Asexuality

Attraction

There are four main types of attraction:

Aesthetic Attraction - Attraction to someone’s appearance without it being romantic or sexual. Eg. Wow that person is really pretty

Sensual Attraction - Desire to have physical contact with someone else, like affectionate touching, cuddling, hugs, or kissing, that is not sexual or does not lead to sex. Eg Wow I would really like to cuddle that person

Romantic Attraction - Desire to be romantically involved with another person, or holding strong romantic feelings towards another person. Eg. Wow I really want to spend my life with that person

Sexual Attraction - Desire to have sexual contact with someone else or to share our sexuality with them. (Note: sexual attraction does not need to be based on appearance, and can also develop gradually over time.) Eg. [Redacted due to this being a school website]

Asexuality

The Asexual Spectrum

Asexuality, like most things, is on a spectrum. Asexual is at one end - experiencing no sexual attraction - while Allosexual is at the other - simply experiencing sexual attraction. In between these are identities such as Greysexual - experiencing very little sexual attraction and Demisexual - experiencing sexual attraction only after a close platonic or romantic bond has formed.

The Aromantic Spectrum

Similar to this, for romantic attraction there is the same scale. Aromantic at one end - experiencing no romantic attraction - Alloromantic at the other - experiencing romantic attraction. As before there are between these known as Greyromantic - experiencing very little romantic attraction and Demiromantic - experiencing romantic attraction only after a close platonic bond has formed.

⇦ Check out this video specifically for more information on Aromanticism.

Important note:

You can be a mixture of Asexual and other romantic orientations E.g. Biromantic, as well as a mixture of Aromantic and other sexual orientations E.g. Heterosexual. Asexual/Aromantic is also merely an indicator of how much attraction is felt rather than who you're attracted to. So you can be Demisexual as well as Pansexual (sometimes referred to as Demipansexual for short).

Relationships

Whilst Aromantic people do not feel romantic attraction, they can still be in successful and healthy relationships.

Queer Platonic Relationships/Partnerships

An umbrella term for a relationship that defies the divide between romantic partnership and "just" friends
This can describe feelings and relationships that are either or both non-romantic or ambiguously-romantic, in order to express that they break one or more social norms for relationships
Basically advocates for doing the things traditionally only people in relationships do Eg living together, raising children together, but not as a specifically romantic relationship

Fun Fact: A partner in a QPR/P can be called a zucchini

Sex Positive vs Sex Repulsed Asexuals

Like Asexuality itself, the amount you enjoy sexual acts as an Asexual is on a spectrum.

Sex Positive Asexuals can participate in and even enjoy sexual acts but just don’t experience sexual attraction to the person
Sex Repulsed Asexuals are - pretty self explanatorily - repulsed by sex and do not wish to have it. This is not the same as celibacy

Remember to communicate and make sure everyone is comfortable

No Relationships!

Some Asexuals and Aromantics just don’t want relationships at all and that’s totally valid!