Autosexual is when one experiences sexual attraction primarily or exclusively towards themself; and can occur in many forms as follows:
- Having a hard time responding to someone's sexual touch, but being able to or is comfortable with self pleasing like masturbation.
- Feeling little or no attraction to others sexually but feeling attraction to yourself.
- Fantasizing about sexual interaction with yourself.
- Feeling attraction to yourself more than what is considered "normal."
The romantic counterpart to autosexual is autoromantic.
History
Autosexual was first used as a very specific term used by Bernard Apfelbaum, a PHD graduate in clinical psychology in his work on the book "Principles and Practice of Sex Therapy", he considered it as a sexual abnormality. Often autosexuals do not seek out sexual relationships as it is simply a way of life and how they feel about others, it is strictly the attraction to yourself and is not a psychological or sexual abnormality. It was once considered to be a narcissistic trait, mischaracterizing both NPD & autosexuality.
Autosexuality vs narcissism
Narcissism & autosexuality are not the same thing and never were. The former is a disorder and not inherently linked to sexuality; the latter is a sexual orientation label that can be used by anyone of any neurotype. While some with NPD may prioritize their own sexual pleasure, this is not even close to autosexuality or the majority of those with NPD.
Flag
The first flag was made by a user going by aturinfortheworse on an unspecified site. They had a meaning for the flag originally, but forgot it.
The second flag was coined by a user going by Anamika on November 21st, 2020. It is based off the original flags colors. The shades of blue stand for self compassion and self care, the heart stands for self love, and the grey stands for the ace-spec category.
Etyomology
The prefix comes from the Greek term 'auto', meaning 'self'.