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Romantic orientation, indicates the sex or gender with which a person is most likely to have a romantic relationship or fall in love. It is used both alternatively and side-by-side with the term sexual orientation, and is based on the perspective that sexual attraction is but a single component of a larger dynamic. For example, although a pansexual person may feel sexually attracted to multiple genders, they may be predisposed to romantic intimacy with females. For asexual people, romantic orientation is often considered a more useful measure of attraction than sexual orientation.

Romantic identities[]

People may or may not engage in purely emotional romantic relationships. The main identities relating to this are:

  • Aromantic: Lack of romantic attraction towards anyone.
  • Heteroromantic: Romantic attraction towards person(s) of one gender other than their own.
  • Homoromantic: Romantic attraction towards person(s) of the same gender.
  • Biromantic: Romantic attraction towards person(s) of two or more genders.

Relationship with sexuality and asexuality[]

The implications of the distinction between romantic and sexual orientations has not been fully recognized, nor has it been studied extensively. It is common for sources to describe sexual orientation as including components of both sexual and romantic (or romantic equivalent) attractions. Similarly, romantic love has been noted as "love with strong components of sexuality and infatuation,"although some sources contradict this notion, stating that sexual and romantic attraction are not necessarily linked. With regard to asexuality, while asexuals usually do not experience sexual attraction, they may still experience romantic attraction.

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