At its core, asexuality is generally defined as an absence or lack of sexual attraction. When they spoke to Seventeen, the public training manager at The Trevor Project, Keygan Miller, clarified: "While most asexual people desire emotionally intimate relationships, they are not drawn to sex as a way to express that intimacy." Although this is the basic meaning of asexuality, there are several hues to it.
An asexual person, or ace, can be many things. Despite having a lack of sexual desires, they may still choose to engage in sexual activities to satiate their libido or make their partners feel good. They can also be aromantic, meaning they don't feel romantic attraction for anybody or they can experience romantic attraction without sexual feelings. On the other hand, demisexuals do experience sexual desires, but only for the people with whom they're emotionally bonded.
Ted Lewis, the youth and families director at the Human Rights Campaign, acknowledged to Seventeen that asexuality and demisexuality may appear the same on the surface. Further, "It's not uncommon for demisexual people to identify as asexual, and then once they get into those closer, emotional relationships, realize that demisexual is a better understanding of who they are." Lewis added that a demisexual is far more likely to find a partner by joining communities that are centered around common interests like fan clubs or music classes.
