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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
Anonymous
June 19th, 2015 2:44am
Romantic attraction can seem more innocent, it's more about wanting to spend time with someone or getting to know them better. Sexual attraction is pure lust, and without the feelings of romantic attraction.
dreamaboutme
December 25th, 2015 9:14pm
Romantic attraction is when you actually love that certain person. You want to hug them, hold them, and just spend the rest of your life with them. Sexual attraction is when you simply want to have an intercourse with that person.
Anonymous
July 24th, 2015 9:58pm
Sexual attraction is something defined as being a general biological 'lure' to someone, whereas a romantic attraction is more of a 'concept' in the sense that it is a desire for a relationship and the aspects that accompany relationships.
Anonymous
August 14th, 2015 11:24am
Sexual attraction is when a person desires to have a sexual intercouse with another person. Eg."Do I wanna have sex with them?" Romantic attraction is when a person has romatic feelings for another person (love them, like them but not quite there yet...). Eg."Do I want to spend the rest of my life with them?"
CaringDemon6
September 21st, 2015 12:17pm
Well from experience I can tell you that the two are very different. A romantic attraction is when you are attracted to the person because of their personality, you are head over heels for the person and you rarely daydream about them sexually. Now a sexual attraction is when you only imagine the person as a sex toy. That feeling you get when they are shirtless. You constantly daydream about them sexually.
thelesbianthespian007
July 30th, 2015 6:39am
Romantic attraction is wanting to date someone. To hold their hand, pick their brain, take them on dates Sexual attraction is having a lust for someone. Wanting to kiss them, etc.
Anonymous
August 12th, 2015 12:39am
Sexual attraction is not necessary for a person to be healthy. ... their sexuality falls somewhere on the spectrum of sexuality between asexuality and sexuality
Anonymous
August 8th, 2015 10:39am
- Romantic attraction: This is emotional, a result of desires for a romantic relationship with the one they feel attracted to. One can have romantic attraction towards someone without experiences sexual attraction. - Sexual attraction: Feeling physically attracted to someone, having the desire to have sexual interactions with this person.
SpiritOasis
June 19th, 2015 4:18am
Sexual attraction occurs when you are definitely physically attracted to a person, however there are no emotional responses towards that person . A romantic attraction, the emotional responses and possible bonds are present.
benevolentHeart55
December 16th, 2015 4:01pm
That is a very thin line in all honesty. Caring about what your emotions feel and not just lust is romantic. lust and desire of that person's physique is sexual.
Anonymous
January 25th, 2016 5:43am
Sexual attraction is primal. Its purely what your body wants. Romance appeals to the mind and the body.
Gi
July 30th, 2015 10:03pm
Sexual Attraction is about the appereance of someone, is something superficial but natural. Romantic attraction is more about what the person really is and means to you - their actions. And how you feel around them, like wishing to make that person happy and have them around you.
politeFish31
February 3rd, 2016 3:48am
romantic attraction means you guys can netflix and chill together, do silly activities and share similar interests.
Anonymous
August 16th, 2015 6:43pm
Sexual attraction is a desire to be physically intimate with someone, whereas romantic attraction is a desire to be emotionally intimate with someone. As these are different experiences, romantic and sexual attraction may or may not correspond with one another, for example - one could be sexually attracted to men and women, but only romantically attracted to women.
WriterListener32
August 9th, 2015 6:10pm
Romantic attraction is when you feel attracted to a person for their personality or their romantic ideas. Sexual attraction is when you feel attracted to a person for their looks or how they are physically.
Wioerli
June 11th, 2018 3:50pm
There is a very vague line between the two, but the way I see it sexual attraction is very physical, your body reacts to the thought of a certain person, and the primary focus is to be close to them in a sexual context, while romantic attraction is something you feel in your head and in your heart, another type of longing for an emotional bond.
Anonymous
July 29th, 2015 4:55pm
Romantic attraction is when you can feel in love with a person but without feeling attracted to them physically - like not wanting to have sex. Sexual attraction is when you're attracted to someone and their body - like you would want to have sex with them.
Anonymous
July 30th, 2015 12:35am
In a romantic attraction there is less selfishness and more sacrificial feelings involved. The basic attraction is towards things other than physical attractiveness , versus sexual attraction that the desire is solely based on physical pleasure.
Anonymous
July 30th, 2015 7:31pm
I would say sexual attraction is more like, you feel you like a person for their look and so on, whilst romantic attraction can be seen as something deeper, it is also about a persons personality, and simply just the way you are.
Anonymous
February 5th, 2016 11:37pm
With romantic attraction, you don't want to have sex with the other person. You might not be physically attracted to them at all. Sometimes it is purely the personality that you love. Romantic attraction doesn't have to be with the same sex you are sexually attracted to either.
weirdfishesarpeggi
July 31st, 2015 7:57am
Sexual: mainly physical and sex related attraction. Romantic: mainly emotional and/or personality based attraction.
TheLittleSnowCloud
June 13th, 2017 5:04pm
Romantic attraction is a love of a person's heart, their soul, the way they laugh, the warm feeling in your chest you get when they joke around with you or kiss your head. Sexual attraction is a love of their body. A need to have them, regardless of wether or not their heart is involved. It is purely physical.
Anonymous
July 31st, 2015 5:44pm
A romantic attraction is all about the person you're with. You can adore that person because of their mind, personality, just who they are. Where as an sexual attraction is more about their appearance. Often a sexual attraction is someone you would want to have sex with, someone who sexually attracts you. However an romantic attraction is all about the company of that person, you don't feel a need to be sexual with them.
Anonymous
July 26th, 2015 8:10am
Romantic is someone you see in a loving way, you can easily love this person with there being anything sexual about it. Sexual attraction is when you find someone sexy and you would desire to have sex with them.ex. I am bi romantic, I can easily love a boy or a girl. But I am hetero sexual. Which means though I can love girls and boys I only have sexual desires attractions to boys
LadyListner1313
August 15th, 2015 5:47am
Romantic attraction is wanting someone for the opportunity to know them as a person, find out what makes them tick. Sexual attraction is the purely instinctual desire to have sexual relations with someone. The relationship is not necessarily important.
3amthoughts
June 18th, 2015 9:21pm
Sexual attraction is purely physical. It's when you want someone only to fulfill your primary needs and feel satisfied. Romantic attraction, however, is a feeling where not only you feel physical attraction, but you seek comfort and belonging and you want to share your thoughts on unimportant subjects just so you could spend more time with other person. That being said, romantic attraction doesn't have to be followed by sexual, or other way around.
itsstupid
August 16th, 2015 8:53am
What's the difference between asexual and homo/hetro/pan/bi? Romantic attraction and sexual attraction. Sexual attraction is when you feel the urge to have sexual relations when you are attracted to a particular person. While romantic will just mean that you would like to stay by the person you are attracted to, with no thought of having sexual relations with them
rhea752
June 18th, 2015 11:03pm
For me the difference has always been whether it is a emotional/mental attraction - romantic- or a physical attraction - sexual. Not to say that they can't coexist but there for me is the actual physical reaction and the mental one.
20secondRed
July 31st, 2015 1:00am
Sexual attraction is when you feel physically attracted to someone, meanwhile romantic is when you feel emotionally attracted to someone. Romantic attraction deals more with being in love with someone. Sexual is more about physically wanting someone.
RaCat
September 19th, 2016 7:31pm
Romantic attraction is when you feel romantic feelings toward person, like you want to hang out, touch them, kiss and do everything people are usually do in relationships. And sexual attraction means you want to have some sexual activity with that person. Like you are seeing yourself having sex with them in any moment in your life. It's usually comes together, but it's completely ok to feel only one kind of attraction or to feel different kind of attraction to different genders. Everyone of us are unique and amazing!