There’s a relatively new sexual identity term many of you have likely never heard of, and it’s called “abrosexual,” which is when a person is sexually attracted to receiving attention on the internet.
Sike…but seriously, one British woman is trying to make fetch happen with a new term for a sexual identity we didn’t know existed. According to Emma Flint, a freelance journalist in the UK, it’s simply a term that means one’s sexuality “fluctuates.”
“For those of you who don’t know what abrosexuality is, in layperson’s terms, it simply means when someone’s sexual identity fluctuates and changes,” Flint wrote in an op-ed piece for Metro.
Flint explained in the piece that she came out as “abrosexual” in 2020 after being newly introduced to the term, and she was told by a close friend that “this doesn’t sound real.”
“When I was growing up, I’d never heard the term abrosexual – you were either straight, gay, or lesbian as far as nineties society was concerned. Anything else was made up,” she wrote. “Of course, we know that’s far from the truth – but societal blindspots mean we learn terms much slower than if they’re readily accessible.”
“When I tell people that I’m abrosexual, I’m often greeted by a blank expression, followed by a question of what the term means,” Flint continued. “And questions are fine, as long as they’re respectful. I’m not expecting everyone to know what it means – hell, I didn’t until two years ago – but you should always listen with respect.”
Unfortunately for Flint, news of the term—which, according to the New York Post, originated in 2013 and began showing up on social media in 2016—was not received with the “respect” she hoped for on X.
Look, we live in a world that can always stand to be less ignorant, closed-minded and outright hateful when it comes to people of various sexual, non-heteronormative and gender identities. And, to be sure, there are a lot of people online using the “abrosexual” news to reinforce their pre-existing bigotry towards the LGBTQ+ community in general. Still, it does seem like an arbitrary label since whatever sexualities one might fluctuate between already have names.
Also, if we’re keeping it a buck, Flint, a white woman coming out publicly as a sexuality she just discovered existed, does appear to be hopping aboard the “I want to be marginalized so bad” train that some of our Caucasian counterparts have a tendency to ride.
Or, whatever, maybe folks on the socials are wrong, and abrosexuals have every right to live free and out loud without being mocked or dismissed by people who, again, didn’t know they were a thing until just now.
“Eventually, I hope that abrosexuality will be seen as normal, just another identity that someone might have, and not regarded as a way to be ‘on trend,’ as some of the hurtful comments I’ve received suggest,” the UK journalist wrote. “Acceptance can only come from education and stepping outside your comfort zone to familiarize yourselves with terminology you might not know.”
“There’s a whole wealth of LGBTQ+ knowledge online that people would benefit from learning so that ignorance isn’t the main language so many of us speak.”
So, what do y’all think? Is this another case of “Becky with the oppression fetish,” or should Flint be applauded for raising awareness of the abrosexual community?
