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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
StevensLion
July 11th, 2015 10:09pm
Romantic attraction has more to do with your emotions and feelings for someone. It doesn't even have to include sexual attraction at all. You want to love the person and just be with them/around them. You just want them to be happy. It could include wanting to hug them or cuddle with them, but it doesn't include anything sexual. Sexual attraction is just the want to have sexual relations with someone. Their body and appearance is pleasing to you and you want to have sex with them, plain and simple. It doesn't have to include any romantic attraction at all. These two things can coincide, but they don't have to.
YourNotAlone27
July 11th, 2015 6:06pm
romantic attraction is what someone does for a person and that other person is attracted to what they are doing or saying to them. Sexual attraction is like your only sexually attracted to them not in love
Anonymous
July 11th, 2015 4:59pm
Romantic is kissing, cuddling, holding hands. Sexual, is having sex. An asexual person may want to kiss or hold hands, but not have sex.
AnatomyLover
July 11th, 2015 12:51pm
Romantic attraction results in a sexual attraction, not vise versa, for example if I m romantically attracted to someone , then sex won't matter, I just like the personality of that person, sex will probably follow as a basic need to make the relationship strong and intimate, but if I m sexually attracted to someone, it would be a relationship based on interest, a need of the moment, that will end up soon, and with it the relationship.
JazmyneJayy
July 11th, 2015 7:08am
Romantic attraction is on a more emotional level. Sexual attraction is more about lust. Though the two can be confused romantic attraction is more about how the person understand how you feel emotionally and the way that they meet your emotional needs. Sexual attraction is more about the way that you too connect sexually. Or the way that you think that you'll connect sexually.
Anonymous
July 11th, 2015 1:34am
Romantic attraction is who you love, sexual attraction is who you desire in a physical sense. Romantic and sexual attraction can be different, and this is most frequently found in the asexual community - so they still desire and feel that closeness of a romantic relationship, but do not feel physical attraction to their partners. Romantic attraction and sexual attraction are different despite what many people think. The two do not always go hand in hand. Romantic attraction can be hard to describe, but in the simplest form and in my understanding it is the romanticizing of a person. Sexual attraction in its simplest form is desiring a specific person in a sexual way.
Anonymous
July 10th, 2015 9:34pm
Romantic Attraction encompasses a number of factors which include love, companionship and care for the other person in the relationship as well as sexual attraction. Sexual attraction usually lacks the first three factors and looks just at the instant gratification to get the urge met.
oldvital3
July 10th, 2015 6:35pm
in a romantic attraction you feel the duty to protect the person and make them feel happy and okay and in the sexual attraction all that matters is the pleasure
FractalBunny
July 10th, 2015 3:23pm
Romantic attraction is who you want to date. For example, a woman who wants to date men is heteroromantic, and a woman who wants to date women is homoromantic. Sexual attraction is who you want to have intercourse with. If we take a different woman; a woman who wants to sleep with men is heterosexual, and a woman who wants to sleep with women is homosexual. Your romantic and sexual orientations do not have to be the same; some people are heteroromantic bisexual, or homoromantic heterosexual, and there are nearly endless combinations and possibilities.
Ray23
July 10th, 2015 11:45am
A romantic attraction is an emotional feeling that draws one to want the other person who you are romantically attracted to to reflect back to oneself. A sexual attraction is a feeling of sexual desire for another person. One can be romantically attracted to someone and not feel sexually attracted to them and vica versa.
RIPGwenStacy11
July 10th, 2015 1:28am
Romantic attraction and sexual attraction can be greatly distinguished. If you only find that person interesting when you are having sex with them then that is sexual. But if you find yourself thinking about them all day (not in a sexual way) and love to be around them then that is romantic.
friendlyNatural39
July 9th, 2015 9:28pm
The difference between romantic attraction and sexual attraction is that sexual attraction is more of a primal instinct. Something about this person is drawing you towards them, but it's usually based on physical appearance. Romantic attraction, however, feels the same way. Like the person that you're attracted to is pulling you to them with a rope around your waist. It could commonly be associated with having "butterflies" in your stomach, whereas sexual attraction alone is another feeling altogether, something that's not as powerful.
paixao79
July 9th, 2015 5:14pm
Romantic attraction can be defined by the way you feel about someone emotionally, usually influenced by how they act around you and treat you - e.g. you are attracted to him/her because of his/her qualities like kindness, generosity, genuineness, humility etc. You become attracted to the person because of who he/she is, how they treat you and how you feel around them. Sexual attraction on the other hand, although affected by the way someone acts around you and treats you, is highly dependent on psychological innate factors determining what you find physically attractive and the chemistry between two people. You want to express yourself sexually based on these things - and for many, they can't identify what determines who they are sexually attracted to.
boo
July 9th, 2015 12:48pm
Romantic attraction is when you feel an emotional attachment to a person. Sexual is the physical attraction you feel to another person
Anonymous
July 9th, 2015 11:56am
Romantic attraction is when you want a partner to kiss, cuddle and connect with. Sexual attraction is when you want to engage in sex related activities with them.
ArisThuMan
July 9th, 2015 6:29am
Romantic attraction is a mental and physical attraction that is not defined by sex. Sexual attraction is only about sex. They can intersect, but romantic tends to be more emotionally oriented.
Kaaaatie
July 9th, 2015 12:29am
Romantic attraction is emotional--you are attracted to a person's mind, to his/her personality. It often has physical elements, too, but it is primarily emotional. Sexual attraction is physical; you feel it first and foremost in your body.
Boontea
July 8th, 2015 9:44pm
To me romantic attraction is everything. Its deep love and understanding, its undescibable like.... sexual attraction is in my opinion more superficial and far less rewarding, at least when romantic attraction is not involved as well. I can live with only "romantic attraction" but not with only "sexual attraction". Then again the best is the mixture, with empathis still on romantic.
SecretlyHigh
July 8th, 2015 5:34pm
Romantic attraction is when you know you love someone and you would like to sit down all the time with them talk to them and listen to them. You know you want to only spend your time including them. Sexual attraction is when you're just attracted to someone just for sex... Both can occur at the same time , but sexual attraction is usually the person is attracted to the pleasure and that's allxxxx
DipityEnigma
July 8th, 2015 5:26pm
Romance quite usually includes emotions such as love or what they believe to be love. A romantic attraction is more deeper and includes more feelings where as sexual attraction, you see the person more of a thing rather than a person. All people usually want from them is sexual acts rather than wanting something real like love and true emotions and commitment.
NiceCrow
July 8th, 2015 4:59pm
Romantic attraction is more into looking for a connection with the other person, trying to form a bond with them. Sexual attraction is solely based in physical attraction, you really don't want to have a connection deeper than the one you already have with the other one, but you find them attractive because of their looks or their personality.
heyitsTay
July 8th, 2015 3:36am
Romantic attractions can typically be defined as attractions where you want a relationship with someone. You want to spend time with them, get to know them, have them as a companion. Where on the other hand, sexual attractions are attractions where you take interest in the physical aspect of someone rather than what's inside.
Anonymous
July 8th, 2015 12:10am
A sexual attraction is all about sexuality and attraction to a persons physical state. If you are sexually attracted to someone you are attracted to their looks. A romantic attraction is a mental attraction towards another person.
peachysunny
July 5th, 2015 8:49pm
romantic is felt in your head and heart but sexual is felt in your genatalia romatic is like you want to hug them and tell them how grate they are sexual attraction is you want to have sex with them
sereneOcean13
July 5th, 2015 7:40pm
From experience as a person who generally feels sexual attraction to a person rather than romantic, personally i differ the two by what your wants and desires to the person is. For instance getting excited/happy at the thought of kissing or being sexually intimate with them and wanting to carry out those desires. Whereas romantic attraction falls in fantasizing about possibly taking them on a date or planning a future. For me, sexual attraction is temporary to a person comes and goes quickly but romantic attraction tends to last longer and involves deeper thoughts and feelings.
Emily619
July 5th, 2015 7:39pm
Romantic attraction is the desire to do the things couples do, and sexual attraction is the desire to do more sexual things, that are beyond just being a couple. If you have just a romantic attraction, and not a sexual attraction to people, you would be classified as asexual hetero-romantic, or asexual homo-romantic if it was to the same sex.
Anonymous
July 5th, 2015 1:34pm
It's kind of the same difference as an emotional and a physical feeling. Even though it also differs per person. Do you feel an emotional connection towards someone? Or a physical one? Maybe both, or maybe none.
Anonymous
July 5th, 2015 10:00am
I, a pansexual, am romantically attracted to men, and agenders, I am sexually attracted to females and m-f/f-m. Basically I could be in love with a man but still not like the guy part, but I could love a girl and also love that lady part.
ErisXaos6
July 5th, 2015 6:52am
Romantic attraction is attraction to the person as a whole, their personality, unique quirks and talents, and yes even their flaws. You feel like you can relate to this person in a way that is more than just sexual. Sexual attraction is purely a physical attraction to someone and their body, but not the person themselves
NeoBrici
July 4th, 2015 9:19pm
Everyone falls somewhere on a spectrum for each of these two separate feelings, and this can change throughout one's life. Romantic attraction is the feelings of fluff that you get for a person. It's often coupled with sexual attraction, but it's more "I want to marry this person," and "I want to cuddle with this person," and "I want to spend all of my time with this person." Sexual attraction is "I want to make out with this person," and "I want to have sex with this person." Therefore, someone who is sexually attracted to two genders but is romantically attracted to all others is a panromantic bisexual. A person who is only attracted to the same gender is homoromantic and homosexual, and someone who is romantically attracted to a different gender and not sexually attracted to anyone is heteroromantic and asexual.