Demisexuality
sexual attraction only to people with whom emotional bonds are formed
Demisexuality is a term used to describe individuals who rarely or never experience sexual attraction solely based on immediately observable characteristics such as appearance, voice, or smell, and do not typically experience attraction immediately after a first encounter. A demisexual person generally tends to develop sexual attraction only after an emotional bond has formed. The amount of time that a demisexual individual needs to know another person before developing sexual attraction towards them varies from person to person. Demisexuality is generally categorized on the asexuality spectrum.
History
The term was coined in the Asexual Visibility and Education Network Forums in February 2006. Based on the theory that allosexuals experience both primary and secondary sexual attraction and asexuals do not experience either, the term demisexual was proposed for people who experience the latter without the former. However, David Jay suggested a similar word in 2003, called semisexual.
Demisexuality, as a component of the asexuality spectrum, is included in queer activist communities such as GLAAD and The Trevor Project. Demisexuality also has finer divisions within itself.
The word gained entry to the Oxford English Dictionary in March 2022, with its earliest use recorded in 2006 as a noun.
The public source identifies “Demisexuality” as sexual attraction only to people with whom emotional bonds are formed. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Demisexuality, sexual and attraction.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q23912283. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2006, 2003 and 2022.
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This entry incorporates text from “Demisexuality” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.