International Asexuality Day: Everything You Need to Know

We at Seattle Pride know inclusion is important… but unfortunately, not everyone else knows or accepts it as well. More times than not, it’s the people who don’t know the importance of inclusion that get scared of words like ‘asexual’ and end up unintentionally demeaning someone in the process. To combat this, for International Asexuality Day we are bringing you the need-to-know information and language about asexuality and the Ace umbrella. We hope you can learn something yourself or share it with folks who don’t quite understand.

The Ace Umbrella - Sexual attraction is a type of attraction to another person that involves a sexual interest in them. Those who either feel no or infrequent sexual attraction to others fall under the Ace umbrella. Within the asexual community there are many ways for people to identify; the Ace umbrella encompasses everyone, including asexuals as well as people in a grey area of sexual attraction.

Asexuality – Asexuality is a sexual orientation in which a person feels little or no sexual attraction to another person. Asexuality is not the same as abstinence, and just like any other sexual orientation, asexuality isn’t a choice.

Greysexuality – Sexual attraction isn’t always black and white – sometimes there is a grey area. It is in this grey area is where greysexuality comes in. Being greysexual – sometimes spelled graysexual – means a person may have a slight sexual attraction to others. While asexuality means no sexual attraction, greysexualisty means there can be an infrequent attraction to another person.

Demisexual: Demisexual people can feel an attraction to another person, but they only experience this once they have formed a strong emotional connection with that person.

Queerplatonic: People in a relationship who experience an intense emotional connection that walks the line between a romantic and non-romantic relationship often identify as queerplatonic.

It’s important to remember that just because people who fall under the Ace umbrella never, or infrequently, feel sexual attraction to other people doesn’t mean they cannot experience love; sexuality and love are not the same things. Just because someone doesn’t have a sexual attraction to others doesn’t mean they aren’t also a loving caring, individual with complex emotions. This International Asexuality Day we celebrate the emotions and orientations of all who fall under the Ace umbrella.