Allosexual

Allosexual
Allosexual Flag by DeviantArt user FlagsForCisHets
Alternate Names	Zedsexual
Type	Allosexual Spectrum
Coined By	Tumblr user metapianycist
Coining Date	November 26, 2011

Allosexual is a sexual orientation in which one is not on the asexual spectrum. In other words, it describes someone who regularly experiences sexual attraction to others, though it does not specify who one is attracted to; other labels are often used in combination, such as being allosexual and bisexual.

Allosexual is an umbrella term created by the a-spec community as a way to describe anyone who's not asexual, in the same way transgender individuals use the term cisgender to refer to someone who is not transgender.

Gallery

Allosexual Flag by DeviantArt user FlagsForCisHets

Alternate Allosexual Flag by DeviantArt user FlagsForCisHets

History & Etymology

A complete, detailed history of every term used to describe allosexuality can be found here (archive).

Before allosexual came into use, the term "sexual" was used as the opposite of asexual. Around 2011, there was a campaign against the usage of the term "sexuals", as the term implied that all individuals who are not asexual enjoy and have a positive relationship to sex, as well as the implied "slut-shaming" of non-asexuals. Asexuals also brought up other problems with using the term "sexuals", such as a history of individuals being sexualized/desexualized based on the color of their skin. In a similar vein, survivors of abuse mentioned that some individuals may have a complicated relationship with their sexuality and may not be comfortable being referred to as "sexuals".

Several proposals for an alternate term were created. Some of the proposed prefixes to use included:

• Prefixes meaning "true" or "pure" such as "clari-", "veri-", "albo-", or "eu-".
• Prefixes meaning "with" such as "co-" or "con-".
• Prefixes meaning "other" such as "allo-" or "ali-".
• Prefixes meaning "(a)cross" such as "seka-" or "poikki-".
• Prefixes meaning "toward" such as "ad-" or "ob-".

Many of these terms were rejected as they either sounded too similar to existing terms or because they had "unfavorable connotations" for non-asexuals. "Allosexual" eventually rose to the top. Many non-asexuals disliked the use of the term. Allosexual is also used as a sexological term, and non-asexuals raised objections that the term was too clinical or that asexuals were medicalizing individuals who are not asexual. There is also objection because allosexuel is a term for non-heterosexuals in Canadian French.

"Zsexual" was also proposed as an alternative name, as a play on the letter A in "Asexual", and A and Z being on opposite ends of the alphabet, just as asexual and allosexual are on opposite ends of the orientation spectrum. It did not gain significant traction for multiple reasons: "Ze" is a gender-neutral neopronoun set, which may be confusing; and there is no standard pronunciation of the letter Z. Due to alternate pronunciation, "zesexual", "zeesexual", and "zedsexual" are all alternative terms. "Zedsexual" remains the most common alternative term.

See Also

• Alloromantic
• Asexual
• Comsexual
• Monosexual