AZE is a literary and art journal that was created to amplify asexual, aromantic, and agender writers and artists. It was established in 2016 as The Asexual, but expanded its scope in 2019. The journal has been recognized in numerous academic publications as well as in popular sources, including Alice Oseman’s Loveless (2022). AZE continues to encourage the collaboration of asexual, aromantic, and agender perspectives together, acknowledging how they each address different yet related aspects of cis-hetero-patriarchy. AZE has had the privilege of publishing hundreds of writers and artists who have shared their experiences, love, and knowledge here.
You can support AZE through Patreon: patreon.com/azejournal
“Asexual Kinship Capitalism, Reproduction, and an Imperiality of Asexuality” for Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives, Revised and Expanded Ten-Year Anniversary Edition by Eunjung Kim (Routledge, 2024).
Single at Heart: The Power, Freedom and Joy of Single Life by Bella DePaulo (Souvenir Press, 2024).
“Toward a Global Asexual Solidarity Beyond Identity” by Yo-Ling Chen in Asexualities (Routledge, 2024).
“#Platonicintimacy: Asian North American Asexualities and Their Fairytales” by Theresa N and Kenney in Asexualities (Routledge, 2024).
“Contested intersections: Asexuality and disability, illness, or trauma” by Anna Kurowicka. Sexualities (2023).
Ace and Aro Journeys: A Guide to Embracing Your Asexual or Aromantic Identity by The Ace and Aro Advocacy Project (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2023).
Ace Voices: What it Means to Be Asexual, Aromantic, Demi or Grey-Ace by Eris Young. (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2022).
"Digital sexual identities: Between empowerment and disempowerment" by Nicola Döring, Deevia Bhana, and Kath Albury. Current Opinion in Psychology 48, 101466 (2022): 1-7.
"Towards an asexual-affirming communication pedagogy" by Ben Brandley and Angela Labrador. Communication Education 48, 101466 (2022): 1-7.
"Chapter 8: The Multidimensional Nature of Attraction" by Stacey Diane A. Litam and Megan Speciale in Handbook for Human Sexuality Counseling: A Sex Positive Approach, Edited by Angela M. Schubert and Mark Pope. (John Wiley & Sons, 2022).
"Asexual Latina/o/x Representation in AZE" by Janeth Montenegro Marquez. Feral Feminisms 10, no. 2 (2022): 13-15.
Finding Normal: Sex, Love, and Taboo in Our Hyperconnected World by Alexa Tsoulis-Reay (St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2022).
"The Self-Identification, LGBTQ+ Identity Development, and Attraction and Behavior of Asexual Youth: Potential Implications for Sexual Health and Internet-Based Service Provision" by McInroy, Lauren B., Brieanne Beaujolais, Shelley L. Craig, and Andrew D. Eaton. Archives of Sexual Behavior 50, no. 8 (2021): 3853-3863.
“‘[T]he happiest, well-feddest wolf in Harlem’: Asexuality as Resistance to Social Reproduction in Claude McKay's Home to Harlem" by Smith, Justin. Feminist Formations 32, no. 3 (2020): 51-74. doi:10.1353/ff.2020.0040.
Glitter Up the Dark: How Pop Music Broke the Binary by Sasha Geffen. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2020.
“Personal agency disavowed: Identity construction in asexual women of color” by Foster, A. B., Eklund, A., Brewster, M. E., Walker, A. D., & Candon, E. (2019). Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 6(2), 127–137. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000310.
“AZE does a good job of creating a niche for individuals who crave it, and it includes authors and artists from diverse backgrounds who help create a diverse set of stories and theories that provide multiple points of view around asexuality, aromanticism, agendered embodiment, and other queer and trans identities. ”
“Thank you for writing this. It’s as clear and accurate a description of my own relationship to sex, sexuality and romance as I’ve ever read, and it’s incredibly validating. So grateful to you today.”
“This had me tearing up. This is why I love poetry. This feeling, these words that I feel and think so often, you found them! You found them and distilled them in their purest, most frustratingly simple form.”
“Muchas gracias por escribir la reflexión. Es cierto que muchas personas todavía no consideran que hay diferentes tipos de relaciones, y que no todas las personas quieren y le dan más importancia en su vida a las románticas que a las amistades.”
“very very well written. great job of allowing others to gain strength from your personal story of a real world reveal of who you are and owning that identity. kudos mate. hope I can do the same very soon also.”
“Gender has always felt like an itchy sweater I wished I could just take off. I’ve only recently come to the word “agender” as something to describe myself with. Thanks for putting your experience into words — I see myself reflected in them and I’ve never had that before.”
“Reading this five months later, it tilted my world on its side. It almost felt like I ghost wrote this, almost the exact same situation happened to me over the course of abt a year now and good God, did it feel uplifting to hear another Asexual say that despite it all they weren’t afraid to admit that their asexuality wasn’t the problem. Thank you. This meant so much to me to read”
“I appreciate you sharing your story. It is difficult to navigate the queer (lgbtqia+) community as a black person alone, but when adding a smaller identity like asexuality to the mix makes it even harder. I am happy that you have been able to find some community and figure some things about yourself. I hope your road eases a bit more as you grow.”
“Thank you for sharing your story. Sometimes it can be pretty hard to put yourself out there, but in the end, it can do so much good. It’s good to know that you’re not alone.”
“This was beautifully written and for the first time captured my feelings on how I have felt all these years.”
“This poem got me thinking for several minutes straight. Thank you so much for putting into words feelings and thoughts I never even knew I had inside”
Michael Paramo is a PhD student and interdisciplinary artist-researcher from Tovaangar who wrote Ending the Pursuit (Unbound, 2024)–a book that reflects on (a)sexual, (a)romantic, and (a)gender constructs historically and today. Ingram Academic listed the book as a recommended text in Political Sociology. Paramo’s research thematically addresses hybridity, transformation, and interconnectedness in the modern/colonial context.