Whether you first heard the term "skoliosexual" on Tinder or you still think it has something to do with the back condition scoliosis (no shade), one thing’s for sure: There are a helluva lot more ways to describe your desires and attractions than just straight, gay, or bisexual.
"We’re in the middle of a larger revolution in gender and sexual identity labeling," says Phillip Hammack, PhD, psychology professor at the University of California Santa Cruz who studies sexuality and gender issues. "There’s new language popping up left and right."
Enter skoliosexual: an attraction to people who identify as nonbinary or to anyone who doesn’t identify as cisgender (male or female), explains Debra Laino, PhD, a clinical sexologist, relationship therapist, and professor at Jefferson University and Wilmington University. Often, that means an attraction to people who use the gender-neutral pronoun "they."
"It’s very fluid in the sense that there’s not an attraction to specific genitalia," Laino adds. Instead, you're attracted to how other people view their place (or lack of place) on the gender spectrum. Being skoliosexual is similar to being pansexual—an attraction to all genders—in that you aren’t necessarily turned on by penises or vaginas (it’s all fair game). But unlike pansexuality, if you're skoliosexual, you aren’t into people who identify as a specific gender. Continue reading from Women's Health
