Fictosexuality is the sexual attraction to fictional people. Fictosexual people experience romantic or sexual attraction to fictional characters rather than, or in addition to, real people. These characters could live in books, movies, comics, TV shows, animes, or other types of fictional media.
Fictosexuality exists both within and outside of the asexuality community. While lots of allosexual people find themselves occasionally attracted to and fantasizing about fictional characters, they rarely identify with the "fictosexual" label. However, it is a lot more common for people within the asexual community to identify with the "fictosexual" label, making specific subcommunities to discuss their unique needs and experiences as fictosexual people.
Multiple research studies have delved into this interest.
"Fictosexuality" technically refers to sexual attraction while "fictoromantic" describes romantic attraction. However, some people may use fictosexual to describe both sexual and romantic desires, just like "bisexuality" often attributes an interest in dating two genders despite only technically referring to sexual interests.
A famous example of a fictosexual person is Akihiko Kondo. In 2018, this Japanese man held a wedding ceremony with Japanese, virtual pop star Hatsune Miku. The marriage is not legally binding.
What is a Fictosexual?
Many everyday people experience crushes or fantasies on a fictional character. These crushes may be transient, and they may be linked to a specific scene you saw or the excitement and recency of a new storyline that the brain enjoyed. After someone witnesses a hot sex scene with an attractive lead character, for example, they may mentally revisit that scene as part of masturbation for a few months until their brain latches onto a new erotic idea.
People who identify as fictosexual may feel those crushes or fantasies more thoroughly than someone who isn't fictosexual. They may desire to get into a relationship with those characters or may use technological advancements to try to "date" their loved character. This attraction to a specific character may last years (or decades), and they may spend multiple hours a day interacting with their loved character in some fashion. Some fictosexual people may celebrate their romantic relationship with a commitment ceremony or other function to showcase their dedication to the character. For a fictosexual, relationships with characters can feel necessary, immersive, and fulfilling, and they may seek out ways to celebrate that love (just like marriage can be for others).
The term "semifictosexual" is another variant of fictosexuality. Semifictosexual people experience fictosexuality, but they also experience the desire to date and have sex with non-fictional characters as well.
Fictosexual Relationships
Since a book, TV, anime, and movie character does not tangibly exist in the real world, fictosexuals interact with their love interests differently than a person in non-fictosexual relationship.
A common way that fictosexuals may interact with their love interests is via fanfiction. In fanfiction, the fictosexual person can write out elaborate scenarios that border on full-length novels. Some fictosexual people may simply write out new scenes and adventures for the world and characters that already exist in that character's world. Other writers may include an "Original Character" ("OC") as themselves, writing themselves into the world where the fictosexual's love interest exists. If a fictosexual has multiple love interests, they may write "Alternative Universe" ("AU") stories where the two characters, from different franchises, may somehow find themselves meeting and interacting.
Online roleplay is also another common way that fictosexual fantasies to come to life. In fictosexual communities, two people may agree to roleplay each other's desired character, allowing for real-time responses and interactive world building in a way that fan fiction cannot. As many fictosexuals identify as asexual, this roleplay may not feature any sexual component. Roleplaying coffee dates or simply "existing" in the character's universe doing activities central to the character may be other options.
A recent development, AI chatbots can now also be used for fictosexual roleplay. The chatbot can be trained on the dialogue and personality of the fictosexual's character, and the fictosexual person can now "chat" with their love interest. This is especially common for fictosexuals who aren't seeking sexual contact as the terms of many chatbots prohibit that content.
It's important to note that adherence to the character's personality and habits is important to a fictosexual. After all, the fictosexual fell in love with those aspects of the character. Lots of time, research, and memorization may go into this process to ensure that any content a fictosexual enjoys stays true to the character's personality. This can occasionally lead to arguments within the fictosexual community over whether an activity or action is in line with a character's personality.
Experiencing Tangible Fictosexual Love
In-person trinkets can also be used for cuddling or feeling close to a fictosexual's love interest. Ordering a replica of a character's sweatshirt can allow a fictosexual to "wear their boyfriend's hoodie". Large body pillows can be printed with a character's front and back, making for a love interest's visual to cuddle with. (The popularity of these pillows for Japanese and anime characters has led to a specific name just for these pillows: dakimakura.) Many fictosexuals will also purchase large amounts of merchandise or memorabilia from the character, giving them physical trinkets to represent their love.
Some fictosexuals may practice the art of tulpamancy, the idea of willing their character into an "imaginary friend" who can be right there with them. While tulpamancy is a complicated concept and used for more than just fictosexual romances, the core belief is that enough practice of the art will allow the imagined being to act autonomously.
The act of "Cos commissioning" is also extremely popular with women in China. This unique service allows fictosexuals to hire a cosplayer to dress like and act like their character. The cosplayer can be hired to go on dates, head to social gatherings, or go out together on trips. Due to safety concerns, all hired cosplayers are also women regardless of the character the cosplayer is playing. The woman cosplayer may do something called "crossplay" (a pormataue of "crossdress" and "cosplay"), dressing like and taking on the mannerisms of a male character, if she is hired to play a male character.
It's important to note that while cos commissioning is often used by fictosexuals, it may also be used by everyday individuals who are seeking a safe place to go on a date without the other pressures and safety concerns of dating.
Am I Fictosexual?
Every person needs to determine their own sexual and romantic identity for themselves. You can choose whether you identify as fictosexual.
However, fictosexual people commonly note that:
- They feel a desire for deeper, intimate relationships with their fictional characters.
- Their relationships with these fictional characters feel just as immersive and fulfilling (if not more so) than relationships with other people.
- They do not feel much of a desire to date other people. (If you do, you may still identify with the idea of being "semifictosexual".)
- They spend hours a day interacting with or thinking about their loved character.
- They have spent time trying to bring their fictosexual relationship to life via some of the methods mentioned within this sex dictionary term.
- When discussing their relationship with others, they may use the same language and excitement as people in other committed, partnered relationships will use.
- They may turn down other in-person advances or interests in other characters due to their commitment to their character loved character.
Spending time within and talking to fictosexual people within fictosexual communities may help you decide whether you think you relate to the fictosexual identity or not.
However, it's important to note that all sexuality, including fictosexuality, exists on a spectrum, and you may not identify fully with all of these points. All that matters is whether the fictosexuality identity speaks to you.
Is Fictosexuality Dangerous?
Most fictosexuality people are quick to reassure others that they understand the difference between real-life and fictional characters. They simply prefer to date and be with fictional characters. If these attractions are experienced safely, reasonably, and without anxiety or stress to the fictosexual person, fictosexuality can be a safe and fulfilling form of connection.
However, if a fictosexual chooses to return to the dating pool, they may struggle with dating other people. Book, TV, and movie characters have been written, rewritten, and edited to perfection. Every line of dialogue is crafted and edited by a team of writers to elicit the designed response from the viewer.
Dating other people can not compare to written, premeditated perfection. While there is nothing wrong with fictosexuality itself, if someone is finding it difficult to relate to other people in a romantic or sexual sense (and wants to change that!), therapy may be helpful. However, not all therapists are aware of (or understand the intricacies of) fictosexuality, so seekers should do their due diligence and be prepared to swap therapists if their current option isn't providing understanding support.
Promoting the needs and understanding of fictosexuality, Taiwan has the Entrepot of Fictosexuality organization while Japan has the Fictosexual Perspective organization. Private online forums and Reddit groups are also common for fictosexuals seeking understanding with other people with similar desires.
