Aline explores her journey of self-discovery and acceptance as an asexual individual, challenging societal norms and encouraging listeners to question their own desires in this interview episode.
19 Jul 2023
Behold, Unto Us a Child Is Born
Free From Desire is a finalist for a Signal Award. If you liked our podcast please vote HERE. (https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2023/limited-series-specials/general/diversity-equity-inclusion)
Aline always knew they wanted a child. As a teenager, they imagined adopting, having a child with friends, and being a single parent â as if their subconscious already knew that married life was not for them. But, getting a sperm donation in France as a single parent was illegal at the time. Aline had to get âcreativeâ and find the right doctor. While pregnant, they contemplate the idea of raising a kid in a hyper-sexualized and hyper-gendered world.
12 Jul 2023
Single, Asexual, Parent?
Free From Desire is a finalist for a Signal Award. If you like our podcast please vote HERE. (https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2023/limited-series-specials/general/diversity-equity-inclusion)
In this episode, Aline realizes they are a-romantic, which brings another big revelation â they donât want to wait for a romantic partner to start a family. Aline explores different kinds of families and co-parenting options, only to realize that romance plays a role in almost all of them. With this in mind, Aline decides theyâll become a parent on their own.
This episode features excerpts from Brutâs story âWhat is a platonic life partnership?â and from the podcast Call Your Girlfriend.
5 Jul 2023
The Sex Life of Asexuals
In this episode, Aline talks to us about the sex life of asexual people (including their own!). Since accepting their asexuality, they have had to rethink their relationship with intimacy and sexual attraction. Theyâve also wrestled with and reconfigured their interpretations of relationships and desire. Aline questions the way coupled relationships are normally perceived by talking to other asexual people and listening to their stories.
Special thanks to Fiona Conneely, Seth Rosner, and Sydney Klinghoffer whose voices you'd heard throughout the episode.
This episode features excerpts from the website OMG Yes!
28 Jun 2023
a·sex·u·al·i·ty â noun
When Aline discovers the concept of asexuality, they are relieved...and scared. They experience  phases of doubt and denial before they can truly understand this term and make it their own. In this episode, they look back on the birth of the concept and of the asexual community, thanks to the AVEN website created by David Jay. Aline explains why words are important tools and how they have helped them.
This episode features excerpts from the TV show Sex Education produced by Eleven Film and Netflix.
21 Jun 2023
Can I Be Cured?
Aline is afraid of failing in a relationship, so they go to a therapist to make sure theyâre not repressing any trauma that âblocksâ their sexuality. Aline explores the misconstruction of asexuality by medical and therapeutic communities and how it affect the mental and physical health of asexual people. Angela Chen, Kate Wood, and David Jay, a legendary asexual activist, all explain that asexuality is still widely perceived, not as a sexual orientation, but as a disorder to be cured.
14 Jun 2023
Practice Doesn't Always Make Perfect
Aline loses their virginity, in an effort to be like everyone else and because they want to be âliberated." In this episode, Aline looks back on that first time, and all the subsequent times. They try to understand why they forced themself into sexual encounters when they didnât desire sex. With the help of Kate Wood, Australian asexual activist and Megan Carroll, Aline tries to dissect the mechanisms behind this self-inflicted violence.
This episode features excerpts from the movies Cruel Intentions produced by Columbia Pictures and Newmarket Films and Those Happy Days produced by Quad Productions. It also features an excerpt from the website OMGYes.
7 Jun 2023
What Is Wrong With Me?
Aline thinks back to their childhood and teenage years and remembers how their lack of interest in boys and sex made them an outcast. By the time they were in business school, their absence of sexual desire was astonishing to others, with coworkers giving them unwarranted advice on how to lose their virginity. With the help of Megan Carroll, a sociology professor who realized she was asexual at the age of 30, and Angela Chen, author of "Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex,â Aline reflects on this âcompulsory sexuality" and why itâs so prevalent in society.
This episode features excerpts from the movies: American Pie produced by Universal Pictures, Casablanca produced by Warner Brothers, and Moulin Rouge produced by Bazmark Productions and 20th Century Fox. From TV shows: Conan produced by Conanco and Warner Brothers Television, Dawsonâs Creek produced by Columbia Tristar Television, Netflixâs Emily in Paris produced by Darren Star Productions, Jacks Media, and MTV entertainment studios, The Ellen Show produced by A Very Good Production, Telepictures Productions, and Warner Brothers Television. And from the Netflix is a Joke YouTube channel produced by Netflix, as well as from the French radio show, Loving Fun, produced by Fun Radio.
25 Apr 2023
đșđž Trailer Free from Desire
Aline shares their personal journey of discovering asexuality and navigating life without sexual or romantic desire, offering insights into self-acceptance and challenging societal expectations in this interview.
25 Apr 2023
Trailer
For years, Aline thought âit will eventually come.â They'd even put themselves in uncomfortable situations to try and force it to happen. It never did. They felt isolated, excluded, and ashamed. What is life without experiencing sexual or romantic desire â from a one-night stand to a coupled relationship? At 20, they finally started to find answers.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.7 / 5
69 ratings
Spotify
4.9 / 5
223 ratings
Contact Free From Desire: Asexual in the City of Love
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