“…for some people, the perception of high levels of intelligence in another person is so substantial that it may induce sexual arousal, more so than any other attribute.” –Gilles E. Gignac, A psychometric evaluation of sapiosexuality
Sexual attraction is often attributed to characteristics humans can see. In fractions of a second, we make complex judgments on attractiveness based on physical features like shapes and symmetry of faces, waist to hip ratio, and musculature. While this visual approach is the way many people are wired to judge attractiveness, physical characteristics aren’t the most important traits to everyone.
Dictionary.com defines sapiosexual as “a person who finds intelligence to be a sexually attractive quality in others.” Other sources take the definition further presenting it as “one who finds intelligence to be the most important sexual trait.” Whether sapiosexual means that the most important trait is intelligence or that intelligence is an important trait, it’s clear that sapios are attracted to people that seem smart.
The term sapiosexual comes from the combination of two Latin words sapien (wise, knowing or sensible) + sexuālis (sexual, sexual preference/attraction), from the construction of orientations like asexual, homosexual, polysexual etc. Though the idea of being attracted to people of intelligence has been around for a long time, the term sapiosexual saw its first usage in the 21st century, with no references to usage before 2008. (Read more about the etymology of the word sapiosexuality here.)
Sapiosexuality was further popularized by the online dating site OkCupid.com. Known for their inclusiveness, OKC began adding historically non-traditional profile options like gender identity, sexuality etc in late 2014 opening the door to more authentic identification online.
While there are apps where you can find your next sapio partner, awareness of sapiosexuality hasn’t been met with complete understanding and assimilation. It has been criticized as a sexual identity for the “pretentious” and likened to other fad sexualities, like lumbersexual, along with being the butt of satire.
While attraction based on intelligence (whether solely or as part of the package) is taking some heat, it’s clearly something people experience. Researchers have begun to add sapiosexuality as a sexual orientation to their work on sexual identity, though it’s pretty rare to hear someone identify solely as sapiosexual.
As more non-traditional ways people identify gain acceptance, look out for sapiosexuality, or something like it, to be around for some time.