Invidious attraction, or envious attraction, is a tertiary form of physical attraction based on a feeling of envy towards an individual’s appearance or presentation.
Invidious attraction is defined as an attraction to the way an individual looks or how they present themselves that is rooted in envy or a desire to have a similar appearance or presentation. Invidious attraction may include a desire to observe, interact with, or fantasize about the target of attraction.
Invidious attraction is not an inherently hostile or resentful feeling, and instead is based upon a desire to appear or present similarly to the target individual. It may instead be characterized by discontent/dysphoria or desire/euphoria.
Invidious attraction is similar to the concept of gender envy and they may be considered synonyms, or they may be considered separate related concepts. Both concepts deal with a feeling of envy regarding an individual’s appearance or presentation, but possible distinctions include:
- Gender envy does not necessarily include a feeling of attraction towards the target.
- Invidious attraction does not necessarily have to do with gender presentation and can relate to aspects of presentation unrelated to gender.
Invidious attraction is similar to aesthetic attraction, but is specifically rooted in a feeling of envy. This attraction may be considered a type of aesthetic attraction.
History
Invidious attraction was coined by Reddit user AnonymousHermitCrab on May 8th, 2022.[1]
Etymology
Invidious attraction comes from the word "invidious" meaning "envious," relating to the feeling of envy which the attraction is rooted in.