Being Biromantic

It's possible to be romantically attracted to someone while harboring no sexual attraction. This is because sexual orientation and romantic orientation aren't the same thing, and they shouldn't be treated as such. What does it mean to be biromantic?

Check out this MindBodyGreen article featuring input from yours truly, or read an excerpt below:

Biromantic breaks down to bi, which means "two," and romantic, which is characterized by the expression of love or affection. So someone who identifies as biromantic experiences romantic feelings for two or more genders.

Despite misconceptions about what it means to be "bi," those two genders aren't necessarily man and woman for every biromantic (or bisexual) person. As AASECT-certified sex therapist Indigo Stray Conger, LMFT, CST, explains, biromantic people can be attracted to people at either end of the gender spectrum or to people who are gender nonconforming, nonbinary, or gender fluid. 

"If you tend to develop deep emotional attachments and a desire for physical proximity and quality time with both men and women or across the gender spectrum, you may be biromantic," Stray Conger says. "Regardless of whether sexual feelings are present, romantic feelings will be apparent in the longing for time and attention and in the release of oxytocin and dopamine when in a person's presence."