Tutelary Attraction, also known as Protective Attraction or Dominant Attraction, is a form of tertiary attraction that revolves around a strong desire to take care, protect, and support a certain person. It is the reverse of cedural attraction. With tutelary attraction when one sees someone in a sad or defenseless situation one feels not just sympathy but also a sense of attraction that gets them involved with that person and their needs. It is also based on a feeling of feeling needed or necessary. This is the attraction one might feel towards a child, younger sibling, a pet, or a vulnerable person you are favorably disposed toward.
A relationship between protective and protected person can be labeled as guardianship, wardship, or tutelage. A person in that relationship who takes on the protective role could be called a comate, cherish, ward, or grace. A tutelary crush could be possibly be called a mush.
This relationship should not be associated with DPD (dependent personality), protectors in systems (DID), or with BDSM and kink related power play sometimes seen in sexual/romantic relationships.
History
The concept of tutelary attraction was coined on December 23, 2014 on the Spanish language version of AVEN by the user Arya[1]. It was known as atracción de protección and was explicitly distinguished it from the kink related power play, (known as atracción de rol). The post was translated by Tumblr user Neutrois-Maverique on March 16, 2018[2]. Atracción de protección was translated as "dominant attraction". The term tutelary was coined by beyond-mogai-pride-flags on August 16, 2018[3].