Allo (orientation)
From LGBTQIA
Allo or Z is an orientation prefix umbrella encompassing individuals that experience attraction, the prefix allo- meaning other or different in Greek.[1] The term was created as a counterpart to asexual; a more succinct method to describe non-asexual individuals, or those that regularly experience attraction.[2]
History
Originally non-asexual individuals were referred to as sexuals beginning from 2002, however this definition was deemed overly ambiguous and was not officially coined with any definitive meaning. It was also seen as potentially derogatory to refer to individuals by their sexual nature.[2] Various terms for non-asexual individuals were created, especially within the year 2011, most of them being unsuccessful either due to phonetic ambiguity or misleading prefix definitions.
Proposed definitions included:
- adsexual, was discouraged primarily due to it appearing as a misspelling of asexual;[3]
- albosexual (albo- meaning white), was discouraged due to it being a metaphor revolving around the black and white dichotomy, which naturally in turn had racial connotations which were irrelevant to the concept of sexuality;[4]
- alisexual (ali- meaning other, or different), was discouraged as ali sounded too similar to ally, or allsexual.[5] Allo was considered in turn as it had the same meaning, however allosexual was deemed problematic as the word was originally used within contents of sexology, thus sounding overly clinical.[6] Despite this, allosexual is the most recognizable definition to this day, though mostly due to it being subjectively better than the other available options;[7]
- clarisexual (clari- referring to clarity/clear), would be disregarding sexual individuals who were potentially confused or unsure of their sexuality, and disregarding asexual individuals who were clearly aware and sure of their lack of sexuality;[8]
- consexual (con- meaning both with and together), proposed with the intention of using the prefix as with, however the together alternate would imply that consexual was a matter of whole or full being.[9] The term consexual was also already sometimes used to refer to consensual intercourse;[10]
- demosexual (demo- meaning people), proposed to state a general attraction to other people. This term's primary issue at the time was its phonetic similarity to demisexual;[11]
- non-asexual, a more literal name to identify non-asexual individuals, however this would by its nature include greysexual and demisexual individuals, who are often considered part of the asexual spectrum;[12]
- poikkisexual, (Finnish prefix poikki- meaning cross- or transverse), problematic as the English poke is also a slang word for intercourse;[13][14]
- sekasexual, (Finnish prefix seka- meaning cross or mixed);[14]
- verisexual, (ver- meaning true), sounded too much like "very sexual", and portrayed non-sexual individuals as hypersexual or overly sexual to a fault;[15]
- zsexual, appeared to have no major controversies though still was not as popular as allosexual. The letter z was used as a metaphor; where a for asexual is one side of the spectrum and z is the other. Due to the letter z having multiple pronunciations, zsexual was often referred to as zesexual or zedsexual, both verbally and written.[16][17]
Related Terms
| Label | Relationship | Description | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aspec | Opposite | Lack of attraction. | Those in the a-spectrum lack attraction, whereas allo individuals experience attraction. |
| Greysexual | Similar | Infrequently experiences attraction. | Allosexual individuals frequently experience attraction, or at least experiences attraction more than greysexual individuals might. |
Orientations
| Label | Orientation | Flag | Creator(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alloaesthetic | Aesthetic |  [18]
|
Fy |
| Alloalterous | Alterous |  [18]
|
Fy |
| Alloplatonic | Platonic |  [18]
|
Fy |
| Alloqueerplatonic | Queerplatonic |  [18]
|
Fy |
| Alloromantic | Romantic |  [18]
|
Fy |
| Allosensual | Sensual |  [18]
|
Fy |
| Allosexual | Sexual |  [18]
|
Fy |
Prefixes and Suffixes
| Label | Prefix / Suffix | Flag | Description | Creator(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alloace / Alloroace / Alloromantic Asexual | -ace |  [19]
|
An individual who is both on the asexual spectrum and also alloromantic.[19] | varioriented-pride |
| Aroallo/Alloaro/Allosexual Aromantic | -aro | An individual who is both on the aromantic spectrum and also allosexual. | ||
| Alloromish /
Alloromanticish[20] |
-ish |  [20]
|
An individual on the aromantic spectrum where one's personal experience aligns with/is closer to alloromantic attraction, or an individual that is uncomfortable using the term alloromantic despite having alloromantic or similar attractions.[20] | x-icarus-x |
Flags and Symbols
The general allo flag was created by Tumblr user Fy (beyond-mogai-pride-flags) on the 30th of August, 2018.[18]
An alternate alloace flag was created by Tumblr user trailerparkk on the 17th of August.[21] Another alternate alloace flag was created by Tumblr user flagify on the 25th of July, 2020.[22]
Alloace (trailerparkk)
Alloace (flagify)
Resources
- ↑ "allo-". Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/allo-#:~:text=(English%20else).-,Prefix,but%20of%20the%20same%20species.. Accessed on 20 Feb, 2023.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 HISTORICALLYACE. "A HISTORY OF WORDS USED TO DESCRIBE PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT ASEXUAL". Tumblr, 18 Aug, 2016, https://historicallyace.tumblr.com/post/149146363062/a-history-of-words-used-to-describe-people-that.
- ↑ aceadmiral. "Anonymous asked:". Tumblr, 3 Nov, 2011, https://aceadmiral.tumblr.com/post/12288571154/tried-to-find-prefixes-that-mean-towards-and.
- ↑ aceadmiral. "Anonymous asked:". Tumblr, 2 Nov, 2011, https://aceadmiral.tumblr.com/post/12236222688/what-are-your-thoughts-on-albosexual-for-non-ace.
- ↑ redbeardace. "aceadmiral:". Tumblr, 31 Oct, 2011, https://redbeardace.tumblr.com/post/12186929642/ace-admiral-more-suggestions-to-replace-otj.
- ↑ Burleson, Mary H. Trevathan, Wenda R. Gregory, W Larry. "Sexual behavior in lesbian and heterosexual women: relations with menstrual cycle phase and partner availability". PubMed.gov, 27 May, 2002, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11912001/.
- ↑ Siggy. "Why I use “allosexual”". Asexual Agenda, 12 Sep, 2012, https://asexualagenda.wordpress.com/2012/09/12/why-i-use-allosexual/.
- ↑ P epochryphal. "Re: Calling people off the ace spectrum "sexuals" and/or "non-aces"... okay? Or hypocritical?". Demi Grace, 22 Sep, 2011, https://demigrace.forumotion.com/t57-calling-people-off-the-ace-spectrum-sexuals-and-or-non-aces-okay-or-hypocritical#406.
- ↑ Asexuals Anonymous. "Anonymous asked:". Tumblr, 19 Jan, 2015, https://asexualsanonymous.tumblr.com/post/108567329004/so-this-might-sound-dumb-but-with-the-allosexual.
- ↑ Sexual Assault SupportServices. "consexual". Urban Dictionary, 10 Aug. 2009, https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=consexual.
- ↑ purplemutant. "Labels". The AVEN, 30 Jun, 2013, https://www.asexuality.org/en/topic/77930-labels/page/3/?tab=comments#comment-2460738.
- ↑ greenchestnuts. "I Would Like A Bath Tub, Sir, A Bath Tub Of Tea!: Wait wait. There is a problem with "non-asexual" as a replacement for "sexual". »". Tumblr, 2012, https://greenchestnuts.tumblr.com/post/10377824692/i-would-like-a-bath-tub-sir-a-bath-tub-of-tea.
- ↑ redbeardace. "Ace Admiral: More suggestions to replace OTJ". Tumblr, 31 Oct, 2011, https://redbeardace.tumblr.com/post/12186929642/ace-admiral-more-suggestions-to-replace-otj.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 aceadmiral. "More suggestions to replace OTJ". Tumblr, 31 Oct, 2011, https://aceadmiral.tumblr.com/post/12161047814/more-suggestions-to-replace-otj.
- ↑ asexualadvice. "Anonymous asked:". Tumblr, 14 Sep, 2013, https://asexualadvice.tumblr.com/post/61251835414/ive-read-verisexual-recently-and-i-like-it.
- ↑ greenchestnuts. "More Words!". Tumblr, 2012, https://greenchestnuts.tumblr.com/post/13306190642/more-words.
- ↑ writingfromfactorx. "That's What She Said: On the asexual community and frustrations over the name game: →". Tumblr, 2012, https://writingfromfactorx.tumblr.com/post/13386480501/thats-what-she-said-on-the-asexual-community-and.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 18.7 beyond-mogai-pride-flags. "Allo- Flags". Tumblr, 30 Aug, 2018, https://beyond-mogai-pride-flags.tumblr.com/post/177571577265/allo-flags.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 varioriented-pride. "Alloromantic Asexual Pride Flag". Tumblr, 1 Mar, 2019, https://web.archive.org/web/20231021233400/https://varioriented-pride.tumblr.com/post/183138935225/image-four-striped-flag-colored-with-dark-ish. Archived on 21 Oct, 2023.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 x-icarus-x. "Alloromish/Allorom-ish!". Tumblr, 14 Mar, 2023, https://web.archive.org/web/20230314041917/https://www.tumblr.com/x-icarus-x/711738748486991872/alloromishallorom-ish?source=share. Archived on 14 Mar, 2023.
- ↑ trailerparkk. "So I tried to make my own redesign of @varioriented-pride ‘s AlloAce flag". Tumblr, 17 Aug, https://web.archive.org/web/20220922184148/https://trailerparkk.tumblr.com/post/626733295391178752/so-i-tried-to-make-my-own-redesign-of. Archived on 22 Sep, 2022.
- ↑ flagify. "Alloace flag". Tumblr, 25 Jul, 2020, https://web.archive.org/web/20230530122149/https://flagify.tumblr.com/post/624638775196286976/alloace-flag. Archived on 30 May, 2023.
