Asexual Meaning: Aromantic vs. Asexual and the Ace Spectrum

Asexuality is a type of sexual orientation or a lack thereof. Members of the asexual community experience little or no sexual desire. While asexuals, or the ace community (“ace” being a phonetic abbreviation for asexual), will not have a high or present sex drive, they can still experience romantic attraction. People sometimes elongate the LGBTQ acronym to LGBTQIA, which includes an “A” for the asexual spectrum.

In forwarding advocacy for asexuality, the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN) provides information about this sexual orientation and mental health resources for its community. The state of New York lists asexuals as a protected class.

One of the misconceptions about asexuals is that they are aromantic; asexual means preferring no sexual behavior, while aromantic means choosing not to build monogamous, emotional bonds with others. Asexuals might seek romantic partners and measure attraction by intellectual or emotional stimulation instead of sexual desire.

The lack of sexual attraction is a defining feature of asexual identity, but asexual individuals are not necessarily celibate. Celibacy is usually a voluntary act to avoid sexual contact with others for personal or religious reasons. In contrast, asexuality is an umbrella term for those who do not prefer sexual activity with themselves (such as masturbation) or with others. While asexuals might not seek out sexual relationships, they might still enjoy cuddling with a partner.

Asexuals are those who do not experience sexual attraction. Nonetheless, asexuality is a spectrum. Some asexual subidentities include:

• Demiromantic: This term describes people who require emotional bonding before romantic interest can begin.
• Demisexual: People who identify as demisexual don’t experience sexual attraction until they’ve formed a strong emotional connection with another.
• Graysexual heteroromantic: This subidentity includes people who rarely but sometimes experience attraction to others.

Human sexuality is complex and highly individual. The LGBTQ acronym only encompasses a handful of categories of sexuality. Some examples of sexual orientations are:

1. 1. Allosexuality: People who have sexual desires for others regardless of their gender are allosexuals.
2. 2. Asexuality: People who experience little to no sexual attraction are asexuals.
3. 3. Bisexuality: Bisexuals experience attraction to two genders, male and female.
4. 4. Heterosexuality: A heterosexual, or straight person, is attracted to someone of the opposite gender.
5. 5. Homosexuality: Gay and lesbian people fall under the category of homosexuality. Gayness refers to men’s attraction to other men, while lesbianism refers to women’s attraction to other women.
6. 6. Pansexuality: Pansexuals experience both romantic and sexual attraction to other people regardless of another person’s gender identity or sexual orientation.

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