Animatesexual



Animatesexual, also known as (formerly) animesexual, mangasexual or eminafictic, is an ace-spec identity and a form of fictisexuality where one is exclusively or almost exclusively attracted to anime/manga characters.

Many a-spec individuals only feel attraction towards those who they know could never possibly be in a relationship with, such as fictional characters. While it is normal to occasionally have a crush on fictional characters, if one is animatesexual they might feel like it is difficult or impossible to be attracted towards someone in real life. If the attraction is not exclusive, animatesexual individuals may feel as though they are more frequently attracted to anime/manga characters than they are to individuals in real life.

The term can be used to on its own or it can be used in combination with other terms. The romantic counterpart is animateromantic.

History
Animesexual has been referenced in LGBTQ spaces for a number of years, and it's first official usage or "coining" is unclear. Its primary name has changed overtime, with the term animatesexual becoming more prevelent amoung a-spec individuals who identify with the term, in attempts to distinguish themselves from those who use the term "animesexual" to mock or troll the MOGAI/LGBTQ+ community.

The earliest known use of the animesexual hashtag on Tumblr was by user ghaost, July 26th, 2012, who stated that: "ever[y] time [they] try to figure out [their] sexual orientation [they] just get really confused and watch anime instead". Animesexual/mangasexual may have been first officially "coined" as a queer identity on August 15th, 2016 by Tumblr blog Beyond-MOGAI-Pride-Flags, where the term was defined as: "Being sexually attracted to anime/manga characters". Beyond-MOGAI-Pride-Flags also created the animesexual/mangasexual flag on the same date. The post was tagged with "#a-spec", "#aro-spec", "#ace-spec", and similar tags, suggesting that, under this definition, animesexual was intended to be an a-spec orientation (in a way similar to what the term is generally understood to refer to today).

Animesexuality and fictosexuality have been called Zhǐ-Xìng-Liàn (紙性戀) in Chinese. Animesexuals have their own subculture and political activism in East Asia.

Flag
The original animatesexual flag was created by Tumblr blog Beyond-MOGAI-Pride-Flags.

The alternative animatesexual flag was made by an anonymous wiki user on October 24, 2020. It was made in response to complaints about the original flag (likely related to issues/controversies surrounding its creator). Light blue represents the parody and sports anime genres, blue represents the fantasy and mystery anime genres, grey represents manga and anime as a whole (including all genres not represented by the other four stripes), pink represents the romance and horror anime genres, and yellow represents the comedy and slice of life anime genres.

Another alternate animatesexual flag was made by a user on November 15th, 2020. It is based off of the colors on the other two flags, with an added purple. Grey represents manga/book spinoffs and genderless characters, light blue represents parody/sports genres and multigender characters, blue represents fantasy genres and masculine characters, purple represents non-binary characters and mystery/horror genres, pink represents romance and feminine characters, yellow represents comedy genres and intersex characters, and white represents alterhuman-like characters and all other genres.

Another alternate animatesexual flag was created by FANDOM user Weniviere on November 18th, 2020. The two light blue stripes stand for manga/book spinoffs and genderless characters, two dark blue stripes stand for masculine characters and fantasy genres, purple stands for non-binary characters and mystery/horror genres, pink represents romance and feminine characters, yellow represents comedy genres and intersex characters, and grey represents alterhuman-like characters. It is based off of the previous three flags.

Etymology
Anime/manga is a specific art style that originated from Japan. Therefore, "animesexual" implies attraction towards anime/manga characters. It has since been renamed to "animatesexual", relating to the fact that anime is a style of Japanese animation.