What Is Abrosexual?

Meta Title: Abrosexuality – Ebodiment of Sexual Fluidity

Meta Description: Confused about abrosexual people? Here’s some straight talk about this identity that will clear things up.

Abrosexual” refers to a sexual orientation where an individual’s sexual attraction towards others fluctuates or changes over time.

Abrosexuality. It’s a sexual identity characterized by being romantically and/or sexually attracted to people of different sexual orientations all of one’s life. And these attractions can be at all different levels.

So, a woman may be a full-fledged lesbian for a while, attracted to only women, and then decide that she is also attracted to men and become bisexual for a period of time. And then, she may feel no romantic or sexual attraction to anyone at all or a while. With attraction shifting like this, she has multiple malleable identities and may be sexually fluid all of her life. And the levels of intensity of sexual attraction will also shift.

A bit confused? Here’s a video to get you started:

Digging into the Term Abrosexual

The term abrosexuality comes from the Greek root meaning of “abro” – delicate or graceful. It has come to refer to the changing nature and movement of people whose sexual attraction shifts.

Abrosexual people experience fluctuations in both their attractions and the intensity of their attractions, and these fluctuations are referred to as delicate or graceful because they do not occur in drastic spurts.

Now, abrosexuality should not be confused with polysexuality – this is an identity that refers to those who are permanently attracted to two or more genders – thus the Greek root “poly” meaning many. For the abrosexual person, attraction changes.

Abrosexual people fall under that LGBTQ+ multisexuality umbrella, which includes people of all identities who are romantically and/or sexually attracted to more than one gender. Someone who is abrosexual may or may not feel any romantic attraction simultaneously, but the term really refers to sexual attraction. Someone who only feels romantic attractions that fluctuate is an abroromantic, but they too can have that romantic attraction to more than one gender.

What Abrosexuality is Not

A person who is abroromantic may want to have a romantic relationship but not necessarily want to have sex. A person who is abrosexual may want to have sex but not necessarily want a romantic relationship. However, sometimes the two terms are used interchangeably.

Pansexuality is the sexual and romantic attraction to all people regardless of gender identity and sexual orientation.

An abrosexual person is not asexual, even though they may be asexual at times. Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction, period. Asexual people do not feel sexual attraction to others. Someone who is abrosexual will move out of their asexuality into different sexualities.

Abrosexual people are not polysexual. A person’s sexual orientation of polysexuality means they feel sexual attraction to a variety of people with different sexual orientations and gender identities. In that respect, they and abrosexuals are alike. But the polysexual person is permanently in that one sexual orientation and never asexual, like abrosexuals are. So no, they are not exactly the same thing.

Signs You May be Abrosexual

As their sexual flexibility continues to fluctuate, abrosexuals may experience a variety of emotions. Here are some of those emotions. See how many you have experienced.

Fluctuations in Your Sexuality

This is the one point that all abrosexuals have in common. You may experience periods of attraction to one type of gender identity, only to find yourself being totally indifferent to them. Then you feel attracted to another gender expression or to no one at all for a while. You move among different genders.

Periods of Asexuality

Within your periods of fluid sexuality, you have times of full asexuality – you just don’t feel attracted to anyone at all.

You Experience Different Intensities in Your Attractions

When you are in a period of attraction toward a specific sexuality, you can have different levels of intensity, sometimes depending on the individual you are with and their level of intensity too.

You Experience Confusion About Your Sexuality

It’s not unusual to feel confused by the changing nature of your sexuality, especially if you have not reached out to find others like you or at least support, especially from those in the LGBTQ community who share your identity and the unique challenges you face. Finding professional therapy is another option, of course.

What Does the Research Say?

Here’s the truth. No one will find research studies reported in medical journals that specifically relate to abrosexual individuals. There is, however, a growing body of research on sexual fluidity in general.

While this research has mostly been targeted to cisgender and white individuals who have changed their sexual orientation, researchers are beginning to realize that they need to broaden their study samples, in the interest of social justice, if for nothing else.

There is already one study that surveyed adolescents in low-income schools in the Southeast, but such studies need to include all demographics on a national level.

We can look forward to a future in which peer-reviewed studies will occur using a far larger sampling and include the wide variety of people whose sexual attractions change. And this must include abrosexual people, as well as others in the LGBTQ+ community whose identities fluctuate. Then there will be credible sources that represent a true cross-section of the population with content accuracy.

Yes, There is an Abrosexual Pride Flag

Remember, abrosexuality refers to any person who identifies as such and can experience different sexual orientations over the course of their lifetime. The term abrosexuality means a fluid identity, and that fluidity is reflected in the Pride flag.
The flag was designed by Mod Chad of “pride flags-for-us” after it was requested by an anonymous user of Tumblr.

The flag has five colors – dark green, light green, white, light pink, and then dark pink. And the most common interpretation of these colors is this:

Green refers to a queer attraction (of any type), fading to white for the in-between stages that an abrosexual person experiences, and pink for the actual shift among attractions. Some say the colors match that of a watermelon, which might be seen as a pun for “fluid.”

The abrosexual flag is used at Pride events all across the country. And at these Pride events, abrosexuals will find lots of support. They need support from outside of the LGBTQ+ community too.

How to Be Supportive of Abrosexuals

First of all, a person’s sexual orientation is their own business and, if they want to keep it in private, then so be it. They, and they alone, decide who, how, and when they reveal their identity, if at all.

If someone has identified themselves as abrosexual to you, your responsibility is to ensure that you respect their boundaries and to make sure that those boundaries of honored in a non-judgmental environment. They have to feel comfortable talking about their identity and their feelings as they choose to do.

To create that environment for your friend, family, or colleague, here is some guidance:

• Educate yourself about those who have a fluid sexual orientation and abrosexuality specifically.

• Listen to what your abrosexual is telling you. It’s fine to ask questions, but never to sound judgmental or critical.

• Validate what your abrosexual tells you – “I get it,” “I understand,” “I support you.” “I care about you as a person, no matter what your sexual identity – you’re the same person you always have been to me.”

• Be a public supporter of the LGBTQ community in general. Call out jokes and nasty comments by others.

• Attend Pride events with your abrosexual when possible.

One thing to always remember: Anyone with a non-heterosexual orientation will have their own “take” on that orientation and their own methods of dealing with who they are. They are on their own timeline for “coming out” if at all. It is everyone’s responsibility to show respect and honor their individual journey.