Most of us will be aware of what heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality is and what these terms mean, but there are lots of other types of terms that are used with sexuality that many of us might not know about.
Allosexual is one such term. In short, it refers to sexual attraction feelings to others. This does not describe or define who someone is attracted to, but rather explains that someone is sexually attracted to another.
Allosexual people can be heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or pansexual – but there’s lots more to this term than this.
This guide will explain what allosexual is and what it means. Read on to learn more.
Asexuality Vs Allosexuality
Asexuality can be a broad term used to describe many different types of people. On this asexual spectrum, there may be those who indetify themselves as demisexual or graysexual.
However, generally speaking – asexual people (otherwise known as aces) may feel little no sexual attraction to anybody.
Although, even with such a definition, this does not actually mean they do not have any type of sexual activity at all.
Allosexuality is almost the polar opposite of this, as the definition lends itself to the feeling of sexual attraction for someone.
Why Does The Term Allosexuality Exist?
You may be thinking to yourself – well, surely sexual attraction in any form exists? Why do we feel the need to define it?
The reason it exists is to differentiate from asexuals. This is because being asexual is not a medical condition or otherwise a problem – it’s simply a part of someone’s indivduality.
Allosexuality separates itself from this so that one group is not being incorrectly grouped into being asexuals. This differentiation and labelling is also seen with heterosexuality and cisgender.
It’s critical that we are able to define and distinguish these groups. In fact, there’s even a term that defines people that believe allosexuality to be the norm. This term is allonormativity.
Allonormativity is the thought process, belief and assumption that everyone has a crush on someone they feel sexually attracted to, wants sexual intercourse or contact actively and has had sex at least once in their life.
However, none of these assumptions are inherently true – hence it is so important that we define and differentiate between terminologies.
Where Did The Word Allosexual Come From?
According to many sources, the prior term for allosexuality was just “sexual/sexuality”, but over a decade ago – people began campaigning to alternate away from the use of this term, so those who are asexual aren’t wrongly grouped.
Despite this though, the term allosexual is still somewhat controversial – and this is why it is very important to keep conversations flowing and continue to move forward.
Separating Sexual And Allosexual
There’s plenty of good reasons to separate the terms sexual and allosexual and there’s plenty of differences between the two.
Here’s just some of the reasons why the terms are separated and why people campaigned to do so:
Confusion
Terms such as sexual and sexuality are by themselves relatively confusing and broad terms. If we discuss allosexuality, using the term sexuality can be wrongly used as it can mean something similar – but also very different at the same time.
Not To Conflate
It can be easy to accidentally conflate sexual activity and contact with sexual orientation.
Being sexual could refer to someone who is engaged with sexual activity, but it can also mean someone who feels sexual attraction, but is not engaged with sexual activity.
As we can see, this can be very confusing – so this fits into the previous point. Hence it is important to separate the terminology.
For Comfort Purposes
Referring to someone under the term sexual can actually be quite uncomfortable for some people. It can make them sound like they are sexual objects and no longer people with feelings and emotions.
This is extremely damaging and hurtful to those who have experienced sexual abuse and attacks in their history, and therefore they will not appreciate such terms being used.
However, despite all of this – the term sexual is still being used to describe those in the allosexuality group.
Is There A Difference Between Allosexual And Non-Asexual?
Whilst the term non-asexual is still used by some, it by definition will exclude graysexual people. Graysexual people feel sexual attraction to people but it is very minor and does not frequently occur.
Therefore, those who identify as graysexual may not feel comfortable being in the non-asexual category or community.
Non-asexual has an assumption that we discuss everybody who is not asexual, whereas allosexual exludes both graysexual and asexuals.
Do People Care About These Terms?
Of course. A person’s sexuality is very personal to them and they may feel as though they are being lumped into a group that they feel they should not be.
They therefore may feel as though people are forcing them to think or be someone they are not.
Additionally, they may feel as though they are offending those within that community by wrongly being labelled within it.
So yes, these terms are extremely important to those within the community and those outside the community.
What Is Being Allosexual In Reality?
When we put this into real-world terms, being allosexual defines those who experience some sexual attraction to others. This could mean:
- Having sexual fantasies about other people
- Having a crush with sexual intentions
- Entering in a sexual relationship now or in the past, or want to in the future
- Deciding who you want to have sex with
- Being able to relate sexual attraction with others
What Does Alloromantic Mean?
This term defines those who experience a romantic attraction to others, whereas aromantic people have no romantic attraction to others.
The Bottom Line
Allosexuality can be a relatively confusing concept to some, but once it is further defined, it can help us to understand these terms more.
If you liked this article, then you might enjoy our post on ‘What Is A Demiboy?’.
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