Graysexuality, also known as greysexuality, is an identity/orientation characterized by a sense of limited sexual attraction, according to Health.com. Sarah Melancon, PhD, clinical sexologist and sexuality expert, explains:
Discover our latest podcast
People who identify as graysexual tend to rarely feel sexual attraction, at a low level of intensity and/or only in very specific situations.
What does it mean to be graysexual?
In other words, a graysexual is somewhere between asexuality and sexuality. 'They experience little or no sexual attraction', explains passeportsanté. Sarah Melancon explains on the Health website:
Graysexual is a way for someone who feels a little attraction at times to honor their experience, as opposed to using the term asexual, which implies a complete absence of sexual attraction.
She adds:
These identity categories are not absolute, but reflect how people perceive themselves and the terms they prefer to describe their experience.
Read more:Ecosexual: How your sexuality could save the Earth
What about asexuality?
According to the etymology of the word itself, 'asexuality' is made up of 'sexuality' and the prefix 'a', meaning the 'absence of'. But of course, asexuality isn't just a word for 'people who don't make love'. In fact, an asexual person does not choose to be one, in the same way as a heterosexual or homosexual person, for example.
This orientation is simply defined as feeling little or no sexual attraction for others. But an asexual person can fall in love - it's not incompatible. Also, the spectrum of asexuality is very broad and has many sub-categories, such as graysexuals.
Asexuals represent 1% of the world's population, so that's about 75 million people!
Read more:‘Homophobia still exists’: Christian couple ban gay men from buying home
This article has been translated from Oh!MyMag FR.