Aesthetic attraction is a form of physical attraction to a person's appearance. It is defined as an attraction to the way someone looks, or how they present themselves. It is typically based on a desire to observe someone because one finds them aesthetically pleasing. It is often described as a similar feeling to looking at a nice painting or landscape. In the a-spec community, it is typically useful to distinguish aesthetic attraction from sexual attraction and romantic attraction.
Among allosexuals and/or alloromantics aesthetic attraction is commonly felt alongside sexual and/or romantic attraction, this is sometimes considered a necessary element of the experience. However, aesthetic attraction can sometimes be felt separately from other forms of attraction.
An aesthetic crush is known as a swish, although the term is not widely used. One who does not experience aesthetic attraction may identify as a-aesthetic or nonaesthetic.
History
One of the earliest known uses of the term "aesthetic attraction" among asexuals was in 2005, on the AVEN forums.[1] Since then it has been commonly included in lists of subtypes of attraction.[2]
Flag
The flag was coined by a user going by Anamika on December 6th, 2020. The first shade of pink represents people with neutral or genderless aesthetics, the second shade of pink represents people with androgynous or fluid aesthetics, the third shade of pink represents people with feminine or xenic aesthetics, the fourth shade of pink represents people with masculine or animalistic/non-human aesthetics. The white represents attraction, and represents how vast the spectrum of attraction can be. Orange represents a-spec people with aesthetic attraction, lighter orange represents people with multiple attraction types, gold represents breaking past societies expectations of attraction, and light yellow represents peace, unity, and community. The circle with the colors represent all races, as many races have different aesthetics due to their culture. It is also there as a nod to qpoc, who are highly under appreciated.