More people are identifying as “abrosexual” as they discover the term on social media.
An abrosexual is a person whose sexuality changes over time. A person may be attracted to different genders at different times of their life or have varying levels of sexual attraction.
Emma Flint discovered her community thanks to social media.
“It was only when I was reading the Instagram page of Zoe Stoller, a US-based creator, educator and social worker, who seeks to improve the visibility of the LGBTQ+ community, that I saw the term abrosexuality for the first time,” Flint wrote in a recent Metro essay.
“You know in cartoons when a lightbulb appears above their heads? That’s how it felt when I read their post. Finally, I feel seen.”
She shared that being a lesbian one day and then a bisexual another led some people to question or doubt her claims, she previously wrote about her identity.
But finally finding a word to describe her sexual identity at 30 years old gave her a sense of confidence.
“I’m no longer nervous about my sexuality because it makes sense to me, and in the end, that’s all that really matters,” Flint said.
Those who identify as abrosexual may switch between heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual and asexual.
Nikola Stojadinovic
Abrosexuality is often described as the gender-fluid equivalent of sexuality but does not have to go hand in hand.
Gender fluidity is the way someone identifies, whereas sexual fluidity describes a person’s sexual interest.
“There is no overarching clue, personality trait, or physical aesthetic that signifies a person’s sexuality, and this is just as true for abrosexuality as it is for any other sexual orientation or gender,” queer sex scholar Nadège told Cosmopolitan.
It’s different from pansexuality — sexual, romantic or emotional attraction toward people of all genders, or regardless of their sex or gender identity — and polysexuality — sexual, romantic or emotional attraction towards people of many but not all genders — as these people are attracted to a specific gender, which one just changes.
There is no specific time range for how long a person may or may not be attracted to a certain gender.
The community has continued to grow in recent years as more people have learned of the term, thanks to people sharing their own queer stories and letting their green, white and pink flags fly.
“It’s not talked about very much, but it’s very very valid,” TikToker @lucaismagic said in a viral TikTok video announcing that they identified as an abrosexual.
The video helped several other people claim the term, too.
“OML THERE’S A NAME???? I HAVE BEEN FEELING THIS WAY FOR SO LONG?????” someone said.
“WAIT THIS IS SO ACCURATE FOR ME THANK YOU FOR THIS EXPLANATION,” another wrote.
