Splitting Attraction: Differentiating Romantic and Sexual Orientations Among Asexual Individuals

Abstract

It is often assumed that sexual and romantic attractions are aligned: that the gender(s) a person is attracted to sexually “matches” the gender(s) to which they are romantically attracted. In this study, I challenge that assumption by centering asexual perspectives on attraction. Drawing on interviews with 77 asexual individuals (a sexual identity referring to those who experience low/no sexual attraction), I find that many frame their attraction as “split.” In this “split attraction” framework, romantic and sexual attractions are treated as having the potential to be unlinked. I examine how this leads some asexual individuals to forge complex identities that draw on both their sexual and romantic orientations, with some using multiple sexual identities simultaneously (e.g., bisexual asexual). I also consider how split attraction frameworks may be applied outside of asexual contexts, arguing that scholars should formulate study designs to accommodate for split attractions and orientations.