Allosexual

**Allosexual**, also known as **Zedsexual**, refers to individuals who regularly experience sexual attraction to others. Basically, it refers to anyone who is not on the asexual spectrum. It does not necessarily refer to a sexuality by itself, rather an umbrella term as a way to describe anyone who is not asexual.

The romantic counterpart is alloromantic.

## History & Coining

Before "allosexual" came into use, the term "sexual" was used as the opposite of asexual. While there was not any coherent definition of what was meant by "sexual" when it first emerged between 2002 and 2005, there was a widespread understanding that sexual referred to anyone who was not on the asexual spectrum.

Around 2011, there was a campaign against the usage of the term "sexuals," as the term implied that all individuals who are not asexual enjoy and have a positive relationship to sex, as well as the implied "slut shaming" of non-asexuals. These claims were often made by non-asexuals and were frequently rooted in a misunderstanding of whom asexual were referring to by the term "sexuals." The conversation continued within and outside the asexual community. Asexual individuals also brought up other problems with the term "sexuals," such as a history of individuals being sexualized, desexualized, or both, based on the color of their skin. In a similar vein, survivors of abuse mentioned that some individuals may have a complicated relationship with their sexuality and may not be comfortable being referred to as "sexuals."

Several proposals for an alternate term were created, some of the proposed prefixes included:

* Clari-, veri-, or eu-, meaning "true" or "pure"
* Co- or con-, meaning "with"
* Allo- or ali-, meaning "other"
* Seka- or poikki-, meaning "(a)cross"
* Ad- or ob-, meaning "toward"

Many of these terms were rejected as they either sounded too similar to existing terms or because they had "unfavorable connotations" for non-asexual individuals. Allosexual eventually rose to the top.

However, still, many non-asexuals disliked the use of the term. Allosexual is also used as a sexology term, and non-sexuals raised objections that the term was too clinical or that asexuals were medicalizing individuals who are not asexual. There is also objection because "allosexuel" is a term for non-heterosexuals in French Canadian.

"Zsexual" was proposed as an alternate term, as a play on the letter A in asexual. While some use the term, it did not gain significant traction. The terms "zesexual," "zeesexual," and "zedsexual" are all used, however, "zedsexual" is typically the most commonly used alternative.

The difficulty find a term for non-asexuals is exacerbated by the fact that some non-asexuals, especially a-spec exclusionists, may derail conversations about such terminology by destructively criticizing any word used. Exclusionists sometimes claim that allosexuality does not need a label and that coming up with a term has created a false dichotomy between individuals who are asexual and individuals who are not, as well as "grouping LGBTQ+ non-asexual individuals with their oppressors." More complaints include the idea that the term is racist and sexualizes individuals without consent. Some even go as far as to claim that allosexual is a slur used by asexuals to "oppress non-asexual LGBTQ+ individuals." Many of these complaints are made by individuals with the intention to delegitamize the terms used by asexual individuals. Despite these complaints, allosexual is still the most commonly used term today.