Can You be Bisexual and Asexual at the Same Time?

And why does it matter?

Image of ace & bi flags | created by author

I am asexual because I have never experienced sexual attraction. I am bisexual because I am attracted to my own gender and other genders.

Heterosexuality is attraction to a gender not your own. Homosexuality is attraction to your own gender. The word “sexual” is not included in those definitions. So why would bisexuality be defined as sexual attraction to two or more genders? Why include the word “sexual” in that one? Why am I told that I cannot be both bisexual and asexual at the same time?

I have been attracted to women, to men, and to people who didn’t fit either mold. It is not sexual attraction, but there are other types of attraction. There is romantic attraction, aesthetic attraction, sensual attraction, emotional attraction, and intellectual attraction, to name a few.

I have been told that, since asexuals “do not experience sexual attraction”, that means that an asexual cannot be bisexual, but only biromantic (romantically attracted to more than one gender). On the surface, this sounds correct, but it defines bisexuality as specifically and only sexual attraction. It also leaves out demisexuals, who experience sexual attraction only after they have formed a bond with someone, and greysexuals (or greyasexuals), who only experience sexual…