This is a list of aromantic characters in fiction, i.e. fictional characters that either self-identify as aromantic or have been identified by outside parties to be aromantic. Listed characters may also be asexual or allosexual (not asexual). Some aromantic people are asexual but some are not. [1] The term aromantic can be used in relation to various sexual identities, such as aromantic bisexual, aromantic heterosexual, aromantic lesbian, aromantic gay man, or aromantic asexual, but it does not relate to sexual orientation, instead focusing on romantic orientation. [2] Aromanticism primarily deals with romantic attraction rather than with sexuality. Some publications have argued that there is an underrepresentation of aromantic people in media, [3] in research, [4] and that they are often misunderstood. [5] Aromantic people often face stigma and are stereotyped with labels such as being afraid of intimacy, heartless, or deluded. [1] [6]
Characters | Title | Character debut date | Notes | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lilith Clawthorne | The Owl House | February 7, 2020 | Eda's older sister and former leader of the Emperor's Coven. In a charity livestream hosted by Dana Terrace on March 13, 2022, a specially produced audio, written by Terrace and recorded by Cissy Jones in character as Lilith, was played. In this audio, Lilith claims to have never felt romantic attraction towards anyone before. [7] Later prompted by Jade King of TheGamer, Jones stated that her audio during the charity stream was "basically canon." [8] Jones would make further allusion to Lilith's aromantic orientation over Twitter, before giving direct affirmation of the character's asexuality on March 18, over Instagram. [9] [10] [11] | United States |
Deuce Gorgon | Monster High | May 5, 2010 | Deuce is the laid-back and popular teenaged son of Medusa. Traditionally, he has romantic feelings for Cleo, a Cleopatra-inspired mummy. [12] In the 2022 TV series, he and Cleo have romantic history, but they decide to be friends instead after he realizes he has no desire for romance. [13] | United States |
Mayor Joy | Sheriff Hayseed | December 21, 2019 | In the animated web series Sheriff Hayseed, Mayor Joy is an irritable and conscientious talking mare and the mayor of the wild west town of Troughwater. To commemorate pride month, animator PieMations confirmed that Mayor Joy is asexual and aromantic on Twitter. [14] | United States |
Seiji Maki | Bloom Into You | October 5, 2018 | A supporting character, he is an aromantic asexual with well established feelings on sex and romance, and is a "crucial sounding board" for Yuu as she tries to figure out her feelings. In the ninth episode, he says that he does not fall in love, but prefers to watch from the outside. [15] [16] He enjoys romance but does not wish to partake it in himself. | Japan |
Peridot | Steven Universe | January 8, 2015 | Based on the gemstone peridot, Peridot is a member of an alien species known as gems. Gems are able to "fuse" with one another into singular, gestalt entities known as fusions. However, Peridot is actively disinterested in fusing. According to storyboard artist Maya Petersen, this story element is a metaphor for asexuality and aromanticism, even though she said her word is not "the ultimate authority" on the matter. This asexual identity was never expressed in the show directly, [17] with fans shipping Peridot with various other characters, specifically Lapis Lazuli and Amethyst, some reviewers even seeing Peridot and Lapis in a "close, loving relationship" in the past. [18] | United States |
Percival King (Percy) | Epithet Erased | 2019 | A police officer, she has a strict moral code and values order and safety. (The creator of the show, Brendan Blaber, confirmed that she is asexual and may also be aromantic. [19] He also said that while Percy is female and asexual, it was his "intention to leave everything beyond that point up to the viewer", adding that headcannons of fans that she is trans, non-binary, autistic, or anything else, is valid.) [20] | United States |
Alastor | Hazbin Hotel | October 28, 2019 | Alastor is a demon in the series who was a radio host in his past life. He is shown as charismatic and conniving. A live stream confirmed him as aromantic [21] [ failed verification ] and the creator of the show posted a drawing on Twitter of three of the show's characters with orientation flags, including an asexual flag with Alastor [22] | United States |
Alix Kubdel | Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir | 2015 | Alix is a friend of Marinette and the holder of the Rabbit Miraculous. She was confirmed as aromantic in a tweet by the creator of the show, Thomas Astruc, in 2020. [23] | France |
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2023) |
Characters | Title / Franchise | Actors | Years | Notes | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kasumi 'Sobakasu' Sobata | I Am What I Am | Toko Miura | 2022 | The film is about Sobata's life within amatonormativity. [24] [25] [26] She admits to her suitor that she is asexual and has no romantic feelings for anyone. [27] | Japan |
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2023) |
Characters | Work | Author | Years | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
Clariel | Clariel | Garth Nix | 2014 | She’s also quite comfortable with her (apparently aromantic) asexuality, a subject which comes up early on in the book; having experimented with sex out of sheer curiosity, she has no inclination to repeat the experience with either men or women, and consistently deflects the interest of potential romantic/sexual partners. Clariel's lack of experience of sexual or romantic attraction are described at multiple points, come up early in the book, and are treated as a core part of who she is as a person. [28] |
Kylee | Black Wings Beating | Alex London | 2018 | Kylee is a teenager gifted in falconry who goes on a quest to hunt down a giant, monstrous black eagle. Throughout the book, she explicates multiple times that she's not romantically attracted to anyone at all. [29] [30] |
Georgia Warr | Loveless | Alice Oseman | 2020 | Georgia is the main character of Loveless, coming to terms with her sexuality during the events of the book, realizing that she is an aromantic asexual. Georgia also has a conversation with another character, Sunil Jah, who is nonbinary, gay, asexual [31] and friends with Jess, an aromantic bisexual. Also, Georgia's cousin Ellis is an aromantic asexual character. |
Ellis | ||||
Jess | ||||
Firuz-e Jafari | The Bruising of Qilwa | Naseem Jamnia | 2022 | Firuz-e is aromantic and asexual, or "aroace", in addition to being non-binary. [32] |
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2023) |
Character | Portrayed by | Program | Years | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sakuko Kodama | Yukino Kishii | Koisenu Futari | 2022 | This series revolves around Kodama and Takahashi's developing relationship, after Kodama realizes she is aromantic-asexual by reading Takahashi's blog, while Takahashi is also aromantic asexual as well. [33] [34] Co-director Yuta Oshida came up with the idea for the story after coming to the realization that Japanese television dramas often include romantic relationships and elements, and he later learned about asexuality, with his research including interviewing asexual people. [35] |
Satoru Takahashi | Issei Takahashi | |||
Isaac Henderson | Tobie Donovan | Heartstopper | 2022–Present | Isaac is a featured character of the show adaptation of the graphic novel Heartstopper. In season two of the show, released August 2023, Isaac is introduced to James; an openly gay student at his school. While James clearly expresses his crush on him, it is clear Isaac struggles to understand why he cannot reciprocate James' feelings. Isaac discovers the terminology 'aromantic asexual' at a queer art exhibition and after further personal reading and research. [36] [37] [38] He eventually comes to terms with being aro-ace as he enters his school library and proudly takes Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex, a book on asexuality by Angela Chen. Previous to season two's release, Heartstopper creator Alice Oseman confirmed on Twitter that Isaac is aromantic asexual. [39] |
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2022) |
Characters | Title | Years | Notes | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alix | Sex Criminals | 2013–Present | Alix is an asexual character introduced in issue #13. The story covers her experiences as a teenager feeling pressured to have sex, and how she feels alien without coming across as broken. [40] While other characters in the story are able to freeze time when they orgasm, Alix freezes time through the adrenaline rush of BASE jumping. [41] [42] | United States |
Amiru | Last Gender: When We Are Nameless | 2022 | She has a sex drive but is not romantically attracted to anyone else, and pushes to make herself "the main character in her own life." [43] | Japan |
Chika | Is Love the Answer? | 2023 | She detests romance, having sex, or kissing other people, and her professor tells her she is on the asexual spectrum, resulting in her "intensely researching the subject of human sexuality and asexuality" in an effort to understand herself and what other people experience. [44] [45] She is also aromantic. [46] | |
Kashikawa | Sex Ed 120% | 2020-2021 | She is a student who isn't interested in romance or sex, and loves animals. [47] [48] [49] | |
Su-won | Akatsuki No Yona | 2009-Present | Su-won is the King of Kouka. He is aromantic. In chapter 124 of the manga, he reveals that he does not feel romantic attraction towards people. | |
Yuriko | I Want to Be a Wall | 2019-2023 | She is an asexual woman married, to satisfy the desires of her parents, to a gay man who loves his childhood friend, resulting in a marriage of convenience. [50] [51] She is also aromantic. [52] | |
Gwendolyn "Gwen" Poole | Marvel Comics | 2015–Present | In 2023, it was confirmed that Gwenpool was asexual and aromantic during her story arc in the Love Unlimited series. During this arc, she is in a relationship with Julie Power and discovers what it means to be asexual after Julie suggests the possibility. [53] [54] | United States |
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2024) |
Character | Title | Year | Notes | Developer |
---|---|---|---|---|
Billie | Billie Bust Up | (yet to be released) | The upcoming musical platformer Billie Bust Up focuses on the titular protagonist Billie the goat. [55] In an official Twitter post for pride month, Billie is illustrated wearing an aroace pride pin on their collar and waving a progress pride flag. [56] | Giddy Goat Games |
Dusa | Hades | 2020 | Based on Medusa, Dusa is a disembodied gorgon head who works as a maid for the Greek god Hades. If the player character attempts to seduce her, she informs him that she's not interested in a romantic relationship with anyone at all. [57] | Supergiant Games |
Charlie Weasley | Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery & Hogwarts Legacy | 2018 & 2023 | Charlie Weasley is the older brother of Ron Weasley. He is a biologist who studies dragons, and he is the only Weasley sibling not to marry at the end of the Harry Potter book series. When asked about his sexuality, J.K. Rowling described him as "more interested in dragons than women.” This description resonated with many asexual and aromantic Harry Potter fans. [58] In Hogwarts Mystery, characters are available for romantic storylines. However, if the player shows an interest in Charlie, he refuses, claiming he has no experience in love outside of his love for dragons. [59] In Hogwarts Legacy, Charlie overtly states that he has no desire for romance and only cares about dragons. [60] | Jam City & Avalanche Software |
Willow | Angry Birds Stella | 2014 | Willow is a blue bird with a big orange hat. She has the ability to redirect herself midair, and she loves painting. In an official Twitter post for pride month, she's illustrated as a celebration of aromantic pride, [61] and on the cover of an Angry Birds Christmas comic, she's illustrated frowning at the sight of mistletoe. [62] In an official web page, male characters are described as trying to woo the female birds, which works on Stella, Dhalia, and Poppy, but not Willow. Nevertheless, she does flirtatiously call herself a dreamboat, and in The Angry Birds Movie 2 , she attends a speed dating service, hinting at an allosexual aromantic identity. [63] [64] | Rovio Entertainment |
Romantic orientation, also called affectional orientation, is the classification of the sex or gender which a person experiences romantic attraction towards or is likely to have a romantic relationship with. The term is used alongside the term "sexual orientation", as well as being used alternatively to it, based upon the perspective that sexual attraction is only a single component of a larger concept.
Asexuality is the lack of sexual attraction to others, or low or absent interest in or desire for sexual activity. It may be considered a sexual orientation or the lack thereof. It may also be categorized more widely, to include a broad spectrum of asexual sub-identities.
Aromanticism is a romantic orientation characterized by experiencing little to no romantic attraction. The term "aromantic", colloquially shortened to "aro", refers to a person whose romantic orientation is aromanticism.
Graysexuality, greysexuality, gray asexuality, or gray-sexuality is a sexuality within the a-spectrum. It is often defined as limited amounts of sexual attraction that can vary in intensity. Individuals who identify with gray asexuality are referred to as being gray-A, gray ace, and are within what is referred to as the "a-umbrella". Within the a-spectrum are terms such as demisexual, graysexual, asexual, and many other types of non-allosexual identities.
Alice May Oseman is an English author and illustrator of young adult fiction. She secured her first publishing deal at 17 and published her first novel Solitaire in 2014.
Bloom Into You is a Japanese yuri manga series written and illustrated by Nio Nakatani. The manga began serialization in the Japanese monthly shōnen manga magazine Dengeki Daioh on April 27, 2015, and ended on September 27, 2019. The story follows two female high school students, Yuu Koito and Touko Nanami, and the relationship that develops between them as they learn more about themselves through their experiences together.
Discrimination against asexual people, also known as acephobia or aphobia when directed at aspec people, encompasses a range of negative attitudes, behaviours, and feelings toward asexuality or people who identify as part of the asexual spectrum. Negative feelings or characterisations toward asexuality include dehumanisation, the belief that asexuality is a mental illness, that asexual people cannot feel love, and the refusal to accept asexuality as a genuine sexual orientation. Asexuality is sometimes confused with celibacy, abstinence, antisexualism, or hyposexuality. Since discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation belongs under the wider social concept of kyriarchy, any acephobic acts due to intentional discrimination are a form of kyriarchy.
Yasmin Benoit is a lingerie and alternative model in the United Kingdom. She is also an asexual and aromantic activist.
The portrayals of asexuality in the media reflect societal attitudes towards asexuality, reflected in the existing media portrayals. Throughout history, asexual characters have appeared in television series, animated series, literature, comics, video games, music, and film.
Queerplatonic relationships (QPR), also known as queerplatonic partnerships (QPP), are committed intimate relationships between significant others whose relationship is not romantic in nature. A queerplatonic relationship differs from a close friendship by having the same explicit commitment, status, and structure as a formal romantic relationship, whilst it differs from a romantic relationship by not involving feelings of romantic love. The concept originates in aromantic and asexual spaces in the LGBT community. Like romantic relationships, queerplatonic relationships are sometimes said to involve a deeper and more profound emotional connection than typical friendship.
I Am What I Am is a Japanese film released on December 16, 2022, and is the third production by (not) HEROINE movies. It was written by Atsushi Asada, directed by Shinya Tamada, and stars Tōko Miura in the lead role.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)I'm just not that experienced in love. Other than my love for dragons, that is.
Dragons are all I care about. Who has time for dating when there are so many breeds of dragon to study?