Featured Image Credit: Tiktok/@luciaismagic/@zoebriskey
Topics: Sex and Relationships, Social Media, LGBTQ
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: Sex and Relationships, Social Media, LGBTQ
People are taking to social media to open up about what it means to be 'abrosexual'.
As much as there are many a pitfall to the internet, it also offers an amazing space to share information, experiences and raise awareness. And one term which has recently been cropping up everywhere is 'abrosexuality'.
It may be 2024, but everyday is truly a learning day when it comes to social media and the latest phrase to leave some scratching their heads in puzzlement is 'abrosexuality'.
Reddit, TikTok, Twitter and Instagram have seen hoards of people taking to their keyboards in recent months to question what abrosexuality is and how it works.
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However, the phrase actually cropped up online a lot earlier than this, with RuPaul's Drag Race judge Michelle Visage posting the flag for abrosexuality on her Instagram in 2021.
The flag consists of five colors; dark green, light green, white, light pink and dark pink and was reportedly shared by an unknown designer onto Tumblr in 2013, The Standard states.
Well, as per Healthline: "Someone who’s abrosexual finds that their sexual attraction shifts often: they might identify with the term ‘gay,’ and later feel attracted to people of all genders, and then feel little to no sexual attraction at all.
"Typically, abrosexual people experience fluctuations in terms of who they’re attracted to as well as how intense their attraction is."
The site clarifies the sexuality isn't simply about 'changing your mind' or 'using a different label to describe your orientation' but means 'your actual experience changes over time'.
"The prefix 'abro-' means 'delicate' or 'graceful.' This relates to how an abrosexual person’s sexual attraction can change over time," it adds.
Abrosexual writer Emma Flint described her sexuality in a piece for Metro, writing: "One day I felt like I was a lesbian, yet days or weeks later, I’d feel more aligned with bisexuality. My sexuality was fluid.
"Before learning about abrosexuality, I felt lost, as if out at sea. I also felt like a fraud because of how much I changed my identity when chatting with loved ones."
Abrosexuality is sometimes confused with asexuality and while it is considered part of the spectrum, they're not exactly the same - asexuality when someone experiences 'little to no sexual attraction'.
However, it's also possible to be asexual and abrosexual at the same time.
Healthline explains that in identifying as abrosexual, one day you might 'feel attracted to men and only men' and then 'to women and only women the next day' or another day you may experience 'little to no sexual attraction' to anyone at all.
And if you're confused about your sexuality?
Well, it's OK to not be sure. And just because you use one label, doesn't mean you can't drop it and adopt another later on if you realize it no longer applies to you.
If comfortable, try opening up to loved ones about the term and what it means to you and if you know someone who identifies as abrosexual, give them space to speak, be supportive and don't identify their sexuality to others unless they're comfortable for you to do so.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT national hotline at 888-843-4564, available Monday to Friday 4pm-12am ET and 12pm-5pm ET on Saturdays.