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Demi-Panromantic Asexual?

Discussion in 'Sexual Orientation' started by PurpleKitten, Jul 24, 2015.

  1. PurpleKitten

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    In the past while I've been really confused about my orientation. I coudn't sleep yesterday so i took my sleeping meds but they could only knock me out for 3 hours so i'm really sleepy. I was up all night trying to figure out what is going on with me and who I am. It's kind of weird because pan and ace/aro are often considered opposites :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

    I think I'm Demi-Panromantic Asexual.
    The Demi partit means form me that i'm not romantically attached to people unless I form a strong bond. Therefore when I see random people or whatever I don't feel attracted to them unless i fall for their personality after I get to know them. So i obviously don't see people and get "crushes" like most people do.
    The Panromantic means if/when i fall for people, it could be of any gender so I could be attracted to any gender or gender identity
    The Asexual part for me means I'm never attracted to people sexual and I don't desire sexual interactions (including making out, having sex, etc.)

    How do I tell my partner this without hurting them, I can't hind forever and I need to tell them soon because they are asking for sex and trying to make out with me.

    I love them and are romantically attracted but not physically nor sexually its not them its just im not interested in that stuff. Do you think they'll break up with me?:icon_redf
     
  2. Chip

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    You say "you think" you are this label. Do you want an opinion on that, or only on how to tell your partner about what you think you are?
     
  3. PurpleKitten

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    It's what makes most sense to me, and the only label I identify with. If you have any advice on figuring out if it truly the label i should use i would love to get it. Also, i'm just going to say that I have not been sexually abused ever so my asexuality wouldn't be coming from there
     
  4. Zippi

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    In regards to the first part, I thought a degree of pan was assumed with demi? Either way, it does sound like like Demiromantic Asexual would fit you to a tee. If you would feel more comfortable identifying with Demi-Panromantic, then you should, but don't get too hung up on labels. After all, a romantic or sexuality label doesn't completely define who we are as a person. :slight_smile:

    In regards to your other concern... I'm just about the exact opposite over here! I love physical contact, but have a really difficult time forming romantic connections, and I'm always upfront about this. Although I haven't experience non-platonic love myself, I've seen it succeed and fail with others. My advice is this: if you feel yourself truly falling for your partner, be honest and open with them. If their feelings towards you are genuine, they won't run for the hill. If they do, then you know they weren't right for you anyways. But also keep in mind that most people will want / need some form of physical affection from you. I'm not saying you should abandon your comfort zone and sexuality by delving into full on sexual behavior, but it would be nice to offer hand holding, hugging, regular kissing. You know, sweet vanilla activities that shows you're willing to listen to and compromise for your significant other.

    I hope you get some sleep, and I wish you the best of luck! (*hug*)
     
  5. Chip

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    OK, to start with, labels are of limited value, *especially* if you're focused on labels that have no grounding in science or research, or any sort of real credibility outside of a tiny group of people who have created them essentially out of crowdsourced groupthink.

    As for what you've described...

    Not feeling romantically attached to people unless you've formed a bond with them describes about 3/4 of the population. It is well within the spectrum of normal, ordinary human sexual attraction. There are a tremendous number of people who don't get crushes, don't find immediate attraction, etc. All of these are typical, ordinary hetero or bi or homosexuals. Nothing out of the ordinary.

    As for asexuality... there's the recognized definition that's been in wide use for 40+ years, validated by research, and used by sexology, psychology, and other professionals (as well as just about everyone else) and then there's an alternate definition, created (again) out of crowdsourced groupthink, that (again) has no basis in anything and isn't recognized by anyone other than this tiny group of people who have created this definition.

    If you're using the widely accepted definition, then, based on what you've said, you're definitely not asexual, as it is a hardwired orientation, in which the person has *no* sexual attraction whasoever... no interest in relationships, sex, or anything related to it. Asexuality according to this definition affects only a tiny portion of the population, and is unchangeable in the same way that homo and heterosexuality is unchangeable.

    If you're using the definition used by the tiny group of people that have created their own definition, it could literally mean anything, as the definition changes depending on whose definition you read and the definition isn't grounded to or based on anything other than a group that's decided what it means. So you could fit into that group. So could almost anyone else.

    It's also useful to know that it is not at all uncommon for people your age to have absolutely no interest in sex whatsoever. Again, this is completely within the normal spectrum of human sexual development. Some people feel strong sexual arousal at 8 or 9 years old; others don't develop it until their early 20s or even later. So rather than label yourself as asexual, the far more likely explanation is that you simply haven't yet developed that interest.

    If I were in your situation, I wouldn't bother with the unrecognized labels. They just complicate things and paint you into a box. In my opinion, it would make a lot more sense to simply say something like "Hey, I want to talk about the sex thing. At least for now, and I don't see this changing any time soon, sex isn't something that interests me, nor is it something I'm comfortable with. And I don't want to feel forced or even gently encouraged into something I'm not comfortable with. So we really need to talk about this, because if this is really important to you, it's not something I can do, and so this relationship may not work out. But if that is something you can work with, then I'm down to continue, but I can't have you asking me every month for sex. I'll let you know when, or if, that changes."

    That way, you avoid the label entirely (it really serves no purpose), you own your feelings and stick up for what's important to you, and you leave yourself the option to change your mind later if you decide it's something you'd like to explore.

    If you really, really, really need a label, then bisexual or pansexual, with no qualifications, sounds to me like a perfectly fine and fitting one from what you've described, at least if you're going with a label that most people will actually understand and place any value in.
     
  6. PurpleKitten

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    Thanks so much, I was actually thinking of going by queer because its simply verycomplicated to say Demi-Panromantic Asexual, but Demiromantic Asexual makes a lot of sense. I agree on the compromise with the hand holding and stuff. I really appreciated you helping me out
     
  7. Invidia

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    Hi, PurpleKitten!

    It is correct that people would find it hard to understand "demi-panromantic asexual".

    So if you feel like you don't want to explain for 10 minutes with people you meet about your sexual identity, you could just use "queer", or "bisexual" or so.

    For example, as precise as I would go would be something like "pansexual leaning lez in sex, and mostly heteroromantic."
    But I usually just say bisexual and explain a little bit more if people are interested or so.
    I could almost just say "straight" because I'm not sure I like women or enbys romantically, but bisexual is more accurate so I use that.

    On here, I'm more specific, because people get it.

    If you want to identify as demi-panromantic asexual personally, you can do that, of course, but if you want to identify as such around people, you may have to explain yourself; for me, I'm more specific with people closer to me that I care about, but, as I said above, just say bisexual when around random people, in general.

    Hope that helps!
    x
     
  8. Miko

    Miko Guest

    Chip and Becki nailed it pretty well, keep it simple and only go into the specifics if you need to.