Gender & Sexuality dictionary
fictosexual
[ fik-to-sek-shoo-uhl ]
What does fictosexual mean?
The term fictosexual is used in the context of a person who is sexually or romantically attracted to a fictional character, especially when it involves a strong emotional attachment. The word can be used as a noun to refer to such a person or as an adjective to describe such a person, their attraction, or related things.
The term specifically indicates attraction to a character (or a nonhuman representation of that character), as opposed to an actor who plays that character.
The noun form fictosexuality refers to such an attraction. The terms fictoromance and fictophilia are also sometimes used to refer to the same thing.
Where does fictosexual come from?
The term fictosexual is a combination of the words fiction (or fictional) and sexual—modeled on similar terms for forms of sexuality.
The term fictosexual seems to have emerged in the mid-2010s. Early uses on social media were mostly joking references to sexual attraction to fictional characters, though the term is now sometimes discussed seriously in the context of sexual identity.
The term gained mainstream attention in 2022 due to media reports about a Japanese man who “married” an animated pop singer and about a wider trend in Japan of people entering “relationships” with fictional characters.
Examples of fictosexual
Who uses fictosexual?
The term fictosexual is used jokingly, mockingly, and in serious discussion of sexual identity.
Sorry, i'm fictosexual. I'm not attracted to real human beings.
— Pyramid God▼ (@forsakenfey) August 23, 2020
Story of my life #fictosexual pic.twitter.com/noXfUoglx3
— Ese (@RepelloMugglet) May 5, 2016
My personal experience as a fictosexual part 2: Finding the right fictional partner.
If you’ve ever been speed dating or had crappy relationships and just jumped head first into a new one without giving yourself time to heal from the last break up. 1/12
— Celestial Glimmer robot lover🔞No minors🔞 (@PaigeLo60887129) August 15, 2022
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of fictosexual like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of fictosexual that will help our users expand their word mastery.