Demisexual vs Aromantic - What's the difference?
demisexual | aromantic |
(sexuality, of humans) Sexually attracted to people only after a strong emotional bond has been formed.
* 2010 , Sophie Gamwell, "
* 2013 , Tracey Hickey, "
* 2013 , C. J. Bishop, "
*
A person who is demisexual.
* 2011 , Mark Carrigan, "
* 2011 , Holly Combs, "
* 2013 , Whitney Cyr, "
*
Not given to experiencing romantic attraction to others.
* 2011 , Soojin Chang, "
* 2012 , Anthony F. Bogaert, Understanding Asexuality , Rowman & Littlefield (2012), ISBN 9781442200999,
* 2012 , Anonymous, "
*
One who does not experience romantic attraction to others.
* 1986 , Wanda Urbanska, The Singular Generation , Doubleday & Company (1986), ISBN 9780385192644,
* 2012 , Marina Hale, "
* 2012 , Olivia Gordon, "
As adjectives the difference between demisexual and aromantic
is that demisexual is sexually attracted to people only after a strong emotional bond has been formed while aromantic is not given to experiencing romantic attraction to others.As nouns the difference between demisexual and aromantic
is that demisexual is a person who is demisexual while aromantic is one who does not experience romantic attraction to others.demisexual
English
Adjective
(en adjective)Asexuality", BoLT , Issue 1, April 2010, page 14:
- Some people may identify as asexual for a period and then decide that they are in fact demisexual , or even sexual.
Asexuality should be recognized as a legitimate sexual orientation", The Pitt News (University of Pittsburgh), 14 February 2013:
- Some think of themselves as demisexual , only able to feel attraction when a very strong emotional bond already exists.
A mystery wrapped in an enigma – asexuality: a virtual discussion", Psychology & Sexuality , Volume 4, Issue 2, March 2013, page 205 (quoting A. C. Hinderliter):
- In asexual / ace communities in the past few years, there has been an enormous increase in prominence of people identifying as gray-A and as demisexual , with ‘ace’ now sometimes being used as an umbrella term.
Synonyms
* (l) (colloquial)Noun
(en noun)There’s more to life than sex? Difference and commonality within the asexual community", Sexualities , Volume 14, Number 4, August 2011, page 470:
- Demisexuals experience sexual attraction as a consequence of romantic attraction but not independently of it.
Labeling sexuality is not simple", The Maroon (Loyola University New Orleans), Volume 90, Number 10, 11 November 2011, page 6:
- Demisexuals' experience sexual desire only toward people with whom they already have a strong emotional bond. Like an asexual, a '''demisexual''' would not see an attractive woman and immediately desire sex, unless, of course, that attractive woman happened to be in a serious emotional relationship with the ' demisexual .
Students ‘come out’ and inspire with stories", The Equinox (Keene State College), 24 April 2013:
- Rines identified himself as a demisexual , meaning that he is only sexually attracted to a person once a strong emotional attachment has been formed.
Synonyms
* (l) (colloquial)aromantic
English
Adjective
(en adjective)Sex is the biggest nothing", The Daily Californian , 28 November 2011:
- Although there are aromantic asexuals who do not experience the instinctual emotional need to be in a romantic relationship, many asexuals seek monogamous partners and value intimate connections just like sexual people.
unnumbered page:
- However, if she [Emily Brontë] was asexual, she likely was not aromantic (see chapter 2 for distinction between sex and romance), or at least she had a high-level understanding of romance, as she wrote one of the most intensely romantic novels of her time, Wuthering Heights .
Pandora's box: The stigmas surrounding aromanticism", The Scripps Voice (Scripps College), Volume 16, Issue 4, 1 November 2012, page 5:
- No, just because I’m aromantic does not automatically mean I am also asexual (I happen to really like sex).
Noun
(en noun)page 86:
- Ours is a generation of aromantics , jaded about matters of the heart — often before gaining firsthand experience.
The Drop-Down Menu Identity Crisis", Glass Buffalo (University of Alberta), Spring 2012, page 51:
- Anna is an asexual, aromantic . Before discovering those terms, she assumed herself to merely be unusually disinterested in sex or relationships.
'The moment I realised I was asexual'", The Telegraph , 12 November 2012:
- 'I let it slip one time at work that I’m an asexual aromantic [an asexual who is also not interested in making romantic attachments], and they think it’s absolutely hysterical,’ says Jean Wilson, a sales assistant and 63-year-old grandmother from Banbury. 'One of the women I work with said, “I don’t think you’ve met the right man yet.” I said: “Trish, I’m 63. If I haven’t met him by now I don’t think I’m going to.”’