Romantic orientation

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.^[1]

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

For asexual people, romantic orientation is often considered a more useful measure of attraction than sexual orientation.^[2]^[3]

The relationship between sexual attraction and romantic attraction is still under debate.^[4]^[5] 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.^[6]

^ Crethar, H. C. & Vargas, L. A. (2007). Multicultural intricacies in professional counseling. In J. Gregoire & C. Jungers (Eds.), The counselor’s companion: What every beginning counselor needs to know. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. ISBN 0-8058-5684-6. p.61.
^ Richards, Christina; Barker, Meg (2013). Sexuality and Gender for Mental Health Professionals: A Practical Guide. SAGE. pp. 124–127. ISBN 978-1-4462-9313-3. Archived from the original on July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
^ Cerankowski, Karli June; Milks, Megan (2014). Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives. Routledge. pp. 89–93. ISBN 978-1-134-69253-8. Archived from the original on July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Van Houdenhove, Ellen; Gijs, Luk; T'Sjoen, Guy; Enzlin, Paul (July 24, 2015). "Asexuality: A Multidimensional Approach". The Journal of Sex Research. 52 (6): 669–678. doi:10.1080/00224499.2014.898015. PMID 24750031. S2CID 35875780.
^ Hammack, Phillip L.; Frost, David M.; Hughes, Sam D. (June 13, 2019). "Queer Intimacies: A New Paradigm for the Study of Relationship Diversity". The Journal of Sex Research. 56 (4–5): 556–592. doi:10.1080/00224499.2018.1531281. PMID 30362833. S2CID 53102365.

[1] Crethar, H. C. & Vargas, L. A. (2007). Multicultural intricacies in professional counseling. In J. Gregoire & C. Jungers (Eds.), The counselor’s companion: What every beginning counselor needs to know. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. ISBN 0-8058-5684-6. p.61.

[Richards_and_Barker-2] Richards, Christina; Barker, Meg (2013). Sexuality and Gender for Mental Health Professionals: A Practical Guide. SAGE. pp. 124–127. ISBN 978-1-4462-9313-3. Archived from the original on July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2014.

[Cerankowski_and_Milks-3] Cerankowski, Karli June; Milks, Megan (2014). Asexualities: Feminist and Queer Perspectives. Routledge. pp. 89–93. ISBN 978-1-134-69253-8. Archived from the original on July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2014.

[:0-4] Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[:1-5] Van Houdenhove, Ellen; Gijs, Luk; T'Sjoen, Guy; Enzlin, Paul (July 24, 2015). "Asexuality: A Multidimensional Approach". The Journal of Sex Research. 52 (6): 669–678. doi:10.1080/00224499.2014.898015. PMID 24750031. S2CID 35875780.

[6] Hammack, Phillip L.; Frost, David M.; Hughes, Sam D. (June 13, 2019). "Queer Intimacies: A New Paradigm for the Study of Relationship Diversity". The Journal of Sex Research. 56 (4–5): 556–592. doi:10.1080/00224499.2018.1531281. PMID 30362833. S2CID 53102365.

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