Ceterosexual (also known as allotroposexual, enbysexual, medissosexual, avansexual or idemosexual), previously known as skoliosexual (escoliosexual, or scioliosexual), is an orientation referring to someone who is exclusively attracted to non-binary and genderqueer individuals. Previous definitions also included binary transgender individuals, however this definition is no longer common as most agree that this was transphobic.
Similar attractions include enbian, terraric, galaxsexual, triasexual, and neusexual. Labels such as vincian and lesbian can also include non-binary individuals in their attractions.
History and Controversy
Skoliosexual
Skoliosexual is alternate/outdated term coined in 2010 by a DeviantArt user, Nelde, who attempted to make a comprehensive diagram of sexual attraction.[2] Nelde claims to use "skolio" as it is the Greek word for queer. However, the name was highly controversial due to "skolio-" translating to "crooked" or "bent".
Additionally, in many of the first definitions of skoliosexual it was defined either as the attraction to "non-binary and transgender individuals" or the attraction to "non-cisgender individuals", which othered and fetishized transgender individuals, treating trans men and trans women as if they were not actually men/women.
Alternatives and Usage
Ceterosexual was made as a replacement term, due to the name. Additionally, ceterosexual and other alternate terms only included non-binary individuals, not including binary trans individuals. While ceterosexual is a new term, it uses the same flags that skoliosexual used.
The creator of the term ceterosexual is unknown. However unlike skoilosexual, ceterosexual seems to have been created with the intent that only non-binary and genderqueer should call themselves ceterosexual, and many non-binary individuals who use the term agree with this. Additionally, some believe the term should not be used at all. This is due to the term possibly it encouraging the fetishization of non-cis individuals. Additionally the term may encourage the false believe that "non-binary" is a single, homogeneous gender. When in reality non-binary is board category that includes a wide variety of vastly different genders, making it difficult to define a specific orientation around it.
On the contrary, others feel that the term should be available for anyone, because just as one cannot tell who is non-binary by looks alone, one also cannot tell who is a man or a woman by first glance either.
There as also been a small group of individuals who use other alternatives to skoliosexual. Some such alternatives are enbysexual[3], idemosexual[4], and allotroposexual[5]. Like with ceterosexual, the terms enbysexual and idemosexual were created with the intent that only non-binary individuals use them. However, allotroposexual was created with the intent to be used by anyone.
Medisso- comes from mē (no) e dissos (binary), suggested by mod Auri from Tumblr blog Pride Color Schemes.[6]
Flag
The first skoliosexual/ceterosexual flag was created on October 14, 2013 by DeviantArt user SavvyRed[7]. Yellow represents being non-binary or being attracted to non-binary individuals. Green represents bigender, third gender, genderqueer, or other genders. White and black represents neutral genders, genderlessness, agender, and individuals questioning their gender identity. The lavender heart represents love outside the gender norms. Most alternate flags are based on this flag.
Etymology
The prefix cetero- means "other".
Resources
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/https://www.tumblr.com/blog_auth/potionflags
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/https://www.deviantart.com/nelde/art/Sexual-Attraction-v2-180255547
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/https://nonbinaryresource.tumblr.com/post/132552134476/is-there-a-word-for-only-being-attracted-to
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/https://variant-archive.tumblr.com/post/185736763882/a-quick-suggestion-for-my-fellow-enbys-who-love
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/https://genderqueerid.com/post/16339992032/skoliosexual-adj
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/https://orientando.org/listas/lista-de-orientacoes/cetero/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/https://www.deviantart.com/savvyred/art/Proposed-Skoliosexual-Flag-407351410