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Sexual attraction: What's the difference between romantic attraction and sexual attraction?

320 Answers
Last Updated: 01/20/2020 at 3:57pm
Sexual attraction: What's the difference between romantic attraction and sexual attraction?
★ This question about LGBTQ+ Issues was starred by a moderator on 5/12/2016.
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Top Rated Answers
Profile: 33kirstiechu33
33kirstiechu33
January 14th, 2016 1:33pm
Romantic attraction is like "I want to hold hands with and go on dates with" and sexual attraction is more like "I want to sleep with"
Profile: Ourfaithinhuemanatee
Ourfaithinhuemanatee
January 14th, 2016 8:09pm
If you are sexualy attracted to someone you want / can imagine to perfom the act of sex with this person. This feeling is often mistaken to be just based on the physical appearence.. but also a personality can make you feel like having sex with a person. Romantic attraction is basically all whats left.. like feeling the urge to kiss someone ... wanting to be near someone.. an so on... its about performing all aspects of a romantic-relationship only the sexual interaction is distinguished ... these attraction can be absolutely seperate from each other... you can be sexualy atracted to someone without wanting to be in a relationship with this person and the other way round
Anonymous
January 15th, 2016 7:01pm
sexual is when you want to have sex with someone and romantic is when you want to be with someone but not for sex
Profile: kittenguts
kittenguts
January 16th, 2016 11:12am
If you're romantically attracted to someone, you just want to be with them all the time. If you're sexually attracted to someone (often connected to being romantically attracted), you simply want to have sex with them.
Profile: ughhitshaley
ughhitshaley
January 20th, 2016 5:46am
romantic you actually love the person and care about them, sexual you just want to do things with them such as having sex you really dont care or love the person as much as you would if you was romatically attracted
Anonymous
January 21st, 2016 10:33pm
If you feel romanticly attracted to someone, you actually like them for their whole package. how they look, their personality etc. you would actually want to start a serious relationship with them. sexual attraction is more like being attracted to the outside, and has to do with lust.
Profile: TheGreyFixer
TheGreyFixer
January 22nd, 2016 9:42pm
Romantic attraction is focused around intimacy and companionship: think evenings on the couch curled up watching movies, coffee dates or even marriage. Sexual attraction is attraction to and arousal for a person physically: wanting to jump their bones, or similar. They can overlap sometimes, but they can also be independent of each other. Everyone is different.
Profile: MegCarson9
MegCarson9
January 24th, 2016 3:55pm
Romantic attraction is the desire to have a romantic relationship with another but sexual attraction is the desire to have a physical or sexual relationship with another, for example if I only had a sexual attraction to the opposite sex but a romantic attraction to the same sex I would be heterosexual and homoromantic
Profile: kaizerwithaz
kaizerwithaz
January 24th, 2016 5:44pm
The most simplistic way to explain it is that sexual attraction is just that: a natural desire to have sex with a specific person, it can be an immediate desire upon seeing them or a more gradual one that develops over time, but in the end the base desire is for sex with that person. Romantic attraction is a desire for whatever you perceive is a romantic relationship with a specific person, can also be immediate or more gradual.
Anonymous
January 27th, 2016 3:36pm
Sexual attraction is when you're sexually attracted to someone or a gender/s while romantic attraction is when you're romantically attracted to someone or a gender/s
Profile: Eluna
Eluna
January 28th, 2016 12:20pm
The difference between the two is that romantic attraction is literally around someone's personality for the most part, wanting to spend time with that person not necessarily for sex. Sexual attraction is the opposite, you might find someone extremely attractive via their looks, but when it gets down to it you don't honestly feel compatible with them.
Profile: NikkiKal
NikkiKal
February 3rd, 2016 12:47am
The difference to me is how you feel about the person. Sexual attraction may mean the person makes you aroused, and you feel you want to have sex with them, but romantic attraction to me means there is more there. Instead of just sex you want to be with that person and spend time with them outside of an intimate relationship.
Profile: blanket7
blanket7
February 4th, 2016 2:39am
Romantic attractions means that you want a platonic relationship with someone, mostly just talking, compliments, holding hands etc. Sexual attraction is when you want kissing or sexual activity.
Anonymous
February 5th, 2016 12:24pm
Sexual attraction is the desire to have sex with someone, while romantic attraction is the desire to be in a romantic relationship with someone.
Profile: Gemma8483
Gemma8483
February 5th, 2016 11:11pm
Romantic attraction tends to mean you want to be in a romantic relationship with someone- the lovey-dovey kind, and it might involve things like cuddling and kissing but it might not. Sexual attraction, broadly speaking, means you desire a sexual relationship. This can come hand in hand with romantic attraction but not necessarily, and vice versa.
Profile: crownrosemary
crownrosemary
February 6th, 2016 12:28am
Romantic attraction is an emotional response that most people often feel that results in a desire for a romantic relationship with the person that the attraction is felt towards. Sexual attraction is attraction on the basis of sexual desire or the quality of arousing such interest
Anonymous
February 10th, 2016 12:07am
For me, romantic attraction is thinking that you would like to romantic things with the person in question, such as hugging or kissing. Sexual attraction, I think, is more deeper and in depth, and on the basis of serious things, like building a romantic relationship with a person.
Profile: friendlyPenguin1020
friendlyPenguin1020
February 10th, 2016 2:38am
Romantic attraction is when you can imagine yourself with that person with the rest of your life, you feel like you can do everything for them, they attratc you but, is more than that, you can feel it, And sexual attraction is when you only see them in your bed, you can confuse these two very often, and sometimes you do it when it's late, The best way to reconize romantic attraction is to imagine the person doing things that you don't like, you will still be with them?... If you ony feel sexually atracted to them you will loose interest trough time.
Profile: ScarfyMia
ScarfyMia
February 11th, 2016 11:27am
romantic attraction means you can imagine having a relationship with them, and commiting to it, while sexual attraction can mean that you just feel like having sex with them.
Profile: BlueishHeck314
BlueishHeck314
March 16th, 2016 12:18am
Romantic attraction is the feeling of wanting to be in a romantic relationship with a certain gender. Romance could vary from just dates and hand holding to kissing. Sexual attraction is more wanting to have a sexual relationship with a certain gender. They do work together, and it is common for someone to identify as two separate ones. There is also a sexual/romantic orientation where you don't feel romantic/sexual attraction to anyone. For more specific examples, google it!
Profile: WoundedHelper
WoundedHelper
March 16th, 2016 3:20am
Romantic attraction is showing kind love and support for your partner. Sexual attraction is showing interest in your partners body.
Profile: Razmatazq
Razmatazq
March 16th, 2016 5:42am
Romantic attraction is wanting to have a connection with someone, yearning to be "romantic" and be with them in a non-sexual way. Sexual attraction is wanting to engage in sexual activities
Anonymous
March 18th, 2016 6:14am
The difference between sexual and romantic attraction is that romantic attraction is the desire to go on dates with someone, be with them, be close with them, and sexual attraction is about being attracted to a person sexually, the desire for sex.
Anonymous
March 19th, 2016 1:11am
Romantic attraction is understood to be non-physical - many plutonic relationships can be romantic, but not sexual. Sexual attraction is focused more on physical attraction and desires.
Profile: Swifting
Swifting
March 19th, 2016 8:53am
The best description that I can provide for the difference between romantic and sexual attraction is that sexual attraction is the fire in your stomach and romantic attraction is the fire. Sexual attraction applies directly to the desire to be with someone's body while romantic attraction is the desire to be with the whole person involving more than a physical presence of the body.
Profile: randomscreennamebecausewhynot
randomscreennamebecausewhynot
March 19th, 2016 6:02pm
Romantic attraction and sexual attraction are different things. While you feel romantic attraction when you want to date or build a romantic relationship with another person, sexual attraction exists when you want to have sex with another person. You can feel both of them towards one person, only one (no matter which one of them) or none. For example, an a asexual person may feel romantic attraction towards one person but not sexual attraction and an aromantic may feel sexual attraction but not romantic attraction.
Profile: timaeusTestified1203
timaeusTestified1203
March 20th, 2016 3:25am
Romantic is people you would date. (If someone is Aromantic, it means they don't feel romantic attraction.) Sexual is people you would have sexual intercourse with (asexual means you don't feel sexual attraction.) :)
Anonymous
March 20th, 2016 6:05pm
I believe that the difference is that romantic attraction is wanting to just kiss a person or you like them and think that they are cute and sexual attraction is wanting to just see them with no clothes and just want to have sex with them immediately
Anonymous
March 24th, 2016 6:33am
Romantic attraction refers to when you feel a romantic connection or appeal to someone. Sexual attraction is when that connection is sexual.
Anonymous
March 25th, 2016 1:57am
Romantic attraction is the desire to partake in romantic activities with a specific person. These romantic activities can include dating, holding hands, kissing, and/or cuddling. These aren't the only romantic activities to do, it's just a short list of examples, and not everything applies to everyone. The romantic activities you may desire to partake in can be anything that comes to mind for you when you think of the word "romantic". Sexual attraction is much like romantic desire except the activities are different. Sexual attraction is the desire to partake in sexual activities with a specific person. These activities can be anything of a sexual nature, and might make you think something along the lines of, "I want to have sex with them."