Ceterosexual & Ceteromantic

Sexual (ceterosexual) or romantic (ceteromantic) attraction to non-binary, genderqueer, and gender-nonconforming people.

Definition

Sexual (ceterosexual) or romantic (ceteromantic) attraction to non-binary, genderqueer, and gender-nonconforming people. Intended primarily for use by non-binary people describing their own attraction, though usage varies.

Etymology

Latin cetero- (the other, the rest) + sexual/romantic. Coined in online non-binary communities in the mid-2010s.

History

Proposed as a more neutral replacement for "skoliosexual," whose Greek root (skolios, "crooked") many found derogatory toward non-binary people. Ceterosexual reframes the same pattern of attraction without the pejorative connotation. It overlaps with, but is distinct from, enbian (non-binary people attracted to non-binary people, framed as a gender-loving-gender community term rather than an orientation label).

Common myths

  • "Ceterosexual fetishizes non-binary people." Like any orientation term, it describes a pattern of attraction, not objectification. The term was coined within non-binary communities for their own use.
  • "Ceterosexual and skoliosexual are interchangeable." They describe the same attraction pattern, but ceterosexual was deliberately coined to avoid skoliosexual's negative etymology, and many communities now prefer it.

See also