Please join us for this exciting in-person event! The I AM ACE panel will feature Cody Daigle-Orians, Ashabi Owagboriaye, Bruce Owens Grimm, and moderation by Adam Rhodes.

Please note: Pre-registration for this event is required. By pre-registering, you are verifying that you are fully vaccinated and will wear a mask throughout the entirety of the event.

REGISTER FOR THIS EVENT HERE! 

About I AM ACE, the book: 

How do I know if I’m actually sexual? How do I come out as asexual? What kinds of relationship can I have as an ace person?
If you are looking for answers to these questions, Cody is here to help. Within these pages lie all the advice you need as a questioning ace teen.
Tackling everything from what asexuality is, the asexual spectrum and tips on coming out, to intimacy, relationships, acephobia and finding joy, this guide will help you better understand your asexual identity alongside deeply relatable anecdotes drawn from Cody’s personal experience. Whether you are ace, demi, gray-ace or not sure yet, this book will give you the courage and confidence to embrace your authentic self and live your best ace life.

Cody Daigle-Orians is a writer and asexuality educator living in Columbus, Ohio. He is the creator of “Ace Dad Advice,” a social media based asexuality education project designed to support people exploring asexuality or questioning their sexual orientation. For his online work, he is nominated for a 2023 British LGBTQ Award for Online Influencer (alongside creators like Dylan Mulvaney, Davina DeCampo, and Alok Menon). He also leads trainings and workshops focused on ace and aro inclusion, as well as sex and relationships through an ace and aro lens. His book I AM ACE: ADVICE ON LIVING YOUR BEST ASEXUAL LIFE is out now, and he is at work on a second book, THE ACE AND ARO RELATIONSHIP GUIDE.

Ashabi Owagboriaye [She/They] is a Nigerian-American Multidisciplinary Artist, Advocate & overall Radical Dame living in the city of Chicago. In 2019, Ashabi created the page Ace In Grace, an online space used to educate folks about asexuality, while also uplifting Black and IPOC’s within this community. As an out-loud Black Androgynous Queer Asexual Woman, she uses her platforms and voice to not only shed light on this identity but also normalize the experiences of Asexuality & the intersections within. Outside of this, Ashabi is currently working towards graduating with her Master’s in Clinical & Mental Health Counseling, committed to continuing their education, bringing with her an emphasis on providing the most culturally competent care to her clients possible. She was awarded the 2020 Bi+/Queer Activism Award for her organizing work around Breonna Taylor and Pride without Prejudice and is also an NBCC 2021 Minority Fellow, she hopes to continue growing and educating others in ways that allow for the betterment of all the communities she’s been blessed to be a part of.

Bruce Owens Grimm’s work appears in, among others, The Rumpus, Zócalo Public Square, and in the Los Angeles Times bestseller, It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror. They coined the term “haunted memoir.” They are one of  the co-editors of Fat and Queer: An Anthology of Queer and Trans Bodies and Lives. They attended the 2021 Tin House Winter Workshop. They are a Pushcart nominee for their essay, “Inventory of a Haunted House, No.4” and are at work on a nonfiction book about ghosts, horror movies, and haunted queer spaces.

Adam M. Rhodes is a nonbinary first-generation Cuban American journalist whose work primarily focuses on queer people and the criminal justice system. Their recent work has examined HIV treatment access in Puerto Rico, HIV criminalization laws and a homophobic capital murder trial in Illinois, as well as housing of transgender prisoners in New Jersey. Rhodes was most recently a staff writer and social justice reporter at the Chicago Reader, and they have been published in outlets including The Appeal, BuzzFeed News and The Washington Post.

Accessibility: This event is at the bookstore, which is an accessible space. Seating is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Email events@womenandchildrenfirst.com with questions or to request accommodations.

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Tags: Adam Rhodes, Ashabi Owagboriaye, Bruce Owen Grimm, Chicago, Cody Daigle, Edgewater, I AM ACE, Women & Children First Bookstore