gray-A
English edit
Etymology edit
Coined in 2006 by the user KSpaz on the forums of the Asexual Visibility and Education Network for those in the "fuzzy" area that is the distinction between asexuality and sexuality.[1][2]
Adjective edit
gray-A (not comparable)
- (neologism, informal) Graysexual.
- 2012, Evelyn Deshane, "Asexuality: Media Depictions and Lived Realities", Absynthe (Trent University), February 2012, page 34:
- The gray-A type of attraction discussed in asexuality communities addresses this issue of a variable like sex drive.
- 2013, Adrienne Smith, “Cultural Fascination”, in Elesia Askenazy, Melanie Yergeau, editors, Relationships & Sexuality, page 96:
- People who find themselves “somewhere in the middle,” or people who don’t feel that they’re the cut-and-dry definition of aromantic asexual, tend to identify themselves as gray-A. And demisexuality is but one shade of gray-A.
- 2013, Dominque Mosbergen, "Asexual in a Sexual World", Huffington, Issue #63, 25 August 2013, page 47 (approx.):
- "Sexuality is so fluid, and Gray-A presents more of a possibility to be unsure. I don't understand all the intricacies of myself yet, so this is the closest approximation I've come up with," said Chris Maleney, an 18-year-old Pennsylvania high school student who identifies as Gray-A.
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:gray-A.
- 2012, Evelyn Deshane, "Asexuality: Media Depictions and Lived Realities", Absynthe (Trent University), February 2012, page 34:
Noun edit
gray-A (plural gray-As or gray-A's)
- (neologism, informal) A graysexual person.
- 2012, Marina Hale, "The Drop-Down Menu Identity Crisis", Glass Buffalo (University of Alberta), Spring 2012, page 51:
- Gray-As or demisexuals fit somewhere between sexual and asexual; they may have very low sex-drives, or may only experience sexual attraction after a deep emotional connection exists.
- 2013, Dominque Mosbergen, "Asexual in a Sexual World", Huffington, Issue #63, 25 August 2013, page 47 (approx.):
- Gray-A's, on the other hand, are people who identify more generally in the gray zone between asexuality and sexuality.
- 2014 January 24, Bailey Dineen, “A Look Into My Sex Life”, in The Cornell Daily Sun, volume 13, number 74, Cornell University, page 7:
- Graces, or gray-A’s, are people who experience sexual attraction infrequently or not very strongly; […]
- For more quotations using this term, see Citations:gray-A.
- 2012, Marina Hale, "The Drop-Down Menu Identity Crisis", Glass Buffalo (University of Alberta), Spring 2012, page 51:
References edit
- ^ KSpaz (2006 April 12) “Gray-A's”, in The Asexuality Visibility and Education Network[1], archived from the original on 31 January 2015:
- Alright, so don't know if this term is already around, but if not, I'm coining it now. Gray-A Is there really a line at which point you are asexual? According to our logo there isn't. Just fuzziness. So, this thread I dedicate to our fuzzy members who may sometimes feel unsure of their asexuality/sexuality.
- ^ Hezekiah (2013 May 8) “The development of gray asexuality and demisexuality as identity terms”, in Critique of Popular Reason[2], WordPress, archived from the original on 2016-05-12:
- The specific term gray asexual did not come about until almost three years later in April 2006, when the user KSpaz explicitly self-identified as gray-A and defined it as descriptive of people occupying the “fuzzy” space between “asexual” and “sexual,” referencing the gradient in AVEN’s triangle logo.