romantic orientation
Sign in to saveAlso known as affectional orientation
an individual's pattern of romantic attraction, as distinguished from sexual orientation
~10 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Romantic orientation, also called affectional orientation, is the classification of the sex or gender which a person experiences romantic attraction towards or is likely to have a romantic relationship with. The term is used alongside the term "sexual orientation", as well as being used alternatively to it, based upon the perspective that sexual attraction is only a single component of a larger concept.
For example, a pansexual person—who may feel sexually attracted to people regardless of gender—might experience romantic attraction toward only women and feel romantic intimacy only with women.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “romantic orientation” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.