Demisexual character?

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Keobooks

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I was discussing my fantasy story and some of the main characters to a friend. I never really pinned down a firm sexuality on most of the characters. I know that sounds odd, but for a specific group of people in the story, they are just "sexual." They have heterosexual arranged marriages, but as to who they are romantic with, it's just about anyone. Extramarital relations are condoned and almost expected. It's not unusual for a happily married man or woman to have a same sex partner who also lives in the house.

Anyway, one of my characters is unusual because he has just about zero interest in sex. He has a completely unrequited crush on a married woman, but he doesn't think of her sexually. He attempts to start a physical relationship with her husband simply so he can be with her and possibly live with her as her husband's companion. It doesn't work out because he can't force himself to get interested. It's not because he's straight. It's just that he never really trusts the husband for various reasons related to the plot.

Anyway, several years later he gets romantic feelings for someone and they have a ... I don't know.. A non-sexual romance. This goes on for a few years until the woman says she wants to leave him because he has no sexual feelings. They split up, but get back together a few months later, because he's suddenly sexually attracted to her. Once he is with her, he's extremely passionate. He's in his mid 20s and basically he's only had one person he's ever wanted sex with and three people he's ever had romantic feelings for. ( husband, wife and girlfriend)

Anyway, I was concerned that perhaps this character had an unrealistic sexual identity. So I was talking about it to my friend. She said that quite the contrary. He sounded demisexual. I'd never even heard of this orientation. I've read up on it, but mostly just a list of facts that are a bit dry.I've never read any fiction with demisexual characters. I've never read any narratives that were written by demisexual about their experiences with love.

I'd like to make sure that I have an honest voice with this character. I don't want him to appear phony. Are there any resources out there where demisexual said talk about their experiences, rather than just listing characteristics of demisexual so. I want to make sure his feelings are genuine, if that makes any sense.
 

Latina Bunny

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http://www.asexuality.org/wiki/index.php?title=Demisexual

http://demisexuality.org/articles/what-is-demisexuality/

The Asexuality.org link has a few links to some resources and a link to a forum that specializes in that area.

A demisexual is a person who does not experience sexual attraction unless they form a strong emotional connection with someone. It's more commonly seen in but by no means confined to romantic relationships. The term demisexual comes from the orientation being "halfway between" sexual and asexual
 
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Fruitbat

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I think with sexual interest, endless variations are possible so whatever he is or does, it doesn't need to be something that falls under any label to legitimize it. You can just write it as it comes to you. If you believe it, I'll believe it!

However, at the same time, in making it ring true you should probably put something in there that indicates his awareness of the turning point. Otherwise, in writing, it might just come across like the author isn't paying attention to the story. Anything can happen in real life, for example, but in a story it should be put together with some kind of rhyme or reason, cause and effect, plot, whatever you want to call it, rather than just the aimless wandering people sometimes do through real life.
 
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Keobooks

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Oh there's a reason things change. It's plot related, so I didn't want to get into it. But basically he gradually does change his feelings, but he is wary of her because she shows signs that she doesn't trust him on some level. She keeps too many secrets. He only goes back to her when she finally works on being able to trust anyone at all.
 

Latina Bunny

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It's really up to your characters. As long as there is a clear and organic development of these feelings, the development will seem believable to the readers. :)

Show the character's thoughts about what he finds attractive about his romantic partner, and gradually build up the sexual desires.

Good luck! :)
 

kuwisdelu

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It sounds like demisexuality or libidoist asexuality. (Because some asexual people still enjoy sex even without sexual attraction.)

But you don't need to put a label on it for it to be a valid experience.

Some people can't accept experiences that conflict with their own, but many people can. Let your character be who he is.
 

Keobooks

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Yeah,I don't know why I care about this character's sexuality so much. It's probably that I never heard of it before when someone mentioned it to me. I've got a married guy who loves his wife, but he has many boyfriends he rotates through. I don't really think of him as bisexual for some reason. I think if you were to ask him, he'd shrug and say, "I guess. Who isn't?" (Not everyone is. He's just that kind of guy.) As I mentioned in the original post, most of my characters are just "sexual." They aren't wild hot dogs, but they just see it more as something fun you can do with very good friends.

That may be another reason I think about him. He's sort of an anomaly in the story. I didn't originally write him to be that way, he just ended up that way. At first I just made him inhibited and prudish. But that made no sense, considering his background. And after a while writing his scenes, I realized that he really just had no interest. The only thing that bothers him about it is that if people find out, they don't see it's inappropriate to keep asking him, why? What happened to you? What's wrong with you. But he just finds it annoying and hurtful. He never feels shame about it.

And for some reason, I find that interesting about him. I know he's my character and I made him. But he seems to have very strong opinions and he was a minor character that just kept stealing the spotlight and getting more ingesting to me. He was a weak wooden prop that was barely a placeholder a few months ago.
 

Latina Bunny

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Sounds like this character has got your attention and is really developing into someone.

Go with your writerly gut! Find out his story, keep developing him, and keep on writing the story as you go. :D
 

Keobooks

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I hope it's not over sharing, but in my research, I found this article. After reading it, I strongly suspect that I'm asexual, but very highly romantic. I thought since there were no psychological issues and I didn't actually get repulsed by sex, that I was just someone who didn't have much if any need for it. And what's creepy is that some of my "proof" that I wasn't asexual are specifically mentioned as very common issues asexual people face. So I'm a little bit... something about this.

So maybe this character fascinates me for reasons other than his complex psyche.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/17/asexuality-the-x-in-a-sexual-world_n_3444417.html
 
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