Romantic orientation

Romantic orientation, also called affectional orientation, indicates the sex or gender with which a person is most likely to have a romantic relationship or fall in love. It is used both alternatively and side-by-side with the term sexual orientation, and is based on the perspective that sexual attraction is but a single component of a larger dynamic.[1] For example, although a pansexual person may feel sexually attracted to people regardless of gender, they may be predisposed to romantic intimacy with females. For asexual people, romantic orientation is often considered a more useful measure of attraction than sexual orientation.[2][3]

Romantic identities

People may or may not engage in purely emotional romantic relationships. The main identities relating to this are:[2][3][4]

Relationship with sexuality and asexuality

The implications of the distinction between romantic and sexual orientations has not been fully recognized, nor has it been studied extensively.[5] It is common for sources to describe sexual orientation as including components of both sexual and romantic (or romantic equivalent) attractions.[5] Similarly, romantic love has been noted as "love with strong components of sexuality and infatuation,"[6] although some sources contradict this notion, stating that sexual and romantic attraction are not necessarily linked.[7] With regard to asexuality, while asexuals usually do not experience sexual attraction (see gray asexuality), they may still experience romantic attraction.[2][3]

References

  1. Crethar, H. C. & Vargas, L. A. (2007). Multicultural intricacies in professional counseling. In J. Gregoire & C. Jungers (Eds.), The counselor’s companion: What every beginning counselor needs to know. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. ISBN 0-8058-5684-6. p.61.
  2. 1 2 3 Richards, Christina; Barker, Meg (2013). Sexuality and Gender for Mental Health Professionals: A Practical Guide. SAGE. pp. 124–127. ISBN 1-4462-9313-0. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Cerankowski, Karli June; Milks, Megan (2014). Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives. Routledge. pp. 89–93. ISBN 1-134-69253-6. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  4. "Sex and Society", p. 82.
  5. 1 2 Bogaert 2012, p. 14.
  6. King 2010, p. 450.
  7. "Asexuality, Attraction, and Romantic Orientation". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved April 9, 2015.

Bibliography

Further reading

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