Variety is the spice of life, and what’s more human than the primal urges and desires that drive you to connect with other humans? We’re talking about the complex and colorful world of sexuality.
You’ve probably got the basics down – straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and queer, but there is so much more to sexuality than that. There are endless types of sexualities that people have never heard of or didn’t realize there was a word for. Many of these sexualities have been coined by people on Tumblr and other blogging and forum websites.
This has given people the opportunity to build communities around sexuality, create flags that represent them, and offer education on sexuality. So sit back, expand your mind, and learn about some of the many ways people identify with and explore their sexualities.
1. Cupiosexual
Cupiosexuality falls under the asexual umbrella. People tend to think of asexuality as not being interested in sex at all, but that’s not necessarily true. It sometimes means that people’s sexual attraction or sexuality varies depending on their circumstances.
This is sometimes true for people who are cupiosexual, previously known as kalosexual. In Latin, cupio means “to desire”.
People who are cupiosexual desire a sexual relationship, despite not experiencing sexual attraction. Or they might feel some sexual attraction but they want a relationship even if it doesn’t involve attraction.
2. Apothisexual
Another term in the diverse world of asexuality. In Greek, “apothisan” means “repulsed”. Which is generally how apothisexual people feel about sex. At least when it comes to their own sex life.
People who are apothisexual typically don’t want to engage in any sexual behaviors including making out or masturbation. They may realize that they’re apothisexual from personal experience or by their response when seeing sex in the media.
3. Spectrasexual
Spectrasexual comes from the word spectrum, which means a continuum. Which is kind of how spectra sexual feel about sexual attraction.
People who are spectrasexual are physically and/or romantically attracted to a wide range, or spectrum, of genders. That being said, they still might have gender preferences, and may not be attracted to all genders.
4. Aegosexual
Another term on the asexuality spectrum is aegosexual. If you break down the word, it comes from a (without) and ego (self), or sexuality without the self.
People who are aegosexual experience a disconnect between an object of arousal and themselves. Meaning they may be into watching porn or having sexual fantasies, but don’t want to participate in them, or aren’t the subject of their fantasies.
They engage in solo sex but feel neutral or repulsed by the idea of sex with another person.
5. Libidoist Asexual
People who are libidoist asexual experience a sexual desire but they don’t typically experience an attraction to other people. Libido asexuals usually satisfy their sexual desire through masturbation or solo sex.
Libido refers to the body’s natural sex drive, combined with the term asexual. People who are libido asexual experience that drive, genital stimulation, and possibly orgasm, but that drive is not connected to a desire or attraction towards other people.
6. Abrosexual
Abrosexual comes from the Greek word “habros” meaning “graceful” or “delicate”. People who are abrosexual may gracefully transition from one sexuality to another, a defining characteristic of abrosexuality.
They may fluctuate from being polysexual, to asexual, to gay, and the timing of these fluctuations is different for everyone. People who are abrosexual may swing between a wide variety of sexualities or just a couple.
Abrosexuals may or may not seek out romantic and/or sexual relationships. There are also abrosexual lesbians and abrosexual gays who tend to be primarily attracted to the same gender, but also may experience some fluctuations.
7. Mutosexual
Similar to abrosexual, people who are mutosexual experience a fluid change in their sexuality. While under the abrosexual umbrella, the difference is that mutosexuals experience that change on a day-to-day basis.
Coming from the Latin word “muto” meaning “change”, mutosexuality is often used by people who are gender fluid, but can be used by anyone.
8. Neptunic
Neptunic refers to someone of any gender who is attracted to females or people who are non-masculine. This can include non-binary people, cis-women, trans-women, or any other type of female-aligned gender.
While the term is often used by non-binary people, it can be used by anyone.
9. Uranic
On the other side of the spectrum (sort of), we have uranic. People who are uranic are attracted to male genders, non-binary, or neutral/masculine-aligned genders.
This is an attraction to masculinity. Similar to neptunic, uranic also tends to be used by non-binary people but can be used by anyone.
10. Ceterosexual
Ceterosexual comes from the prefix “cetero” which means “other”. People who are ceterosexual are only attracted to people who are genderqueer or non-binary and are non-binary or genderqueer themselves.
It’s important to note, that despite this term, non-binary is not “another gender”, it’s a broad category that makes space for endless types of gender expression.
Celebrating Sexuality
Sexuality is something to be celebrated, even if that means asexuality. There’s nothing to pathologize here, everyone should be accepted for however they want to experience their attraction and sexual expression. This is a reminder that we’ve outlined different types of sexualities, which can be different for how people feel about others romantically.
Again these labels are to help people put language to how they’re feeling, connect with other people and communities, and make sense of the wild world of sexuality. At the same time, sexuality is fluid, it can change, and sometimes there are no words to describe how you may be feeling.
The beauty of sexuality is that you get to create your own experience. You get to decide what labels, or lack of labels work for you. If anything, learning about these different sexualities can help you find comfort or open your mind to what’s possible. If you feel like there isn’t a word to describe the way you feel, you can even coin your own new term!
