Skoliosexual: Meaning, Usage, and Gender-Diverse Attraction

For example, someone may use the term because they are especially attracted to:

• nonbinary people;
• genderqueer people;
• people with androgynous gender expression;
• people whose gender does not fit conventional male–female categories;
• transgender people, depending on the definition being used.

The term does not mean that every skoliosexual person is attracted to every transgender or nonbinary individual. Attraction remains personal and selective.

It also does not describe one particular relationship style, sexual behavior, or gender identity. A skoliosexual person may themselves be cisgender, transgender, nonbinary, or another gender.

As an adjective:

• She identifies as skoliosexual.
• He described his orientation as skoliosexual.
• A skoliosexual person may be attracted mainly to nonbinary people.

As a noun:

• She is a skoliosexual.
• Some skoliosexuals prefer a different identity term.

The adjective form is generally more natural when describing a person:

• Preferred: They are skoliosexual.
• Also possible: They are a skoliosexual.
• More specific: They are a skoliosexual person.

Common expressions include:

• identify as skoliosexual;
• skoliosexual orientation;
• skoliosexual attraction;
• skoliosexual identity;
• come out as skoliosexual;
• skoliosexual and nonbinary;
• skoliosexual relationship.

Because the term is unfamiliar to many people, a speaker may need to explain what it means.

The first element, skolio-, is associated with a Greek word meaning curved, bent, or crooked. The term appears to have been created to describe attraction outside conventional gender and sexuality categories.

This origin has produced criticism. Some people feel that a word connected with “crooked” may unintentionally present transgender or nonbinary identities as abnormal, damaged, or deviant.

Others understand the word more loosely as referring to attraction that does not follow a straight or conventional gender path.

Because language changes through community use, the meaning intended by an individual may differ from the historical associations of the word.

It may involve:

• wanting sexual contact with someone;
• experiencing eroticinterest in that person;
• imagining sexual activity with them;
• feeling physically or sexually drawn to their body, identity, or expression.

Sexual attraction is different from:

• romantic attraction;
• admiration;
• aesthetic attraction;
• friendship;
• libido;
• sexual behavior.

A skoliosexual person may experience sexual attraction toward a gender-diverse person without necessarily wanting a romantic relationship. Another may experience both romantic and sexual attraction.

A person may be attracted to:

• nonbinary gender identities;
• transgender people;
• androgynous presentation;
• gender-nonconforming appearance;
• a mixture of masculine and feminine qualities;
• people whose gender expression changes or resists categorization.

These are related but distinct.

A transgender man is a man, and a transgender woman is a woman. Being transgender does not automatically mean having an androgynous or visibly gender-nonconforming presentation.

Similarly, a cisgender person may have androgynous gender expression without being transgender or nonbinary.

For this reason, someone using skoliosexual should clarify whether they mean attraction to nonbinary identities, transgender people generally, androgyny, or gender-nonconforming expression.

The distinction is not completely standardized, but a common comparison is:

• Skoliosexual: attraction to transgender, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming people;
• Ceterosexual: attraction mainly to nonbinary people or genders outside the male–female binary.

Some people prefer ceterosexual because it avoids the potentially negative associations of skolio-.

Others use neither term and instead say:

• attracted to nonbinary people;
• nonbinary-attracted;
• attracted to gender-diverse people;
• queer;
• bisexual;
• pansexual.

The most appropriate label depends on the individual’s experience and preferred vocabulary.

A bisexual person may be attracted to:

• men and women;
• their own gender and other genders;
• binary and nonbinary people;
• multiple genders in different ways.

A skoliosexual person is described more specifically as being attracted mainly or exclusively to transgender, nonbinary, or gender-diverse people.

The identities can overlap. Someone may identify as bisexual because they experience attraction to multiple genders while also using skoliosexual to emphasize a strong attraction to gender-diverse people.

A pansexual person may experience attraction toward people of any gender, although gender may still influence the way attraction feels.

A skoliosexual orientation is narrower because it emphasizes attraction toward people outside cisgender or conventional binary categories.

Therefore:

• Pansexual: potentially attracted to people of any gender;
• Skoliosexual: primarily attracted to transgender, nonbinary, or gender-diverse people.

However, identity labels are personal, and people may interpret these boundaries differently.

Gynesexual generally refers to attraction to women, femininity, or feminine presentation.

Skoliosexual focuses instead on attraction to people whose genders or presentations fall outside conventional cisgender categories.

These terms may overlap when a person is attracted to a masculine nonbinary person, a feminine transgender person, or someone with an androgynous presentation.

The comparison shows why it is useful to distinguish:

• attraction to gender identity;
• attraction to masculinity or femininity;
• attraction to physical characteristics;
• attraction to gender-diverse people as a broad group.

A skoliosexual person may be:

• a woman;
• a man;
• transgender;
• cisgender;
• nonbinary;
• genderfluid;
• agender;
• genderqueer.

For example:

• A cisgender woman may identify as skoliosexual because she is mainly attracted to nonbinary people.
• A nonbinary person may use the term for attraction toward other gender-diverse people.
• A transgender man may use it to describe attraction to transgender and nonbinary partners.

The person’s gender and sexual orientation are separate but connected aspects of identity.

A skoliosexual person may be:

• heteroromantic;
• homoromantic;
• biromantic;
• panromantic;
• aromantic;
• demiromantic;
• grayromantic;
• queer-romantic.

For example, someone may experience sexual attraction mainly toward nonbinary people but romantic attraction toward people of several genders.

A person may also use skolioromantic or ceteroromantic for romantic attraction primarily toward transgender, nonbinary, or gender-diverse people, although these terms are less common.

This may happen when someone:

• assumes all transgender people have the same bodies;
• focuses excessively on a person’s transition history;
• expects access to private anatomical information;
• treats nonbinary identity as an exotic appearance;
• assumes every gender-diverse person wants the same sexual role;
• seeks a partner mainly to satisfy curiosity or fantasy.

A respectful attraction recognizes individual personality, preferences, identity, body, and relationship needs rather than reducing someone to the fact that they are transgender or nonbinary.

A person may avoid the term because:

• its origin feels negative;
• it may group transgender men and women outside their actual genders;
• it may suggest all transgender people form one separate gender category;
• it can confuse gender identity with gender expression;
• more precise alternatives are available.

A person may still choose the term because:

• it describes their attraction accurately;
• they learned it before newer alternatives became common;
• they understand it as attraction to gender diversity;
• it provides a concise identity label.

When discussing someone else, it is best to use the label that person uses for themselves.

Its tone may be:

• identity-focused;
• clinical or technical;
• unfamiliar;
• controversial;
• affirming for some people;
• uncomfortable or outdated for others.

The word should usually be accompanied by an explanation because many readers will not recognize it.

In neutral writing, phrases such as attracted to nonbinary people or attracted to gender-diverse people may communicate the meaning more clearly.

All transgender people are nonbinary.
Many transgender people are men or women, while others are nonbinary.

Skoliosexual means attracted only to androgynous appearance.
Some definitions concern gender identity, while others emphasize gender-nonconforming expression.

Skoliosexual and pansexual mean the same thing.
Pansexuality may include attraction to all genders, while skoliosexuality specifically emphasizes gender-diverse people.

The term is accepted by everyone.
Some people use it, while others consider it inaccurate, outdated, or potentially offensive.

Using this label automatically means someone objectifies transgender people.
The label alone does not prove objectification, although the way attraction is expressed matters.

1. Skoliosexual describes attraction primarily toward transgender or nonbinary people.
2. She identifies as skoliosexual because she is mainly attracted to gender-diverse individuals.
3. Some people prefer ceterosexual instead of skoliosexual.
4. The word is uncommon and may require an explanation.
5. A skoliosexual person may have any gender identity.
6. Skoliosexuality is not identical to bisexuality or pansexuality.
7. The meaning may include attraction to nonbinary identity or gender-nonconforming expression.
8. Some LGBTQ+ speakers avoid the term because of its word origin.
9. Attraction to a transgender person should not reduce that person to their gender history.
10. He chose a more descriptive phrase instead of using the label skoliosexual.

The term demonstrates how sexual-orientation vocabulary may describe not only attraction to men or women but also attraction involving identities and expressions outside conventional gender categories.

Because its definition and acceptability remain debated, understanding related terms such as ceterosexual, bisexual, pansexual, nonbinary-attracted, and gender-diverse helps readers communicate attraction with greater clarity and accuracy.