contradictory to popular belief, there's more types of attraction than just sexual and romantic attraction. if you're aromantic, asexual, or both, you can still feel any of the other types of attraction (there aren't specific sexualities for these other types of attraction, but like i, for example, have aesthetic attraction to girls/feminine presenting people, but i'm still aroace). you can have more than one attraction to someone :)
sexual attraction: the desire of sexual contact or shows sexual interest in another person
romantic attraction: desire for romantic contact or interaction with another person
aesthetic attraction: appreciating the appearance or beauty of another person, disconnected from sexual or romantic attraction. it is typically described to be similar to thinking a painting is pretty, but for me it goes beyond that. it is much stronger and what i assume is similar to a "hallway crush"
alterous/queerplatonic attraction (grouped bc they're similar): an attraction that is more than platonic but not quite romantic
sensual attraction: the desire to interact with others in a fluffy, non-sexual way, such as through hugging or cuddling
emotional attraction: the desire to get to know someone, often as a result of their personality instead of their physicality. this type of attraction is present in most relationships from platonic friendships to romantic and sexual relationships
intellectual attraction: the desire to engage with another in an intellectual manner, such as engaging in conversation with them, "picking their brain," and it has more to do with what or how a person thinks instead of the person themselves
platonic attraction: desire to be friends with someone
"crushes" that are not romantic attraction are often referred to as a "squish" by the aromantic community. it should be noted that people outside the aromantic community can have squishes too
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lgbtq+ identities explained
Randomthis book is for anyone questioning their gender or sexuality, the straights who don't know that there are more sexualities than just straight and gay, and people who just want to know more about the community
