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A groundbreaking deep dive into the history, politics and lived experiences of three often-misunderstood identities: Asexuality, Aromanticism and Agender.How did asexual identity form? What is aromanticism? How does agender identity function? Researcher and writer Michael Paramo explores these misunderstood experiences, from the complex challenge of coming out to navigating the western lens of attraction. Expertly mapping their history, Paramo traces the emergence of vital online communities to the origins of the Victorian binaries that still restrict us today.
Powerfully persuasive and thought-provoking, Ending the Pursuit asks us to reimagine sexuality, romance and gender without the borders imposed by society.
With a groundbreaking blend of memoir and poetry, online articles and discussions,
Ending the Pursuit is a much-needed addition to the cultural conversation. It encourages us to end the search for ‘normalcy’ and gives voice to an often-misunderstood community.
List of contents
Author’s note xiii
Introduction - 1
Coming out of the Impossible - 9
A T T R A C T I O N - 45
The Cyberspatial Emergence of Asexual Identity - 87
Victorian Desirelessness and (Un)civilized Desires - 109
On Love and the (A)romantic - 135
Notes from the Agender Refuge - 173
Conclusion - 187
About the Author - 195
Endnotes - 197
Supporters - 231
About the author
Michael Paramo is a Xicanx researcher, writer, poet, and artist born and raised in the suburbs of southern California (on Tongva land) in a Mexican-American family. They created AZE (azejournal.com) in 2016, a platform that publishes the writing and artwork of asexual, aromantic, and agender authors. AZE has been recognized for its work in books and by several universities, whilst Paramo’s own writing has been published in the Video Game Art Reader and cited in the Handbook for Human Sexuality Counseling. Their visual art has been published in the University of New Mexico’s Blue Mesa Review and they release music under the name COZMECA.
Summary
A groundbreaking deep dive into the history, politics and lived experiences of three often-misunderstood identities:Asexuality, Aromanticism and Agender.
Foreword
- Events through LA, San Diego, Vancouver
- National and local review attention, including LA Weekly, LA Review of Books
- Promotion through CALIBA, e-blast
- Promotion through AZE journal
- Academic marketing and outreach through author’s affiliations, including UC Davis, University of British Columbia, Princeton, etc
- Social Media through the author’s channels, and Unbound
- Promotion during Asexual Awareness Week (Oct 22-28) and Pride Month annually
- Social media handle: @azejournal
