There’s a new form of sexual attraction heating up: Here’s what being ‘symbiosexual’ means
The more, the merrier.
A recent study conducted by researchers at Seattle University unveiled a new sexuality called “symbiosexual.” According to research recently published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, it’s described as an “attraction to the energy, multidimensionality and power shared between people in relationships.”
A person identifying with this feeling connects to the energy shared between a pre-existing couple. The study revealed that a large group of participants have felt a romantic and sexual attraction to a third person’s “synergy.”
This dynamic can often be seen in television shows and movies such as “Tiger King,” “Gossip Girl” and “Challengers,” which features a love triangle between actors Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor.
Dr. Sally Johnston, an adjunct professor of anthropology and sociology who conducted the study, believes there is more to sexuality than we know.
“We need to rethink the nature of human attraction and desire as only one-to-one experiences,” she said.
Johnson dove deeper into research to try to understand the concept of “unicorns” in polyamorous relationships.
A unicorn is “someone who engages in sexual activity with a couple but does not participate in other aspects of the relationship,” detailed VeryWellMind.
Despite the sexual benefits, Johnson noticed the third party in these relationships receives poor treatment and becomes objectified and ostracized.
She noticed these signs from data she observed from “The Pleasure Study,” which surveyed 373 participants about their sexual and gender identity.
The majority of the results were skewed toward white people who were middle-class university graduates, with more than 90% of them identifying as queer and 87.5% saying they were polyamorous.
“There is a diverse population of people who experience symbiosexual attraction, an attraction to the energy, multidimensionality, and power shared between people in relationships,” Johnson added.
She found that there were 145 reports of participants expressing they’ve had a feeling of attraction to couples rather than the individuals in the relationship.
Hayden, a participant in the study, confessed she found the “cohesiveness” in couples attractive.
“You feed off their energy, their attraction to each other … there’s an interplay between the couple,” she revealed.
Another respondent, named Sage, professed their appeal of being symbiosexual.
“I also just want to be smack in the middle of that relationship. I would also like to be included in this relationship … I really think my ideal dynamic might be myself and a couple,” Sage said.
Most symbiosexuals consider themselves extroverted, desire lots of intimacy, care and attention, and are less likely to experience jealousy.
Eden, who also identifies as a symbiosexual and participated in the survey, shared their thoughts on the emerging sexuality.
“I have this desire to be desired, and I seek a lot of validation, a lot of validation, and when there are multiple people like that, I feel like, oh, yes, yes, I’m doing things right,” Eden confessed.
Some participants, who consider themselves queer and sexually open, reported being mainly attracted to queer and non-heterosexual couples.
Meanwhile, as research continues to develop, Johnson plans to study the relationship dynamic more for the general public to get a better understanding of this evolving sexual identity regarding mental health and relationship satisfaction.
“I hope that this work will reduce stigma in both monogamous and non-monogamous communities and expand conceptualizations of desire in sexuality studies,” she added.
