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Types of Sexuality


superscyther

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superscyther

It seems that I keep discovering more and more kinds of sexuality, which is cool to learn about. I already know about heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual, and demisexual, but today I read the word "etherosexual" or something like that. What does that mean, and what other kinds of sexuality are there? Thanks!

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I had to look it up, but it ethrosexual just seems to be an alternative to heterosexual. Nonsexual is sometimes used in the same way with asexual.

Other sexualities include:

Gray-A asexuality: Generaly asexual, but with occasional sexual attracton. Demisexual is a subgroup of this.

Pansexual: Attracted to people regardless of sex/gender, and so including intersexed people and such.

Androsexual: Attraction to males without reference to that person's own gender

Gynosexual: Attraction to females without reference to that person's own gender

Androgenosexual: Attraction to androgyny

Queer: Any sexuality other than hetrosexual

Hetroflexible: Mainly heterosexual, but can be attracted to those of the same gender sometimes

Homoflexible: Mainly homosexual, but can be attracted to those of the opposite gender sometimes

Bicurious: "Someone who think they might be bi but haven't explored them selves enough to be sure" - do not get me started on how I hate that term

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metalgirl2045

Androsexual and gynosexual sound like very useful words, I may use them in future if the meaning is fairly self-explanatory!

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Matt, I don't want to sound like an english teacher, but since we are talking about exact terms / definitions, I just wanted to say "Pasexuality" is actually "Pansexuality".

Also, there are some others too. It's funny how "queer" is a real term, and people take it as an insult.

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Matt, I don't want to sound like an english teacher, but since we are talking about exact terms / definitions, I just wanted to say "Pasexuality" is actually "Pansexuality".

Stupid typo :redface:

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you*hear*but*do*you*listen
Matt, I don't want to sound like an english teacher, but since we are talking about exact terms / definitions, I just wanted to say "Pasexuality" is actually "Pansexuality".

Also, there are some others too. It's funny how "queer" is a real term, and people take it as an insult.

I've heard my mom say she hates the word "queer" when it's used by queers to define themselves. Being ace, I identify as queer, but I'm sure not telling her that! :P

Pomosexual, or undefined sexual orientation, is a neologism used to describe a person who shuns sexual orientation labels (such as heterosexual and homosexual), and in turn chooses not to label oneself with a sexual orientation. It is not to be confused with asexuality which is a sexual orientation used to describe an individual who does not experience sexual attraction. Pomosexuality is formed by adding the prefix pomo- (shorthand for postmodern) to the adjective -sexual, and is used in reference to oneself as a protest against such labels. --Wikipedia

Hey, a label for people who don't want to be labeled. Well, I suppose it's easier to say that explaining that one doesn't prefer the boundaries drawn by labels.

And, question: does "bisexual" imply equal attraction to both sexes, as opposed to one of the "flexible" orientations in which the person is attracted to both but one more than the other? (Operating under the assumption that there are only 2 genders, of course...)

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Also, there are some others too. It's funny how "queer" is a real term, and people take it as an insult.

I've heard my mom say she hates the word "queer" when it's used by queers to define themselves.

From The Simpsons:

Homer: Now they're just...

John: Queer?

Homer: And that's another thing. I resent you using that word. That's our word for making fun of you. We need it.

(I may have paraphrased a bit, I haven't seen that episode in a while)

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Hetroflexible: Mainly heterosexual, but can be attracted to those of the same gender sometimes

Homoflexible: Mainly homosexual, but can be attracted to those of the opposite gender sometimes

Bicurious: "Someone who think they might be bi but haven't explored them selves enough to be sure" - do not get me started on how I hate that term

Why do you hate the term "bicurious"? Just curious.

There was an online poll on another forum that I lurk in, and it appears that most people are [insert prefix]-flexible. The poll had options such as heterosexual but occasionally homosexual, etc. And even the people who claim that they are hetero/homosexual experience occasional "deviations" in sexuality. It was interesting to see the bisexuals' responses because some of them are attracted to their own/the opposite gender equally, while others are attracted more to one gender than the other.

The conclusion was that sexuality is really just a spectrum and that people fall on different points on the gradient.

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I don't really know if this is a real term or not, or if it truly exists, but I want to at least mention it.

Hypersexual = A person who experiences and extremely/abnormally high sex drive.

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superscyther

Hey, thanks everyone! :)

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silentdreamer

I don't like the term queer because it's been used in such a negative way for such a long time that it's lost whatever well-intentioned meaning it had. Kinda like the "N" word... but in reverse.

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Coined as far as I know by retrophile: parasexual

Means same as 'paraphiliac' except frames it as an orientation rather than a mental disorder.

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you*hear*but*do*you*listen
I don't like the term queer because it's been used in such a negative way for such a long time that it's lost whatever well-intentioned meaning it had. Kinda like the "N" word... but in reverse.

Maybe I have a skewed apprehension of that word because my college is very open to non-hetero orientations and I've heard plenty of people identify themselves as queer.

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silentdreamer
I don't like the term queer because it's been used in such a negative way for such a long time that it's lost whatever well-intentioned meaning it had. Kinda like the "N" word... but in reverse.

Maybe I have a skewed apprehension of that word because my college is very open to non-hetero orientations and I've heard plenty of people identify themselves as queer.

Well, if you've spent time around it in a good way, I can understand. It's just I've never been around many people who were accepting of other non-hetero orientations and they always used it in a negative and hurtful way. So it pisses me off when I hear it used now. But not by people who consider themselves queer. You're free to use any term you like, I just don't like to hear it used by a hetero cause it's most likely being used to put someone down. It's only in rare occasions I've heard it not used negatively.

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  • 2 weeks later...
And, question: does "bisexual" imply equal attraction to both sexes, as opposed to one of the "flexible" orientations in which the person is attracted to both but one more than the other? (Operating under the assumption that there are only 2 genders, of course...)

Bisexual means that you are consistently attracted to both sexes and would equally consider them for a relationship/sex, but you can still be attracted to one sex more than the other. My understanding is that flexi usually means that you're hetero/homo with the occasional tendancy to be attracted outside your normal orientation or willing to experiment under the right circumstances.

Other sexualities not mentioned so far:

Polysexual - I'm going the lazy route on this one, have a wiki exract: "Polysexuality refers to people who are attracted to more than one gender or sex but do not wish to identify as bisexual because it implies that there are only two binary genders or sexes. Polysexuals are those people sexually attracted to many different sorts of ideas and characteristics. Polysexuality should not be confused with pansexuality; pan meaning all, and poly meaning many, though not necessarily all."

Polyamory - people who like to engage in more than one relationship at a time. Not really a sexuality, but I find it interesting all the same.

Autosexuality - I'm a little unclear on whather this refers to someone who only engages in sexual activities with themselves or if it's the ultimate in narcissism

Trysexual - they'll try anything once :P

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metalgirl2045

How is polysexual supposed to differ from pansexual (if it is)?

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mad_scientist
I don't really know if this is a real term or not, or if it truly exists, but I want to at least mention it.

Hypersexual = A person who experiences and extremely/abnormally high sex drive.

It's a term but not an orientation. People of all sexualities can be hypersexual.

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How is polysexual supposed to differ from pansexual (if it is)?

Polysexuals are attracted to more than two genders, but can still not be attracted to certain genders

Pansexuals are just attracted to people of any gender, and gender isn't significant to them.

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metalgirl2045

So someone who was attracted to men, women and MTF transsexuals but not FTM or intersex would be polysexual?

For bi/pan/poly people, how obsessively pendantic someone is with terminology rather than details of who they're attracted to has more influence on what word they choose in my experience. Most bisexuals I know are probably pan technically and I really don't care.

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you*hear*but*do*you*listen

I have a friend who most would call pansexual, but she calls it "omnisexual." Which I think makes sense. Due to the way she described her attraction to any and all genders (her "type" just has to be a) emotionally compatible with her and b) interested in her), I have some suspicions that she might actually be a panromantic demisexual, but who am I to judge?

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There are also the Kinsey numbers.

0: Fully Hetero

1: Mostly Hetero, with homo tendencies

2: Bisexual, leaning towards hetero in preference

3: 50/50 Bisexual

4: Bisexual, leaning towards homo

5: Mostly homo, with hetero tendencies

6: Fully homo

X: Asexual

On queer, I've always rather liked that term, but then I'm pretty radical when it comes to the politics of appropriation to counter hateful smears. While racists may play fake ignorance about why blacks are allowed to use the n-word when they "can't", it doesn't change the fact that by appropriating a term meant to evoke some of the most grisly hate crimes mete on a minority population with a term of tribal identification and a sense of fighting back. But that's just me. People offended by the history of ugly words are perfectly justified in their objections.

And I don't know if it was mentioned up above, but there's also hyposexual: similar to gray-a-sexual to define a sexual with a low, periodically absent sex drive.

And of course sexual: any non-asexual, someone who experiences sexual attraction.

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Autosexuality - I'm a little unclear on whather this refers to someone who only engages in sexual activities with themselves or if it's the ultimate in narcissism

Then there should be anti-autosexual, someone who is repulsed by themselves. -_-

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Adm_Twister_JCOM

I'm surprised no one's mentioned antisexuality yet. I've recently reclassified myself from asexual leaning towards antisexual to hard-core antisexual.

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I'm surprised no one's mentioned antisexuality yet. I've recently reclassified myself from asexual leaning towards antisexual to hard-core antisexual.

Is that really an orientation though? I know it's an attitude toward sex but does it have any relation to sexual attraction? The way I see it, a person of any sexual orientation can be anti-sexual. Just like a person of any orientation, including asexual, can be sex-positive.

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I don't like the term queer because it's been used in such a negative way for such a long time that it's lost whatever well-intentioned meaning it had. Kinda like the "N" word... but in reverse.

I know it's kind off topic, but what word is the "N" word? xD

I find this information really interesting, I didn't know about other sexual orientations. Actually, I've recently discovered Asexuality XD

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you*hear*but*do*you*listen

LGBT stands for "lesbian, gay, bi, trans," right? But is it not true that "transsexual" isn't an orientation as much as it is an individual's, I don't know, description/identification? And I know it's a bit off-topic, but what is the difference between "transsexual" and "transgender?"

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LGBT stands for "lesbian, gay, bi, trans," right? But is it not true that "transsexual" isn't an orientation as much as it is an individual's, I don't know, description/identification? And I know it's a bit off-topic, but what is the difference between "transsexual" and "transgender?"

A good question!

I have no idea.

Enlightenment, please? ^_^

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Transsexual is usually someone who has or wants to physically change into the gender and/or sex they feel like. Transgender encompasses transsexuals, but also includes transvestites, genderqueers, and all of that. Or that's my understanding, I could be wrong.

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I also hate the word 'queer' because it is often defined as "weird", "strange", "odd"... non of which I find myself to be, or wish to be thought of as.

Wikipedia Definition: Since its emergence in the English language in the 16th Century (related to the German quer, meaning "across, at right angle, diagonally or transverse"), queer has generally meant "strange," "unusual," or "out of alignment." It might refer to something suspicious or "not quite right," or to a person with mild derangement or who exhibits socially inappropriate behavior.

The fact that the LGBT community CHOSE that word to identify themselves is a little beyond me. It seems almost self-deprecating.

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