Nonsexual

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Not to be confused with the English word meaning "not involving or related to sex; not sexual in nature".

Nonsexual
Prefix	Non

Nonsexual (Japanese: ノンセクシュアル "nonsekushuaru" or ノンセクシャル "nonsekusharu", sometimes abbreviated ノンセク "nonseku") is an asexual label used primarily in Japan to describe "not being sexually attracted, although still romantically attracted"; i.e. asexual, but alloromantic (not aromantic).

This label is not to be confused with the usual English use of the word "nonsexual", which means "not relating to or involving sex", and can be used to refer to actions or types of attraction that are not sexual (e.g. nonsexual feelings, a nonsexual relationship, etc.). In English communities, this identity would typically be described as "alloromantic asexual", or even just as "asexual", without specifying any particular romantic orientation.

Although this label is not typically used by English speakers, some Japanese people may prefer to describe themselves in this way outside of Japan as well, similarly to other identities of Japanese origin such as "X-gender" (similar to non-binary).

Origins and usage in Japan

The term originated because the loanword of "asexual" (asekusharu or asekushuaru, etc.) in Japanese was initially taken to mean "neither sexually nor romantically attracted" (i.e. including the meanings of both asexual and aromantic), and since terms such as aromantic or alloromantic were not yet well-established at the time, the term "nonsexual" was invented within Japan, seemingly in the early 2000s.

Although asekusharu and aromantikku (aromantic) now can both be used in the Japanese language with the same, distinct meanings of their English counterparts, and it is possible to identify with combinations such as romantikku asekusharu, the term "nonsexual" continues to be widely used. According to one Japanese survey in 2020, as many as 80.7% of asexual respondents who experienced romantic attraction self-identified as nonsexual, as opposed to any other label or combination of labels. This could be for many reasons, including the fact that it is more readily usable as Japanese word: the prefix non- is much more common in Japanese loanwords than a-, and also has a more immediately recognizable meaning because of this. Also, since the word has a long history, it is neither feasible nor necessary to replace it in favor of Western vocabulary.

Although the usage of "nonsexual" may sometimes be contested because it could imply a contrast to the original understanding of asekusharu (which even now may sometimes be ambiguous in Japanese), it is best to not jump to this conclusion, or to invalidate a nonsexual by telling them their understanding of their asexuality is incorrect.