The 57 Bus

The 57 Bus

by

Dashka Slater

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The 57 Bus makes teaching easy.

Aromantic Term Analysis

Not being “romantically attracted to anyone.” Sasha identifies as aromantic when they describe their nontraditional relationship with Nemo, who happens to be asexual and gender fluid. Sasha and Nemo are “soul mates, but not in a romantic sense.”

Aromantic Quotes in The 57 Bus

The The 57 Bus quotes below are all either spoken by Aromantic or refer to Aromantic. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Gender and Sexuality Theme Icon
).
Part 1: Genderqueer Quotes

Most of us see gender and sexuality and romance as one big interconnected tangle of feelings—this is who I am, this is who I’m attracted to, this is who I love. But as Sasha began exploring the topic online, they found that some people had developed language for combing the tangle into individual strands. In these online conversations, the word sex referred purely to biology—the chromosomes, organs, and anatomy that define male and female from the outside. Gender was the word for what people felt about themselves, how they felt inside. Sexuality was the category for who you were physically attracted to. Romantic was the category for who you felt romantic attraction to. And there was a whole array of distinctions within each category as well. It was like a gigantic menu, with columns and columns of choices.

Related Characters: Sasha
Page Number: 32
Explanation and Analysis:
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Aromantic Term Timeline in The 57 Bus

The timeline below shows where the term Aromantic appears in The 57 Bus. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1: Gender, Sex, Sexuality, Romance: Some Terms
Gender and Sexuality Theme Icon
Binary Thought and Inclusive Language Theme Icon
Romance is an entirely separate category, and those who are “aromantic” don’t feel any romantic inclination. A “biromantic” is romantically drawn to both women and men,... (full context)
Part 1: Sasha and Nemo
Gender and Sexuality Theme Icon
Binary Thought and Inclusive Language Theme Icon
...sort of sprang fully-formed on that camping trip.” Their relationship is “confusing,” since Sasha is aromantic and Nemo is asexual, but they “complement each other.” Just like in their favorite comic,... (full context)