Looking for accurate and heartfelt ace representation? Look no further
BY KLARA FERRAIOLI-SCHUBERT, IMAGE BY MEDIUM DENSITY
Asexuality is unfortunately often overlooked in the media, and in the rare cases where asexual characters are included, they aren’t always the most accurate. This stems from asexuality being largely misunderstood.
Here are four ace characters in film and TV that touchingly and – most importantly – accurately reflect what it means to be asexual.
Rönkkö, Girl Picture
A Finnish coming-of-age film, Girl Picture is about three teenage girls, Mimmi, Rönkkö and Emma, who are coming to terms with romance and relationships. Mimmi and Emma quickly meet and begin dating, exploring their sexuality, while Rönkkö begins to explore her asexuality. Rönkkö comes to realise that she doesn’t experience the same desire for sex as Mimmi and the other young people around her. When she admits this, Mimmi assures her that all she needs is “practice.” Rönkkö then decides to get involved with various boys to try to find one that will make sex feel good for her.
To Rönkkö, Mimmi and Emma’s relationship begins to represent everything she is not, and she starts to believe that this means there is something wrong with her. She doesn’t know that not liking sex is even an option. Although Rönkkö never uses the word asexual, the film’s close finds Rönkkö admitting, both to herself and a potential date, that she doesn’t like sex. Rönkkö’s journey from believing that she is “abnormal” or “broken” to finally being able to admit how she feels about sex is something many aces can relate to.
Valentina “Voodoo” Dunacci, Sirens
Sirens is an American series that follows a group of EMTs working in Chicago. Valetina, referred to as “Voodoo” because of her interest in the macabre, is a recurring character on the show who is openly asexual. Her asexuality is initially mentioned by her co-worker to another character, Brian, and is later confirmed by Voodoo herself. Brian ends up trying to pursue Voodoo and later tells her that he is also “kind of asexual” because he hasn’t had sex with anyone since his last relationship. Voodoo doesn’t let this comment slide and quips back: “See that’s the difference between us, you can’t get laid – I don’t want to.”
Brian continues to press Voodoo about her disinterest in sex. He compares asexuality to not liking olives, suggesting the classic cliché: “Maybe it’s just a phase.” Voodoo shuts this down, saying the only thing she hates more than sex is“talking about how I don’t like it”.
Todd Chavez – Bojack Horseman
In a show that centres on anthropomorphic horse Bojack grappling with his various issues, many find Todd’s self-discovery as asexual extremely relatable. In the series three finale, Todd admits to his then-girlfriend that he “might be nothing”, meaning not gay but not entirely straight either. Todd’s asexuality is then confirmed in season four when he officially comes out to Bojack. In this moving scene, Todd admits that he doesn’t feel like he’s “allowed to be in love”, a reflection of how many aces are often made to feel inadequate for not experiencing sexual desire.
We follow along with Todd as he begins dating Yolanda, an asexual female axolotl (a clever choice from the writers). However, it’s soon made clear that aside from their asexuality, the two have little in common. When Todd assures Yolanda that there is someone else who is perfect for her and who is also asexual, Yolanda replies, “But what if there isn’t?”, a nod to the isolation that many aces experience.
What makes Todd’s character so successful is that he isn’t dominated by his asexuality. It’s an important storyline and a pivotal arc for him, but above all, Todd’s asexuality is simply one facet of a chaotic and complex personality.
Levi Danube – Something In The Dirt
Levi’s character in Something In The Dirt has been marked as the first canonically asexual character in horror cinema. Filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the film follows neighbours Levi and John, who both seem to witness supernatural happenings in their apartments and attempt to film them. Levi reveals his asexuality when he says to John, “I’ve never been attracted to anyone. And that is a very hard thing to explain to people that you’d be interested in dating.”
Again, what is striking about Something In The Dirt is that Levi’s asexuality is woven so casually into the narrative. Rather than asexuality being the focal point or forcing his character to revolve around his sexuality, Levi simply exists with asexuality just being a part of who he is.
Star – Queens Of The Qing Dynasty
Queens Of The Qing Dynasty follows Star, an asexual, gender-queer and neurodivergent youth. Following a suicide attempt, Star is hospitalised and befriends An, a student from Shanghai who volunteers to keep them company. As their friendship progresses, Star comes out to An as asexual. It was also during the filming of Queens Of Qing Dynasty that director Ashley McKenzie came to terms with her own asexuality.
Star’s struggles with their mental health are an all-too-familiar portrayal of what many asexual, genderqueer and neurodiverse young people experience. While the film largely centres around isolation and loneliness, Star and An’s friendship movingly shows the many forms of relationships and attraction that exist outside the romantic.
Dovydas – Slow
Slow is a Lithuanian romantic drama directed by Marija Kavtaradze, which follows a love story between sign-languageinterpreter Dovydas and dance instructor Elena. When Dovydas comes to interpret a class that Elena is teaching for deaf children, the pair are immediately drawn to one another. Their connection quickly shifts from platonic to romantic, where Dovydas then reveals that he is asexual: “I’m not attracted to anyone sexually. Never was.”
Despite their differences in how they express love and desire, Elena and Dovydas work together to navigate the intricacies of their relationship. Dovydas later reveals his fear that he is not enough for Elena and that she is unfulfilled in a relationship with him, while Elena confronts her own belief that love is intrinsically tied to physical intimacy. The film’s close offers a thoughtful exploration of how romantic love and intimacy can exist in many forms and how love is rooted in understanding and acceptance.
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