Asexual V/S Allosexual: A Sexuality Spectrum That Remained Unexplored
With the advancement of time, people are becoming more and more aware of who they are and what they like. This has generated in the categorization of people based on their sexual orientation, into bisexual, gay, pansexual, straight, etc.
All these people with different sexual orientations can be classified under one major category called allosexuals. An allosexual person simply means the one who is sexually attracted to somebody else at one point of time in his or her life and identifies himself as bisexual, gay, lesbian, pansexual, or straight.
However, more often than not, allosexual people are confused with asexual people. Asexual people are the ones who cannot be sexually stimulated or attracted by any object or person. Not only that, but allosexual people are also misunderstood with graysexual people.
Graysexual people are the ones who experience sexual stimulation sometimes and not all the time. Be that as it may, grey sexuality is often considered to be the middle point between asexual and allosexual.
How did the word ‘Allosexual’ originate?
Originally, the allosexual definition implied simply the sexual people. But with the advancement of time, the term has often been used loosely or not used at all. But when you realize that allosexual or sexual is just the opposite of asexual, you wonder that why is there a need for such a term?
Your dubiousness is justified, however, there is a need to differentiate between allosexuality and asexuality. Allosexuality is often associated with normality because one person will always find himself attracted to another at some point of time in his life.
Due to this, the groups are often divided as asexual people and the opposite as normal people. The moment one classifies an allosexual person to be normal, he also associates abnormality with asexuality. Now, the problem with this is, being asexual is not a problem and therefore, the person is not subject to discrimination of any sort.
An asexual person is not medically challenged nor is he disable cognitively, it is just a part of his identity and he has a right to be who he is. Therefore, to eradicate this discrimination between people who feel sexually attracted to somebody and people who do not, the terms asexual and allosexual came into existence.
Is there a difference between Allosexual and Sexual?
Although the word ‘sexual’ connotes a meaning that is quite associated with people who feel sexually attracted to someone, this term is not altogether the same. Therefore, a group of people did campaign in 2011 against the use of the word ‘sexual’ for the people who are asexual. The reasons for their campaign were:
Incoherence
As mentioned earlier, the words ‘sexual’ and ‘sexuality’ have different meanings which are associated somewhere with allosexuals but they are entirely the same. Therefore, this gives rise to confusion and incomprehension.
Not only that but when you call one ‘sexual’, you also mean that the person is sexually active which may or may not be the case. Therefore, as mentioned earlier, allosexual and sexual may be interspersed in some way or the other, but they are not entirely the same.
Discomfort
Imagine calling someone ‘sexual’ instead of ‘allosexual’. You instantly create a stereotypical image of that person in your mind and make that person a sex object which is condemned by society. This could make one person uncomfortable especially when one has to identify oneself with a category.
Asexual V/S Allosexual
People still confuse, allosexual, asexual, non-asexual, and graysexual people. Grasexual people, as mentioned earlier, are the ones who do feel sexual stimulation towards others, but they don’t feel it to a significant degree. Sometimes, some graysexual people often identify themselves as asexual whereas others don’t.
Non-asexual people are those who are allosexual and graysexual people who do not identify themselves with asexual people. On the other hand, allosexual people are those who are not graysexual or asexual.
What is Allosexual Exactly?
If the above-mentioned allosexual definitions or differentiations were just too confusing to understand, then here is a simplified version. Allosexual simply means a person who is sexually attracted to someone. It’s having a sexual crush on someone, be it a celebrity or a person in your neighborhood.
Allosexuality also involves having sexual fantasies about people (and not feeling guilty about it ;)). It involves dating, entering into a relationship based upon sexual feelings that one has towards the other, provided they are mutual.
Being allosexual means that you decide with whom you want to have sex based on your sexual stimulation. However, the difference between asexual and allosexual may not be as clear as black and white.
Sometimes, allosexual people might not experience all things mentioned here and sometimes asexual people might experience these emotions even if they are asexual. It’s almost similar to aromantic and alloromantic people, basically the counterparts of asexual and allosexual, according to Healthline.
Alloromantic people are those who are extremely romantic and experience romantic attraction to someone. On the other hand, aromantic people are those who feel almost negligible romantic attraction to someone.
How to know which one is you?
More often than not, when it comes to identifying someone as allosexual or asexual, people are finding themselves lost. They are confused regarding who they are. If you are one of them, then no worries as eventually, with the advancement of time, you will realize your true self and know what you are.
In the meantime, you can just go back in the past and ask yourself when did you feel sexually stimulated? To whom? How long did it last? Were you ever in a relationship? Such questions will help you run your mind and discover your true self.
However, if you discover yourself, to be no more an allosexual person, then you need to know that it is okay. It is okay to be asexual as it is a part of your identity and that does not make you any less of a human than you are nor does it make you a misfit.
Sometimes, you identify yourself as an allosexual, whereas sometimes you find yourself to be completely asexual or even graysexual. Now, this does not mean that something is wrong with you or you need to be ‘fixed’ or worse yet, a temporary phase of your life that will pass. No! It’s just how you are wired and there is nothing wrong or incorrect with that.
Asexual V/S Allosexual: A Sexuality Spectrum That Remained Unexplored
With the advancement of time, people are becoming more and more aware of who they are and what they like. This has generated in the categorization of people based on their sexual orientation, into bisexual, gay, pansexual, straight, etc.
All these people with different sexual orientations can be classified under one major category called allosexuals. An allosexual person simply means the one who is sexually attracted to somebody else at one point of time in his or her life and identifies himself as bisexual, gay, lesbian, pansexual, or straight.
However, more often than not, allosexual people are confused with asexual people. Asexual people are the ones who cannot be sexually stimulated or attracted by any object or person. Not only that, but allosexual people are also misunderstood with graysexual people.
Graysexual people are the ones who experience sexual stimulation sometimes and not all the time. Be that as it may, grey sexuality is often considered to be the middle point between asexual and allosexual.
How did the word ‘Allosexual’ originate?
Originally, the allosexual definition implied simply the sexual people. But with the advancement of time, the term has often been used loosely or not used at all. But when you realize that allosexual or sexual is just the opposite of asexual, you wonder that why is there a need for such a term?
Your dubiousness is justified, however, there is a need to differentiate between allosexuality and asexuality. Allosexuality is often associated with normality because one person will always find himself attracted to another at some point of time in his life.
Due to this, the groups are often divided as asexual people and the opposite as normal people. The moment one classifies an allosexual person to be normal, he also associates abnormality with asexuality. Now, the problem with this is, being asexual is not a problem and therefore, the person is not subject to discrimination of any sort.
An asexual person is not medically challenged nor is he disable cognitively, it is just a part of his identity and he has a right to be who he is. Therefore, to eradicate this discrimination between people who feel sexually attracted to somebody and people who do not, the terms asexual and allosexual came into existence.
Is there a difference between Allosexual and Sexual?
Although the word ‘sexual’ connotes a meaning that is quite associated with people who feel sexually attracted to someone, this term is not altogether the same. Therefore, a group of people did campaign in 2011 against the use of the word ‘sexual’ for the people who are asexual. The reasons for their campaign were:
Incoherence
As mentioned earlier, the words ‘sexual’ and ‘sexuality’ have different meanings which are associated somewhere with allosexuals but they are entirely the same. Therefore, this gives rise to confusion and incomprehension.
Not only that but when you call one ‘sexual’, you also mean that the person is sexually active which may or may not be the case. Therefore, as mentioned earlier, allosexual and sexual may be interspersed in some way or the other, but they are not entirely the same.
Discomfort
Imagine calling someone ‘sexual’ instead of ‘allosexual’. You instantly create a stereotypical image of that person in your mind and make that person a sex object which is condemned by society. This could make one person uncomfortable especially when one has to identify oneself with a category.
Asexual V/S Allosexual
People still confuse, allosexual, asexual, non-asexual, and graysexual people. Grasexual people, as mentioned earlier, are the ones who do feel sexual stimulation towards others, but they don’t feel it to a significant degree. Sometimes, some graysexual people often identify themselves as asexual whereas others don’t.
Non-asexual people are those who are allosexual and graysexual people who do not identify themselves with asexual people. On the other hand, allosexual people are those who are not graysexual or asexual.
What is Allosexual Exactly?
If the above-mentioned allosexual definitions or differentiations were just too confusing to understand, then here is a simplified version. Allosexual simply means a person who is sexually attracted to someone. It’s having a sexual crush on someone, be it a celebrity or a person in your neighborhood.
Allosexuality also involves having sexual fantasies about people (and not feeling guilty about it ;)). It involves dating, entering into a relationship based upon sexual feelings that one has towards the other, provided they are mutual.
Being allosexual means that you decide with whom you want to have sex based on your sexual stimulation. However, the difference between asexual and allosexual may not be as clear as black and white.
Sometimes, allosexual people might not experience all things mentioned here and sometimes asexual people might experience these emotions even if they are asexual. It’s almost similar to aromantic and alloromantic people, basically the counterparts of asexual and allosexual, according to Healthline.
Alloromantic people are those who are extremely romantic and experience romantic attraction to someone. On the other hand, aromantic people are those who feel almost negligible romantic attraction to someone.
How to know which one is you?
More often than not, when it comes to identifying someone as allosexual or asexual, people are finding themselves lost. They are confused regarding who they are. If you are one of them, then no worries as eventually, with the advancement of time, you will realize your true self and know what you are.
In the meantime, you can just go back in the past and ask yourself when did you feel sexually stimulated? To whom? How long did it last? Were you ever in a relationship? Such questions will help you run your mind and discover your true self.
However, if you discover yourself, to be no more an allosexual person, then you need to know that it is okay. It is okay to be asexual as it is a part of your identity and that does not make you any less of a human than you are nor does it make you a misfit.
Sometimes, you identify yourself as an allosexual, whereas sometimes you find yourself to be completely asexual or even graysexual. Now, this does not mean that something is wrong with you or you need to be ‘fixed’ or worse yet, a temporary phase of your life that will pass. No! It’s just how you are wired and there is nothing wrong or incorrect with that.