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Asexual
Also written: Asexual, Ace, Asexuality
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At a glance
Source-by-source
“Terms like bisexual, pansexual, and asexual (an umbrella term for people who do not experience sexual attraction) are appropriate if requested or used by the person you are referring to.”
Sierra Club defines asexual as an umbrella term for people who do not experience sexual attraction and folds it into the guide's overarching self-identification rule: use bisexual, pansexual, or asexual when the subject requests the term or uses it themselves. The guide also notes the "A" in some acronym variants stands for asexual (or allies, or both).
“A person who does not experience sexual attraction. Asexuals can and do experience other forms of attraction and intimacy, such as aesthetic, emotional, platonic, or romantic, and they can describe their romantic attraction in terms of hetero/homo/bi/pan, etc.”
DSG defines asexual as not experiencing sexual attraction while stressing that asexual people can and do experience other forms of attraction and intimacy — aesthetic, emotional, platonic, romantic. The guide treats asexual and aromantic as distinct: an aromantic person may or may not be asexual.
“Often called "ace" for short … Asexuality exists on a spectrum, and asexual people may experience no, little or conditional sexual attraction.”
HRC names the community shorthand "ace" and frames asexuality as a spectrum rather than a single state: asexual people may experience no, little, or conditional sexual attraction. The entry treats asexual as a complete or partial lack of sexual attraction or interest in sexual activity with others.
“Refers to someone who doesn't experience sexual attraction, and may or may not experience romantic attraction (aromantic). More closely associated with sexual orientation than with gender; not synonymous with agender or gender-nonconforming.”
NLGJA's 2025 stylebook places asexual under sexual orientation, not gender, and draws an explicit boundary: asexual is not synonymous with agender or gender-nonconforming. The entry distinguishes sexual from romantic attraction, cross-referencing aromantic, and treats the term as one a person uses for themselves.
Synthesis
“Asexual,” often shortened to “ace,” is the term to use for someone who experiences little or no sexual attraction. The four sources agree on the core definition, and two refinements run through the corpus. HRC describes asexuality as a spectrum rather than all-or-nothing: asexual people may experience “no, little or conditional sexual attraction.” The Diversity Style Guide and NLGJA both treat sexual attraction as distinct from romantic orientation, so “asexual” and “aromantic” describe separate axes. DSG adds that asexual people “can and do experience other forms of attraction and intimacy,” such as aesthetic, emotional, platonic, or romantic. Sierra Club supplies the practical rule: terms like asexual are “appropriate if requested or used by the person,” and NLGJA likewise treats it as a term a person uses for themselves.
The governing principle is the same self-identification rule that runs through the rest of the chapter, plus a caution against the common misreading that asexual means “no relationships” or “no attraction of any kind.” It sits with the other sexual orientation terms, alongside bisexual; “ace” is the accepted community shorthand.
Audience notes
- Journalists and editors. “Asexual” / “ace” describes sexual attraction specifically; don’t assume it rules out romantic relationships. Use it when the person does.
- Advocates and internal comms. Treat romantic and sexual orientation as separate axes — someone can be asexual and biromantic, for instance.
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