Difference between aversion and repulsion?

[Madao]

I have seen these two terms coming up a lot in Ace community. What is the exact difference between these both? Also, are these two terms limited only to sex, or other things like touch?

[roland.o]

aversion - I'd rather not / I don't like it

repulsion - I have to puke / I'm freaking out

 

Not limited to sex. Random search hit for "touch aversion"

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/spectrum-solutions/201111/touch-and-the-autism-spectrum

[Guest]

As roland said, aversion just means you don't want - for whatever reason. 

 

Repulsion implies you're disgusted by it, will have an extreme negative reaction to it. 

 

 

[everywhere and nowhere]

The difference I find most useful is that aversion only means that you personally don't want to participate in something. Repulsion is generalized. To me it doesn't speak anything about the intensity of these feelings - anyway, there are no two identical people, no two identical thoughtfeelings and any label is necessarily a simplification. Intensity can be specified separately - one can label oneself as sex-averse or sex-repulsed and, if asked, explain what does one dislike about sex, whether it's disgusting, revolting, unpleasant or just ugly.

No, sorry, my sex aversion is much stronger than "I'd rather not". The idea of personally engaging in sex makes me intensely uncomfortable, scared and disgusted. I feel that it's something I just couldn't do, I feel psychologically incapable of having partnered sex. Yet I believe that it would be a form of hypocrisy to call myself sex-repulsed if I don't feel any of the same aversion towards the idea of other people having sex, to the point that I enjoy third-person fantasies. So the only thing I can do is to use a label which shows that I'm only averse to the idea of personally having sex. I believe that this distinction - personal vs. generalized aversion - is more important than a distinction between different intensities of negative feelings because there will always be a graduation in this respect.

And yes, there are definitely different forms of aversion, not only towards sex. I'm nudity-averse as well - that is (still using the kind of aversion/repulsion distinction I prefer), I don't necessarily find other people's naked bodies repulsive (though I prefer clothed bodies and generally seeing someone naked is embarassing, which is why I don't let other people undress in my presence), but the idea of being seen naked is terrifying to me. In fact I believe that my sex aversion primarily stems from my nudity aversion.