Androsexuality refers to people who are attracted to masculinity. An androsexual (or androphilic) person might be attracted to anyone with masculine qualities regardless of their gender or sexual orientation (Openshaw, 2024; Pichardo, 2023; Lindqvist, 2019).
Framing & Perspectives
Androsexual derives from the Greek prefix “andro-”, which means “man/male”. The term was first developed by behavioral scientists who wanted to describe a predominant sexual attraction and arousal to adult males (Saldívar & Salin Pascual, 2023).
Relevance
People who identify as androsexual may be attracted to cisgender, nonbinary, and other gender identities in which masculinity is on display. This includes women who exhibit more masculine traits and transgender men (Pichardo, 2023). The characteristic element of the term, contrary to most terms describing sexual orientations, is the lack of any reference to the person being attracted, this information is not relevant to what is being described. This particularity makes terms like “gynosexuality” and “androsexuality” more likely to be used by non-binary people because it is useful how they are allowed to describe their preference without tying it to their gender.
Keywords: LGBTQ+ Topics, Sexual Orientation, Sexual Identity
Connected terms: Acronym “LGBTQIAPN+”, ”Toxic” Masculinity, Gynosexual, Bisexual, Demisexual, Pansexual, Aromantic, Asexual, Woke, Queer
References
Lindqvist, S. (2019). Girlfags And Guydykes – Too queer for straights, and too straight for queers.
Openshaw, S. (2024). Gender, Sexual, Erotic, and Relationship Diversity (GSERD). International Journal of Integrative Psychotherapy, 15, 54-68
Pichardo, G. (2023, July 2). What Does Androsexual Mean? WebMD.https://www.webmd.com/sex/what-does-androsexual-mean
Saldívar Lara, M., & Salin Pascual, R. J. (2023). Self-reported Sexual Response in Transgender Women to Audiovisual Stimulation Protocol. Acta de investigación psicológica, 13(1), 29-41.
