Aegosexuality

The official pride flag for aegosexuality!

Aegosexual (formally known as Autochorissexual) is a sexual orientation found within the asexual umbrella. It was coined by Anthony Bogaert in 2012. He used the term "autochorissexual", however, the community feels that this term pathologizes the identity. As a whole, the LGBTQIA community is moving away from these kinds of terminology that makes an illness out of natural expressions of human sexuality (like "homosexuality" and "autochorissexual"). 

For those curious, this is how Bogaert explains "autochorissexual" in his 2012 paper:

"I present evidence that target-oriented paraphilias may occur in some who report no sexual attraction for others or those who identify as asexual. One target-oriented paraphilia in some asexual people is a disconnection between their identity and a sexual target/object. I name this phenomenon autochorissexualism or ‘‘identity-less’’ sexuality."

So what does aegosexual mean? It is a term that, formally speaking has the definition of "A disconnection between oneself and a sexual target/object of arousal; may involve sexual fantasies, or arousal in response to erotica or pornography, but lacking any desire to be a participant in the sexual activities therein". So what does this mean in average, everyday English? A good, easy to understand definition would be for aegosexual, "You might find a thought sexually appealing, but it's solely fantasy, you can't see yourself deriving actual pleasure from it if you were actually living in the scenario. Like you might fantasize about engaging in certain fetish or BDSM activities, but if this really happened to you, you wouldn't find any of it sexually attractive."

Aegosexuals often find it difficult to label themselves because they feel like they're paradoxically living with sexual attraction but at the same time, without sexual attraction. It often takes them many years to "figure out" themselves because of this paradoxical state of mind and/or being. 

The flag was designed by a user who goes by "hunterinabrowncoat" in July 2014. They do not give an explanation for the flag colors or design chosen. Some people have complained that this particular flag is "hard on the eyes" and a few alternatives have appeared throughout the years, but the flag created by hunterinabrowncoat is the most popular. (Quick side note, hunterinabrowncoat defines aegosexuality as "autochorissexuals feel the attraction, but don’t want to engage in sexual activities.").