What being androsexual means as more people come out

People have been identifying as 'androsexual', another term used to describe human attraction.

When it comes to the many facets of human sexuality, there are as many ways to be attracted to people as there are people.

Nonetheless, when it comes to describing our feelings or the sort of people we're attracted to, language and terminology can be a useful tool for many.

In the past, even terms which are more common now such homosexual or non-binary were not around.

That's not to say there weren't people in history who we might now consider gay or non-binary, just that they would have used different language and ideas to describe themselves.

So what is 'androsexual', why are more people identifying with it, and why is it a useful term to have?

Androsexual means attraction to masculinity (Jordi Salas/Getty)

Those of you who know your Greek may have already twigged 'andro-' and assumed this has something to do with masculinity, and you would be absolutely right.

'Androsexual' is an attraction to masculinity, whoever that masculinity is being expressed by.

You might be wondering, well why not just say you're attracted to men?

With being androsexual you are attracted to masculinity, but not necessarily to men.

Who might use the term androsexual?

For example, if you're a lesbian or bi woman, you might find that you are particularly drawn to women who present themselves in a more masculine way.

Likewise you may be pansexual, in that you are attracted to people of all gender identities, but find that it's more masculine-looking people that you prefer whether they're a woman, man, or non-binary person.

You could even be a straight man who is attracted to more masculine women, but not men.

Androsexual is a useful term (Vera Vita/Getty)

The term is useful because it allows people to distinguish attraction to masculinity from attraction to men.

How do androsexual people describe their sexuality?

One person who identifies with the term androsexual wrote on Reddit: "I’m agender and AFAB [assigned female at birth] so it feels weird to say I’m heterosexual so there aren’t really any better words to describe my sexual identity (I’m attracted to cis/trans men/male presenting enbys [non-binary people])."

Another agreed: "I also am attracted to men and masculine enbies and I use it because it’s what describes my attraction the best, even if my attraction doesn’t perfectly fit any of the definition."

Androsexual is a particularly useful term for non-binary or gender-fluid people

It's a useful label if you are non-binary or gender-fluid, in that your sense of your gender can change.

Being non-binary or gender-fluid can make figuring out your sexuality a bit more tricky, after all how can you be gay if some days you're a man, some days a woman, and some days neither?

So for some people saying they're attracted to the quality of masculinity or femininity rather than men or women is a useful way of thinking about that.

Of course that's not to say you can't be non-binary and straight or gay - everyone's different and our relationship with ourselves is a deeply personal thing.

The word androsexual is very useful for people who find masculinity attractive, but not necessarily men.

And if a word gives someone the means to describe what they feel, that's a good thing!

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