#i will stand by a radical definition of neurodivergence and queer

[dernisseznirp]

I really can't be trusted with definitions of terms cause I will be so petty about people using terms wrong.

[mediaevalmusereads]

A Duke in Disguise. By Cat Sebastian. New York: Avon Books, 2019.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Genre: historical romance

Part of a Series? Yes, Regency Impostors #2

Summary: One reluctant heir

If anyone else had asked for his help publishing a naughty novel, Ash would have had the sense to say no. But he’s never been able to deny Verity Plum. Now he has his hands full illustrating a book and trying his damnedest not to fall in love with his best friend. The last thing he needs is to discover he’s a duke’s lost heir. Without a family or a proper education, he’s had to fight for his place in the world, and the idea of it—and Verity—being taken away from him chills him to the bone. One radical bookseller All Verity wants is to keep her brother out of prison, her business afloat, and her hands off Ash. Lately it seems she’s not getting anything she wants. She knows from bitter experience that she isn’t cut out for romance, but the more time she spends with Ash, the more she wonders if maybe she’s been wrong about herself. One disaster waiting to happen Ash has a month before his identity is exposed, and he plans to spend it with Verity. As they explore their long-buried passion, it becomes harder for Ash to face the music. Can Verity accept who Ash must become or will he turn away the only woman he’s ever loved?

***Full review under the cut.***

Content Warnings: sexual content, epileptic seizures, mentions of domestic violence and childhood neglect

I picked up this book because I was really excited about the premise. A bisexual female heroine? Who runs a print shop? That prints racy and borderline seditious books? And has a friends-to-lovers arc with the hero? Sounds like a dream! While there were definitely some things that I loved, I definitely wish there was more work put into making the plot more angsty or high-stakes. Personally, I found the main conflict to be shallow, as the tension was not in the matter of the hero's hidden identity (which was resolved relatively quickly and without much drama), but in the protagonists' feelings and principles. That in itself isn't a bad thing, but in the case of this book, it seems like most of the conflict could have been resolved with a good sit-down-and-talk. I prefer my conflicts to be a little more external - such as social class being a barrier - so that the drama feels a bit more out of the protagonists' control. Thus, I can only give this book 3 stars. I liked it, I just wished there was *more*. Writing: Sebastian's prose is pretty much what one might expect in a romance novel. It's straight-forward and doesn't involve a lot of rhetorical flourishes, which allows the plot to move along quickly and clearly. I don't have a lot to say other than that, and I don't mean it as an insult. The prose does its job, and I didn't have any trouble imagining what was going on. Plot: It's perhaps misleading to say that this book is entirely about the hero's hidden identity. The matter of Ash's parentage and title doesn't start in earnest until some 130 pages into the novel, and before that, we mainly follow Verity as she tries to save her brother from being arrested. In my opinion, these two plots could have paralleled one another much better; Verity and her brother are radicals in that they support equal rights between the sexes and social classes, so I think the matter of Ash being a duke could have been a significantly more threatening strain on his relationship with the Plums. As it stands, it felt like Verity's brother was easily disposed of within the first 100 pages or so, and the matter of sedition and politics didn't play a major role in the plot involving Ash's parentage, making it feel like filler. I would have much rather seen more drama, such as Ash's new family not wanting him to associate with the Plums, having the Plums' politics threaten Ash's court case, etc. That way, Ash would have had to make more difficult choices regarding whether or not he wanted to claim his title. Once we got into Ash's conflict, I do think Sebastian did some things well. I liked that Ash was accepting his place out of concern for his aunt's safety rather from any sense of familial duty or desire to be rich. The tension between blood vs found families was a good one, though I think more pressure could have been put on class issues. I also think Sebastian could have crafted her overall narrative a little better, as I didn't exactly feel like the story was suspenseful or the scenes built on one another. Aside from brief moments, it felt like plot points were happening at random and I didn't really have a sense of where the story was going. I would have liked to see, for example, instances of Ash gathering evidence for his case or Verity's advice column mirroring what she was going through - something that gives us a clearer arc and entwines the printing/sedition storyline with the hidden identity/duke storyline (rather than seemingly have one happen after the other). Characters: Verity, our heroine, is a bisexual woman who is afraid of showing weakness or asking for help. She runs her family's bookshop and prints a number of different things, from raunchy novels to a (weekly? monthly?) paper containing essays and advice. Aside from her bookishness, I liked that Verity was flawed; she was stubborn and stuck to her beliefs even when they caused conflict with the people around her, which felt real and multi-faceted. I also liked that she was direct when asking for what she wanted from Ash, and that she was committed to retaining her independence as a woman and printer. The one thing I didn't like about her was that, at times, she seemed to have a not-like-other-girls attitude. She would often turn her nose up at things women did that she considered frivolous or profess to not understand why people acted in certain ways (despite some of those actions being societal norms). Ash, our hero, was also a refreshing character. Aside from being epileptic, he is very kind and caring, and he respects Verity's boundaries without being gruff and broody. I prefer these types of men in my romances because I like heroes who are emotional and vulnerable without being violent or abusive beforehand. Supporting characters were hit or miss, but on the whole, most of them were complex and interesting. Nate, Verity's brother, is idealistic and stubborn, so he was a nice compliment to Verity's character. Portia, Verity's former lover, was perhaps my favorite; despite being Verity's ex, she was kind and supportive, putting their friendship over romantic feelings when it was clear that Verity needed someone to lean on. The rest felt more or less like archetypes (such as Ash's uncle) or characters used solely for plot reasons (Ash's aunt, Lady Caroline). Amelia, Portia's daughter, could have been interesting, but her plot line doesn't really enhance the main story. Romance: Verity and Ash have a friends-to-lovers arc that, in my opinion, doesn't have enough drama or angst. This isn't to say I want more violence or petty conflict; rather, I would have liked to see the couple contend with external forces that put pressure on their relationship, such as social class. While class is certainly an issue, it doesn't seem like a great threat to the HEA ending, as everyone around Ash approves of the idea of marriage to Verity. As a result, the drama in this book was mainly driven by the characters' inability to talk about their feelings, and even when they do, the romance doesn't evolve or grow that much. There aren't really many milestones, such as them opening up about some past trauma (which I guess wouldn't be an issue, if they'd been best friends for so long) or navigating a crisis together (which they kind of do, but also don't). Everything is resolved when Verity and Ash just decide to get over their reasons for not being together, which to me felt cheap. TL;DR: A Duke in Disguise provides some much needed queer and neurodivergent representation to the romance genre, but relies on a shallow plot without much angst or drama. While I did appreciate the focus on female independence throughout the novel, I also wish the characters had been made to contend with more external forces that threatened their relationship and that the romance had grown and evolved a little more.

[too-spicy-and-too-queer]

I took an 'intro to queer studies' course back in 2017. It was crazy enlightening and awesome. I was especially excited for the scheduled discussion about aromanticism...That day also included pansexuality and 97% of it was about that. I thought, "people are killed and harrassed for loving the same sex, so who tf cares about aros? We have nothing to worry about." I have nothing against the lgbtq+ community. But now I know that the class didn't know about amatonormativity. Where do we stand?

Honestly, I’m glad that aromanticism was mentioned at all in a queer studies class.  We’re basically unknown to everyone outside aro and ace communities.  I’ve done a good bit of organizing in queer communities and never met anyone who had even heard of aromanticism except aces and a couple of very thorough sociologists.  Sadly, it doesn’t surprise me that the whole class time was spent on pansexuality and not aromanticism.

We aromantics may not be targeted by the same kind of deadly public threats that a lot of other queer people face, but as I discussed in a previous post, we do face plenty of discrimination, abuse, ostracization, pathologization, and even assault, just like asexuals face.  Though I hate making such a grim prediction, it may only be a matter of time before we do face more targeted aggression as we become more visible.

It’s also important to note that the claim “aromantics aren’t oppressed” is itself an attack on our identity and our history by attempting to erase us.  The oppression we face is very similar to the oppression bisexuals face, which shouldn’t be surprising since we used to fall under the bisexual umbrella.  Anyone who does not conform to cisheteronormativity is subject to attack.  Aros in particular pose a radical threat to cisheteronormativity that no other queer orientation does: the threat of exposing how narrow and fragile are our society’s definitions of intimacy and love.

I implied it in the above paragraph, but I want to explicitly say it before I move on: being queer isn’t defined by being oppressed or being in particular relationships.  The foundation of queerness is one’s internal experience of one’s own identity and attractions.  When any part of that experience does not match the cisheteronormative narratives, then that is a queer experience.

I know it can feel like some queer communities have turned their backs on us, with the rise of exclusionism on Tumblr and the indifference towards or outright rejection of aces and aros in some IRL queer spaces.  But I assure you, we deserve just as much recognition and dignity as other queer identities, and we have plenty of allo queer allies, especially intersectionalists.  I think forging community bonds along intersectional lines is the best way forward for us.  Solidarity between aro communities and bi and enby communities is already strong, but connecting aromantic activism and decolonialism in particular I think has a lot of potential.  There are plenty of other communities that we can build bonds of solidarity with, like polyamorous communities and neurodivergent communities.  There’s a lot we can give to those communities with our unique perspectives, and a lot they can bring to us.

Even in the short time I’ve been involved in the online aromantic communities, I’ve seen tremendous growth and outreach, and a swelling confidence in our identities.  I think we have brighter days ahead of us, and it won’t be long before we’re more than a footnote in Intro to Queer Studies.