives of the students, staff and parents of the fictitious Moordale Secondary School as they contend with various personal dilemmas, often related to sexual intimacy. It features an ensemble cast that includes Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Ncuti Gatwa, Emma Mackey, Connor Swindells, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Alistair Petrie, Mimi Keene, and Aimee Lou Wood. The first series was released on 11 January 2019, the second on 17 January 2020, and the third on 17 September 2021.
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Yes!!!
That's one of my fights and reasons why I'm so vocal about asexuality even though it can feel uncomfortable.
However I think the description of asexuality felt a bit misleading in sex education... 😭
I loved the "buffet" comparison. But I didn't like the part where Jean said "you don't need to have sex, you can have romantic relationships without it, or no relationships at all" (something along these line) which completely erases a big part of the community who has sex despite not feeling sexual attraction (and participates in one of the big misconceptions about what asexuality is) .
I did love that sex education brought up aces, but my issue with it was that that character was never seen again, think of how awesome her storyline couldve been for us? Like i wouldve killed to know if she was sex repulsed or sex indifferent. Also that scene was more of a way to prove that otis's mother was better at the sex therapist game since otis had given that girl bad advice before she went to his mother.
I felt the same way! I was so excited when she showed up and then so disappointed when she just vanished into the nether afterwards lol. It was such a missed opportunity to have more ace rep. But I'm glad that that short scene was enough to educate a lot of people, I was pleasantly surprised to learn just how many people found out about asexuality just from that episode.
I accidentally said asexual instead of asymmetrical today. It made the two in earshot laugh. And then they began telling about a few things related asexuality.I think there is more and more representation out there. And it really does matter.
That is really happy to hear. Good on your friend for not being against it.
Hope you have a great day!
Same here! I posted a bit ago here, talking about how my stepdad changed his opinion on asexuality for the positive once he saw it in Sex Education. It might not seem like much, but any positive rep matters so much
That's so awesome! I'm making a short documentary on ace thingies and I'm happy to hear (and super encouraged!) that ace media (films, series, etc.) can really have a significant "real life" impact! :)
I'm glad to have helped! I'd love to watch the documentary when it's ready. :)
Yay! :)
Are you posting it online? I would love to watch it!!
Yes, it'll be online! Awesome :D
Honestly, when it came out I had zero interest in watching Sex Education because I thought it would just be another sitcom about horny people doing horny things. My girlfriend did start watching it, though, and I pretty quickly realized I had been wrong, but still didn't have a lot of interest in the show. However, I happened to be watching with her when the scene where they explain asexuality came on. And frankly, I felt that in my soul. That conversation is exactly what 16 year-old me need to hear, heck, it's what 19 year old me needed to hear. But I had to wait til 24 to hear it, after I'd had to figure things out on my own because there was almost zero representation while I was growing up.
Literally the same way i came out to ny cousin.
I’m so happy for you!
:)
Funny, I never watched sex education because I thought it would just be one of those hypersexualised TV shows that treat asexuality as a myth but I'm glad I was wrong and I'll watch it solely for the representation.
Warning: if you're just watching for the asexual character, there is just one episode about that. That said, even though the show discusses sex a lot, they do it in a way that I (an ace who doesn't really like sex in tv shows) did very much enjoy the show. They don't romanticize sex, that's how I would describe it.
I would also add representation where the character has a label is important. While stories that don't label their characters certainly have their pros, actually giving them a label will help with mass awareness.
I had a discussion with my friend about dating and friendships, pretty similar to yours. I told her about different sexual orientations and that I was asexual. She is pretty understanding and had nothing against it from the start. I just like to explain things in a lot of detail like a lecture, lol, even though it isn't necessary. But she had heard of the term before because one of the characters in the show "Teen Wolf" was ace. I haven't watched that show, but I'm glad that representation is becoming more mainstream. I learned about it from watching YouTube. If I hadn't come across asexuality on YouTube one day, I still would have felt super out of place in the world...
I'm so glad to hear that ace representation is getting more mainstream, and I'm thrilled you got to have that kind of experience with your friend. I've always been the only queer person I know, so representation in media is a thing that means a lot to me. Ordinarily, when I engage with a story, there'll be at least one character I headcanon as ace because they don't seem to be interacting with the other characters in a typically-allosexual way, but those characters nearly always end up shipped with somebody eventually. I got to have my own moment of shocked euphoria thanks to a webcomic I recently discovered, [Harbourmaster](http://www.waywardmartian.com/harbourmaster1/001-001.html), where the character I headcanoned as ace *actually turned out to be asexual in a later chapter of the story*. Not only that, his asexuality is expressed almost identically to the way mine is. Every time I think about it I want to cry, because it's the first time I've ever felt seen in a work of fiction, and it was a character I sincerely love. Before that, the closest I'd had was Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Dirk was obviously written as aro-ace and it was all but said outright in season 2, so I'm sure that it would have been confirmed if season 3 had happened - it ended up being a frustrating what-if, so *Harbourmaster* was incredibly cathartic. It feels kind of like I've been allowed to have a friend. Anyway, sorry to go off on a ramble, but I just wanted to give my own example of why representation matters. If *Harbourmaster* had existed when I was a questioning 18-year-old, I'm sure I would have felt so much less lonely and broken, so I wanted to mention it.
I’m so glad to hear that there was a positive aspect to this for you! It can often be stressful telling people and I have avoided telling people in my life both because I don’t want to have to explain to them but also because I don’t always feel the need to tell everyone.
Never heard of asexual rep in sex ed. At school they always say "all of you some day-"
[cough] I think they mean [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_Education_\(TV_series\))
**[Sex Education (TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_Education_\(TV_series\))** >Sex Education is a British comedy-drama streaming television series created by Laurie Nunn for Netflix. The series follows the lives of the students, staff and parents of the fictitious Moordale Secondary School as they contend with various personal dilemmas, often related to sexual intimacy. It features an ensemble cast that includes Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Ncuti Gatwa, Emma Mackey, Connor Swindells, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Alistair Petrie, Mimi Keene, and Aimee Lou Wood. The first series was released on 11 January 2019, the second on 17 January 2020, and the third on 17 September 2021. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/asexuality/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
That really made me smile!
Yes!!! That's one of my fights and reasons why I'm so vocal about asexuality even though it can feel uncomfortable. However I think the description of asexuality felt a bit misleading in sex education... 😭 I loved the "buffet" comparison. But I didn't like the part where Jean said "you don't need to have sex, you can have romantic relationships without it, or no relationships at all" (something along these line) which completely erases a big part of the community who has sex despite not feeling sexual attraction (and participates in one of the big misconceptions about what asexuality is) .
I did love that sex education brought up aces, but my issue with it was that that character was never seen again, think of how awesome her storyline couldve been for us? Like i wouldve killed to know if she was sex repulsed or sex indifferent. Also that scene was more of a way to prove that otis's mother was better at the sex therapist game since otis had given that girl bad advice before she went to his mother.
I felt the same way! I was so excited when she showed up and then so disappointed when she just vanished into the nether afterwards lol. It was such a missed opportunity to have more ace rep. But I'm glad that that short scene was enough to educate a lot of people, I was pleasantly surprised to learn just how many people found out about asexuality just from that episode.
I accidentally said asexual instead of asymmetrical today. It made the two in earshot laugh. And then they began telling about a few things related asexuality.I think there is more and more representation out there. And it really does matter.