In this paper I examine two young adult novels with asexual protagonists-Kathryn Ormsbee’s Tash Hearts Tolstoy (2017) and Claire Kann’s Let’s Talk About Love (2018)-and how their protagonists’ asexual identity is woven into their coming-of-age stories and romance arcs. This is why-as with all queer identities-it is important to represent and normalise asexuality within fiction, particularly fiction aimed at young people.

This can have an especially negative effect on asexual adolescents who are not experiencing the ‘rite of passage’ that is sexual desire and experimentation with sexual relationships. This societal narrative leaves people on the asexual spectrum-those who do not experience sexual attraction-on the margins and considered abnormal. Tash wants to enjoy her newfound fame, but will she lose her friends in her rise to the top? What would Tolstoy do?Īdditional Notes: Though it’s frequently assumed to be ownvoices for asexuality, it’s actually not.Abstract Sex is considered an intrinsic part of being human, and the development of a relationship with sex and sexuality an intrinsic part of growing up. Not so much the pressure to deliver the best web series ever.Īnd when Unhappy Families is nominated for a Golden Tuba award, Tash’s cyber-flirtation with Thom Causer, a fellow award nominee, suddenly has the potential to become something IRL-if she can figure out how to tell said crush that she’s romantic asexual. Tash is a fan of the forty thousand new subscribers, their gushing tweets, and flashy Tumblr GIFs. Her show is a modern adaptation of Anna Karenina-written by Tash’s literary love Count Lev Nikolayevich “Leo” Tolstoy. But what will happen when she tells him she is romantic asexual? And how will she deal with her newfound fame?Ĭheck out this book and more on our best of list for books with asexual characters.Īfter a shout-out from one of the Internet’s superstar vloggers, Natasha “Tash” Zelenka finds herself and her obscure, amateur web series, Unhappy Families, thrust into the limelight: She’s gone viral. And now she is on her way to the Golden Tuba awards, where she will finally meet the online celeb she has been flirting with face-to-face.

Tash’s web series, Unhappy Families, has gone viral.

Tash hearts tolstoy