Gray-A/Grey-A

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Asexuality and sexuality are not black and white; some people identify in the gray (spelled "grey" in some countries) area between them. People who identify as gray-A can include, but are not limited to those who:

  • do not normally experience sexual attraction, but do experience it sometimes
  • experience sexual attraction, but a low sex drive
  • experience sexual attraction and drive, but not strongly enough to want to act on them
  • people who can enjoy and desire sex, but only under very limited and specific circumstances

Similarly, some people who might technically belong to the gray area choose to identify as asexual because it is easier to explain. For example, if someone has experienced sexual attraction on one or two brief, fleeting occasions in their life, they might prefer to call themselves asexual because it is not worth the bother of having to explain these one or two occasions to everyone who asks about their orientation.

Terms

The most common term used to refer to the gray area is "gray-A". Other terms that have been used for the gray area include "hyposexual", "demisexual", "semisexual", "low sexual intensity", "asexual-ish", "sexual-ish", and "emotisexual".

Some of these terms refer to specific parts of the gray area rather than the entire gray area.

Hyposexual can be used as a catch-all term for the gray area, and is commonly mistaken believed by asexuals to be a standard medical term.[1] The actual name is Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder, which is classified as a sexual dysfuction in the DSM-IV-TR.

Demisexual is used, generally, to describe people who only experience sexual attraction to a romantic partner or partners.[2]


Sexual orientation
Asexual · Bisexual · Demisexual · Grey-A · Heterosexual · Homosexual · Pansexual
Research
Kinsey scale · Storms' model · Asexual studies · Asexual behavior in non-human animals
Category:Orientation