{"id":6795,"date":"2025-02-10T19:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-10T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/?p=6795"},"modified":"2025-02-10T18:27:23","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T18:27:23","slug":"these-celebrities-have-come-out-as-sapiosexual-what-does-that-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/2025\/02\/10\/these-celebrities-have-come-out-as-sapiosexual-what-does-that-mean\/","title":{"rendered":"These celebrities have come out as ‘sapiosexual’ – what does that mean?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-post-title” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”Black Han Sans|700||on|||||” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”46px” header_letter_spacing=”4px” custom_margin=”25px||5px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]

this is what it really means to be sapiosexual \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”intro-wrap” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|600|on||||||” text_text_color=”#808080″ text_font_size=”16px” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]

The term is becoming more popular on TikTok…<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-name” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Black Han Sans|||on|||||” text_text_color=”#000000″ header_4_font=”|||on|||||” header_4_text_align=”center” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]

Words by Alice Hall\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2025\/02\/imago738077848-2.jpg” alt=”Sapiosexual” title_text=”Young couple sitting on grass and reading book in autumn park” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]

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\u2019t come across yet.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u2018When I went onto the show, they asked me a question, \u201cHave you got a type?\u201d I haven’t got a type,\u2019 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.\u2019<\/p>\n

In 2022, The Hunger Games actor Jena Malone came out as pansexual and, in her statement, explained she\u2019d also been exploring with sapiosexual as a descriptor. \u2018I\u2019ve been learning a new way to tell [my identity]. Using words to guide me not define me,\u2019 she said. \u2018That 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.\u2019 Meanwhile the French equality minister, Marl\u00e8ne Schiappa, confirmed that she is ‘sapiosexuelle’ in an interview.<\/p>\n

Annabelle Knight, Sex & Relationships Expert at Lovehoney, explains that sapiosexuality is when \u2018intelligence is the ultimate turn-on\u2019 for people. \u2018If 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,\u2019 she says. \u2018For sapiosexuals, a sharp mind and witty banter are just as, if not more, attractive than physical appearance. It\u2019s less about six-packs and more about six-hour conversations that leave you buzzing.\u2019<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”custom-quote” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_2_font=”Libre Bodoni|||on|||||” header_2_text_align=”center” header_2_text_color=”#333333″ header_2_font_size=”40px” header_2_line_height=”1.2em” global_colors_info=”{}”]

‘It’s less about six packs and more about six-hour conversations that leave you buzzing’<\/h2>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]

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 \u2018Yes, I\u2019m sapiosexual. It means sexually attraction to intelligence, so the more intelligent a person is, the more I\u2019m turned on. It\u2019s not gender based, and it doesn\u2019t trump the fact I\u2019m gay, so it doesn\u2019t me sapiosexual not gay. It makes me a gay sapiosexual.\u2019 He continued \u2018I have been around many women where they\u2019re highly intelligent, and I\u2019m turned on, and I\u2019m thinking about what may be able to happen between me and that woman.\u2019<\/p>\n

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\u2019s \u2018identifying as a man who likes intellect?\u2019 Mark replied, \u2018Yeah, I didn\u2019t 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.\u2019<\/p>\n

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\u2019t fully clued up about what it meant to identify as sapiosexual. \u2018I do not consider myself part of any marginalised community and I apologise if anybody misunderstood or took offence to it,\u2019 he told the publication.<\/p>\n

Annabelle explains that sapiosexuality sometimes gets a bad rap because \u2018people assume it\u2019s just a fancier way of saying \u201cI like smart people\u201d, which could come across as pretentious,\u2019 adding \u2018But true sapiosexuality goes deeper than smartness. It\u2019s not just about admiring intelligence but about being genuinely aroused by it.\u2019 She continues \u2018That means someone\u2019s knowledge, problem-solving skills, or even the way they articulate ideas can spark desire in a way that physical traits alone might not. It\u2019s also misunderstood because intelligence is subjective – what\u2019s brilliant and sexy to one person might be dull to another.\u2019<\/p>\n

When it comes to determining whether you might be sapiosexual, Annabelle recommends asking \u2018Do 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?\u2019 She continues: \u2018If a person\u2019s brain is your biggest turn on, chances are you might be sapiosexual. It\u2019s less about a university degree and more about a curious mind that keeps you engaged and excited.\u2019<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”credit-texts” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”|||on|||||” text_orientation=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]

Photo: <\/b>IMAGO<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The term has become more popular in recent years…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":6815,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","category-news"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"guestgrazia","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6795"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6795\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6862,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6795\/revisions\/6862"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/grazia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}