General Gray asexuality is considered the gray area between
asexuality and
allosexuality, in which a person may experience sexual attraction in a variety of "unconventional" ways.
Demisexuality The term
demisexuality was coined in 2006 by
Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN). A
demisexual person does not experience sexual attraction until they have formed a strong emotional connection with a prospective partner. Demisexuals can have any romantic orientation. People in the asexual spectrum communities often switch labels throughout their lives, and fluidity in orientation and identity is a common attitude. Demisexuality is a common theme (or
trope) in romantic novels that has been termed 'compulsory demisexuality'. Within fictional prose, the paradigm of sex being only truly pleasurable when the partners are in love is a trait stereotypically more commonly associated with female characters. The intimacy of the connection also allows for an exclusivity to take place. Post-doctorate research on the subject has been done since at least 2013, and
podcasts and
social media have also raised public awareness of the sexual orientation. Some public figures, such as
Michaela Kennedy-Cuomo, who have come out as demisexual have also raised awareness, though they typically face some degree of ridicule for their sexuality. The word gained entry to the
Oxford English Dictionary in March 2022, with its earliest usage (as a noun) dating to 2006.
Fictosexuality Fictosexuality refers to the sexual attraction towards fictional characters, encompassing those who lack attraction to real individuals and fall within the spectrum of gray asexuality. These individuals can be found within online asexual communities. is the type of gray asexuality where people almost only are
sexually attracted to
people they don't know or people who they are not attached to. Attraction can disappear if an
emotional connection develops. In a way, fraysexuality is conditioned almost exclusively to unknown people, even feeling immediate attraction to them. It is often described as the polar opposite of
demisexuality. The attribution of the term fray as sexuality is credited to
Tumblr user
edensmachine, an account that has been deactivated, and has existed since at least 2014.
Aegosexuality Aegosexuality is a term used to describe individuals who may experience
sexual arousal, enjoy
sexual content,
masturbation, or
sexual fantasies, but do not desire
sexual activity with another person or wish to form sexual relationships with others. Aegosexuality is categorized within the
asexual spectrum. To describe this form of sexuality, sexologist
Anthony Bogaert coined the term autochorissexualism, defined as "sex without (choris) one's self/identity (auto)" or "identity-less sexuality." However, while autochorissexualism is classified within the context of
paraphilia, individuals who identify with this experience typically prefer the label aegosexual, Research on aegosexuality highlights the diversity within the asexual spectrum and the varied relationships between sexual fantasy and self-identity. Aegosexual individuals may experience marginalization under frameworks such as
amatonormativity and
human-oriented sexualism. According to research by Thom Winter-Gray and Nikki Hayfield, some aegosexual individuals feel that their engagement in sexual fantasies makes them "not asexual enough," while others experience sexual fantasies as disconnected from their self-identity, resulting in little to no conflict with their asexual identity. Some aegosexual individuals identify as
fictosexual to emphasize their preference for fictional objects of attraction. According to a study by Yuu Matsuura, which analyzed fictosexual discourse in
Japan, critiques have been raised by aego-fictosexual individuals against the
human-oriented sexualism that regards fictional sexual content as secondary compared to human-to-human sexual relationships. == Community ==