Have you heard of the term sapiosexuality? In recent years, dating apps are broadening their terms used to help us navigate preferences within relationships and sexuality, which is great news. However, it also means people might have some catching up to do when it comes to learning about some of the terms you haven’t come across yet.

Sapiosexuality is when someone is primarily sexually attracted to intelligence, with intelligence being the most important quality they’re attracted to in another person, coming before any other attributes like gender or appearance. LGBTQ+ people and heterosexual people can identify as sapiosexual.

The term has become more prominent in recent years, after more people in the public eye started to identify as sapiosexual. Last year, Konnor Ewudzi, who entered Love Island in 2024 as a bombshell, revealed he was sapiosexual in an appearance on The Morning After podcast.

‘When I went onto the show, they asked me a question, “Have you got a type?” I haven’t got a type,’ he said. When it was suggested that he could be ‘sapiosexual’, he replied, “Do you know what, I’m sapiosexual, it’s all about the brains. Obviously you have to be attracted to somebody but you have to be attracted to their brains as well.’

In 2022, The Hunger Games actor Jena Malone came out as pansexual and, in her statement, explained she’d also been exploring with sapiosexual as a descriptor. ‘I’ve been learning a new way to tell [my identity]. Using words to guide me not define me,’ she said. ‘That my sexual identity has more to teach and to tell me. Finding words that feel more right to explore in my telling. Pansexuality. Sapiosexuality. Polyamory.’ Meanwhile the French equality minister, Marlène Schiappa, confirmed that she is ‘sapiosexuelle’ in an interview.

Annabelle Knight, Sex & Relationships Expert at Lovehoney, explains that sapiosexuality is when ‘intelligence is the ultimate turn-on’ for people. ‘If deep conversations about philosophy, science, or even a well-argued debate about pineapple on pizza make you weak in the knees, you might be sapiosexual,’ she says. ‘For sapiosexuals, a sharp mind and witty banter are just as, if not more, attractive than physical appearance. It’s less about six-packs and more about six-hour conversations that leave you buzzing.’

One study from 2018 suggests that between 1% and 8% of the population identify as sapiosexual. According to Broadly, since 2014, some 9,000 OKCupid users identify as saopisexual. There was also a dedicated Facebook page headed by a picture of Albert Einstein, which had over 12,500 likes in 2016.

As sapiosexuality becomes more widely spoken about, lots of people are taking to TikTok to share their experiences. The hashtag sapiosexual has over 22k posts on the app. One user says ‘Yes, I’m sapiosexual. It means sexually attraction to intelligence, so the more intelligent a person is, the more I’m turned on. It’s not gender based, and it doesn’t trump the fact I’m gay, so it doesn’t me sapiosexual not gay. It makes me a gay sapiosexual.’ He continued ‘I have been around many women where they’re highly intelligent, and I’m turned on, and I’m thinking about what may be able to happen between me and that woman.’

In 2019, Mark Ronson apologised after saying he identified as sapiosexual on an interview with Good Morning Britain. In the interview, he was asked if he’s ‘identifying as a man who likes intellect?’ Mark replied, ‘Yeah, I didn’t know that there was a word for it. We were all arguing backstage in the dressing room with a couple of your producers. And yes, I feel like I identify as sapiosexual.’

However, in a later interview with Rolling Stone, Mark said he wasn’t attempting to ‘come out’ when he made the comments and admitted that he wasn’t fully clued up about what it meant to identify as sapiosexual. ‘I do not consider myself part of any marginalised community and I apologise if anybody misunderstood or took offence to it,’ he told the publication.

Annabelle explains that sapiosexuality sometimes gets a bad rap because ‘people assume it’s just a fancier way of saying “I like smart people”, which could come across as pretentious,’ adding ‘But true sapiosexuality goes deeper than smartness. It’s not just about admiring intelligence but about being genuinely aroused by it.’ She continues ‘That means someone’s knowledge, problem-solving skills, or even the way they articulate ideas can spark desire in a way that physical traits alone might not. It’s also misunderstood because intelligence is subjective – what’s brilliant and sexy to one person might be dull to another.’

When it comes to determining whether you might be sapiosexual, Annabelle recommends asking ‘Do you get butterflies when someone drops a well-placed historical reference? Does an intellectual debate feel more intimate than physical touch? Have you ever found yourself swooning over someone explaining quantum physics or the Oxford comma debate?’ She continues: ‘If a person’s brain is your biggest turn on, chances are you might be sapiosexual. It’s less about a university degree and more about a curious mind that keeps you engaged and excited.’

The bottom line is that identifying as sapiosexual, and any other term you want to use to describe your sexuality for that matter, is perfectly normal, and nothing to ashamed of.