Experts have raised an alarm over the increasing number of young people identifying as ‘greysexual’
Greysexual means they only feel sexual attraction occasionally, rarely, or under certain conditions.
The term has reportedly been gaining attention online, with a dedicated Reddit forum, r/Greysexuality, attracting more than 8,300 members and remaining highly active, according to MailOnline.
Greysexual YouTuber and podcaster Mark, who posts under the handle @notdefining—describes it as feeling ‘a bit of sexual attraction’ but ‘to a low degree’, making it distinct from being completely asexual.
He called the label ‘immensely helpful’, explaining: ‘It helps people to understand that I do experience sexual attraction, I do have sex, I do enjoy sex and sexual fantasies, but I may experience them to a significantly lower degree than most people.’
However, the trend comes amid growing concern from experts that millennials and Gen Z are having fewer sexual partners than previous generations at the same age.
Studies indicate a growing number reporting no sexual partners or infrequent encounters, a phenomenon often referred to as the ‘sex recession’.
Researchers say it is not simply a lack of interest, but often fuelled by anxiety.
US writer Carter Sherman, who interviewed more than 100 young people for her book The Second Coming, argues that miseducation, porn, digital disconnection, and political pressure have combined to reshape young people’s experience of sex and intimacy.
She found many were held back by social media–fuelled body image pressures and political debates over sexual rights, which she says have created a climate of ‘fear and shame’ around sex.
The term greysexual, also sometimes called grey-A, was first used in 2006 on the Asexual Visibility and Education Network to describe the ‘grey area’ between being completely asexual and feeling sexual attraction regularly.
Those who identify as greysexual say it is a spectrum, which can also include other identities such as demisexual—people who only feel sexual attraction after forming a strong emotional bond.
That term was popularised when singer Tulisa Contostavlos revealed last year on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! that she identifies as demisexual.
Some experts believe social media platforms like TikTok and Reddit are fuelling the rapid spread of niche identity terms such as ‘greysexual’ or ‘demisexual’, arguing this can overcomplicate how people think about sex and relationships.
Others see the same trend as a positive step, giving people the words and community to express feelings they might otherwise struggle to explain.
