Experts are warning about the rising number of young people describing themselves as “greysexual.”
Greysexuality refers to people who experience sexual attraction only rarely, occasionally, or under specific circumstances.
The term is becoming more popular online, with a Reddit community called r/Greysexuality now having over 8,300 active members, according to MailOnline.
A greysexual YouTuber and podcaster named Mark, known online as @notdefining, explained that the term means feeling “a small amount of sexual attraction” but to a much lower level than most people.
Mark said the label has been very useful for him, helping others understand that he does feel sexual attraction, has sex, and enjoys sexual fantasies—but not as strongly or as often as many people do.
This rise in greysexual identification comes at a time when experts are concerned about millennials and Gen Z having fewer sexual partners compared to older generations when they were the same age.
Research shows more young adults are reporting no sexual partners or rare sexual activity, a trend some call the “sex recession.”
Experts say the issue is not always about lacking interest in sex—it can also be driven by anxiety and other personal struggles.
American writer Carter Sherman, who interviewed over 100 young people for her book The Second Coming, found that misinformation, pornography, less in-person connection, and political pressures have changed how younger generations see intimacy.
Sherman said many young people are affected by social media pressure to look a certain way and by heated political debates about sexual rights—creating an atmosphere of “fear and shame” around the topic.
The phrase “greysexual,” sometimes called “grey-A,” first appeared in 2006 on the Asexual Visibility and Education Network. It was created to describe the middle ground between being fully asexual and experiencing regular sexual attraction.
Those who identify as greysexual say it exists on a spectrum, which also includes identities like “demisexual”—where people only feel sexual attraction after forming a strong emotional bond.
The term “demisexual” became more widely known when singer Tulisa Contostavlos revealed on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! last year that she identifies this way.
Some experts believe that platforms like TikTok and Reddit are helping spread niche sexual identity terms quickly, which may make people overthink sex and relationships.
Others see this as a positive move, saying these terms give people a way to explain their feelings and connect with a community that understands them.
