Asexuality in popular culture

The dataset consists of sources used and analysed in the work on the chapter 'The ace art of failure: Asexuality and BoJack Horseman'. These include television shows, films and one comic book with asexual motifs, as well as popular and academic articles on representations of asexuality and, more specifically, asexuality in the 'BoJack Horseman' series.Abstract of the related publication:As asexuality is gaining visibility and recognition as a sexual identity, one area of particular interest for the ace community and researchers alike is popular culture. Recently, some television shows included asexual characters who were not only explicitly referred to as such, but who were also granted complex storylines. The most prominent ace character of recent years is Todd Chavez of the animated TV show for adults, BoJack Horseman (Netflix, 2014–20). Over the course of six seasons, Todd realises he is asexual, comes out, finds a community for himself, and eventually settles down with a girlfriend. This relatively straightforward trajectory of Todd’s personal life is contrasted with the vagaries of his career, which oscillates between great but fleeting success and utter failure. Asexuality depicted in BoJack turns out to be incompatible with capitalist success and heteronormative relationships, but it does offer an alternative in the form of a queer organisation of life focused on friendship.