Types of asexuality: different ways of experiencing non-desire

There are different ways of experiencing the absence of sexual attraction to others.

At a time when acceptance of different forms of sexual orientation is beginning to win out over intolerance, asexuality remains a relatively unknown phenomenon.

It is essentially a question of the absence of sexual desire as a stable attribute in a person.. It is not, therefore, a sexual dysfunction or a disorder that prevents a person from expressing his or her affection and desire to get to know someone intimately. Simply, the sexual impulse does not occur, and this does not suppose any problem... beyond those that can produce the incomprehension of the others.

This condition, although not a disease, is still seen as something strange, incomprehensible, or even something to be mistrusted; and many people simply believe that asexuals do not exist, cannot exist. But nothing could be further from the truth. Not only do asexual people exist, but there are also different types of asexual people.. Next we will see a classification of forms in which the asexuality can be expressed.

Types of asexuality

It should be noted that within what we understand as asexuality there are nuances, since there are different ways of living the lack of sexual desire. Here you can see a summary of the most known types of asexualityalthough you should keep in mind that there is no official classification.

1. Aromantic asexuals

These are people who, in addition to not feeling sexual desire, also do not experience romantic love for other people. This combination makes them that they do not have such a marked predisposition to be interested in someone in particular, but that does not mean that they are necessarily cold or distant, much less that they hate other people.However, this does not mean that they are necessarily cold or distant, much less that they hate everyone or that they are psychopaths.

2. Romantic Asexuals

As the name suggests, in this case, the absence of sexual desire is combined with the possibility of feeling romantic attraction to a person. the possibility of being romantically attracted to other people..

It may be surprising that sexual desire and romantic interest can be separated, but this is the case, at least in this type of asexuality. It is a revealing fact that also tells us about the nature of human relationships between people who do have some kind of sexual orientation: love and desire are two processes that surely work in parallel, not one and the same thing.

In turn, romantic asexuality can be divided into the following types:

Bromantic asexuals.

In this case, there is the possibility of feeling romantic attraction to people of either sex. to persons of either sex. It is not strange that this type of psychological and Biological propensity exists, since by eliminating the sexual component, the body shapes that define each sex cease to mean something important, so it is possible to develop the same attitudes and emotional ties towards any person.

Homoromantic Asexuals

Romantic attraction is always oriented towards persons of the same sexalthough the lack of desire also occurs.

Similar sexual orientations

There are some orientations with characteristics in common with asexuality. They are the following:

Gray asexuality

In this case there is at least some sexual desire, although with a very low intensity, which usually has little effect on the way people behave. usually has little effect on the way people who experience it behave. people who experience it behave. For example, someone may be attracted to someone when watching him or her recite a poem, but right after that interest fades and leaves practically no trace. Its name is intended to reflect this difference in "quantity" with respect to pure asexuality.

Demisexuality

Demisexual people are only sexually attracted to people for whom they have previously for whom they have previously felt a strong romantic interest.. That is to say, it is a phenomenon that occurs on the basis that infatuation has appeared.

What is not asexuality?

The fact that asexuality is the lack of desire can lead to confusion, among other things, because very few people are known as asexual. It is easy to confuse this psychological and physiological predisposition with an ideology or a way of thinking, but this is not the case.

Celibacy, for example, is not a type of asexuality.. It is, in any case, a self-imposition, a commitment to avoid sexual activities for ethical or religious reasons.

There are also people who declare themselves to be anti-sexual.. In this case something similar to celibacy occurs: the person believes that sex is something bad, an element that corrupts things and is problematic. Unlike what happens with celibacy, here the attitude towards sex not only serves to regulate one's own behavior, but is believed to be a general problem, a problem of the entire population.

Both celibacy and anti-sexuality are ideological positions. are ideological positions which, in part, are voluntary and depend on the way in which each person interprets reality. In both cases it is possible to feel sexual desire.