Splitting Attraction: Differentiating Romantic and Sexual Orientations Among Asexual Individuals

Abstract

It is often assumed that sexual and romantic attractions are aligned: that the gender(s) a person is attracted to sexually “matches” the gender(s) to which they are romantically attracted. In this study, I challenge that assumption by centering asexual perspectives on attraction. Drawing on interviews with 77 asexual individuals (a sexual identity referring to those who experience low/no sexual attraction), I find that many frame their attraction as “split.” In this “split attraction” framework, romantic and sexual attractions are treated as having the potential to be unlinked. I examine how this leads some asexual individuals to forge complex identities that draw on both their sexual and romantic orientations, with some using multiple sexual identities simultaneously (e.g., bisexual asexual). I also consider how split attraction frameworks may be applied outside of asexual contexts, arguing that scholars should formulate study designs to accommodate for split attractions and orientations.

Keywords

asexuality sexuality attraction romance orientation

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