Romantic orientation

Not to be confused with Romantic friendship.

Romantic orientation, also called affectional orientation, is the classification of the sex or gender which a person experiences romantic attraction towards or is likely to have a romantic relationship with. The term is used alongside the term "sexual orientation", as well as being used alternatively to it, based upon the perspective that sexual attraction is only a single component of a larger concept.

For example, a pansexual person—who may feel sexually attracted to people regardless of gender—might experience romantic attraction toward only women and feel romantic intimacy only with women.

For asexual people, romantic orientation is often considered a more useful measure of attraction than sexual orientation.

The relationship between sexual attraction and romantic attraction is still under debate.

Sexual and romantic attractions are often studied in conjunction. Even though studies of sexual and romantic spectrums are shedding light onto this under-researched subject, much is still not fully understood.

Theoretical background

The origin of the concept of romantic attraction comes from a theory in psychology explaining the motivations behind human attraction. Scholars have proposed that the concepts of sexual attraction and romantic attraction are different due to evolutionary reasons. The purpose of sexual attraction is for breeding and reproduction, whereas the purpose of romantic attraction is for long-term bonding between partners. This concept helps explain why a person could feel romantic feelings for someone they do not find sexually attractive or sexual feelings towards someone they are not romantically attracted to.

Separating these two concepts has helped researchers better understand attraction in aromantic individuals.

Romantic identities

Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, pansexuality, polysexuality, plurisexuality, allosexuality, and monosexuality.