Things I Hate About Warriors Fanfiction

AsexualiTEA

I find the title just as cringy as you do but I just couldn't help myself.

I have a problem with the way the Warriors fandom portrays its asexual characters. This isn't exclusive to Warriors, its a societal issue, but I don't have a society rant book, I have a wc fanfiction rant book.

A big thing people don't seem to understand is asexual=/=aromantic. The only asexual characters I see are characters who don't take a mate. This exists in books too, like Mousefur or Charlie Weasley. But a lot of people who are asexual feel romantic attraction, and date people. It's perfectly possible to have a relationship without sex. I used to identify as asexual, and this always used to make me feel invalid. People make ace characters who don't have mates because it's the easiest way to show they're asexual, and generally because sex is seen as normal in relationships and a lot of people just make that assumption that ace people don't date, because if they don't feel sexual attraction, they can't possibly feel romantic attaction and be in relationships. To ace people, that can be hurtful. Not only is it an inaccurate portrayal, it comes off as "I don't believe anyone would want to date you, because sex is so important you can't have a relationship without it." And that makes ace people feel abnormal.

So when deciding to make an asexual character, don't just go, "oh hey, I haven't given Frostheart a mate. He can be asexual!" Instead, think: "Hey, I want to make an asexual character. How about Flickerbreeze? She has a mate and adopted kits. Maybe the reason she chose to take in those adopted kits was because she wanted kits, and adopting them made her more comfortable than forcing herself to mate to have kits."

The next problem I find is the personalities people give to their ace characters. We're all well aware of the gay stereotype, a flamboyant and feminine man who is so confident and loves fashion. But we often overlook the asexual stereotype.  And, you know, I get that the two stereotypes aren't comparable - a man can be beaten up, killed, abused, because he acts stereotypically gay. That doesn't happen to asexuals. But the stereotype is still hurtful! Not everyone who's asexual is shy, quiet, cold and aloof. I hate this stereotype. I absolutely fucking hate it. It all goes back to the idea that anyone who doesn't like sex is a frigid, disinterested person who doesn't care about others, which just screams "you're weird and abnormal because you don't like sex!" Nothing like that to make a person feel like absolute and utter shit about their identity. Why can't extroverted people be asexual? Why can't wild, fun, and outgoing people with lots of friends be asexual? Experiencing sexual attraction or not experiencing it isn't a personality trait.

So why not make your funny, social butterfly character asexual? It won't effect the story in any way. Maybe that character just won't have kits in the future. Maybe they'll fuck once to get pregnant and have kits, but still not experience attraction, who knows? But please try to stay away from the "I'm the quiet and shy awkward girl uwu" stereotype, and please, for the love of god stay away from the "I'm An EmO tWiStEd CyClE pAtH aNd I DoN't CaRe AbOuT aNyOnE eLsE" stereotype. That last one is really fucking dehumanising. Asexual people aren't robots. They aren't unlovable monsters. Surely you can see why making all your villains asexual is shit representation? Not only is it negative representation, but it's also poor writing. Don't claim they're asexual because you can't envision them being in a relationship; flesh your villain out enough to give them relationships.

Stop writing your asexual characters as unattractive. I see this happen a lot in other fandoms, like with Peter Pettigrew in the HP fandom. This is rooted in fatphobia and the idea that for someone not to have sex, they must be undesirable. No way. Someone can be hot as hell and be asexual. Asexual people can be goddamn beautiful, interesting and funny, and still not want to fuck.  Their identity has nothing to do with their personality or their appearance.

Asexual people don't act like cold, standoffish robots. Not wanting sex doesn't make someone innocent or immature. Stop infantilizing asexual characters, it's fucking weird.

I wish asexual (and aromantic) characters were treated better within the fandom. When I look back on one of the first chapters in this book, lgbt+ representation, it's wonderful to see how far we've come in this fandom. It's less common to have a book full of straight characters than one with lgbt+ characters, and that's great! But as I said in the revised version of that chapter, we still have a way to go. We need to do more than just represent a range of sexualities, we have to put in the effort to represent them well. It's not too difficult - just do a little research. Search up "how to write asexual characters."

I know representation is a big topic for authors and brings up a lot of differing opinions. I know it can be scary. But these are conversations we need to be having, now more than ever. Writing, when taken seriously, can be difficult, and that means putting effort into your characters and their identities. I promise no one will crucify you if you make a mistake. Everyone does it! The media likes to twist cancel culture into some huge problem, but I guarantee the Warriors community won't go on a witch hunt for you accidentially misrepresent an identity. Please just listen to critiques, research, learn, and rectify your mistakes. I don't want anyone to walk away being scared to write asexual characters, but I need you all to think critically about your writing and your characters. Plenty of people just write for fun and not seriously, and that's fine! You might not want to research every detail. But please be aware that the identities you include in your fics are real identities. Belonging to real people who are affected by the way they're represented in media. You don't have to write all the nuances of an identity, but please put in the effort to actively do no harm. Stay away from stereotypes. It's not that hard, guys!