What is symbiosexuality? A new sexual phenomenon forcing experts to 'rethink nature of attraction'

With ever-changing social dynamics, people’s love and sexual interests are also evolving with many people finding themselves being drawn to a couple and not just an individual. This phenomenon is new and also becoming common, and this type of relationship also has a name- a symbiosexual relationship.

As per a new study conducted at Seattle University, people may get attracted romantically and sexually to an established couple more rather than an individual.

Published in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour, the research is titled “Attraction to the Energy, Multidimensionality and Power Shared Between People in Relationships.”

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The study's findings offer a new perspective on human desire, suggesting that attraction can be more complex than previously known.

Symbiosexuals date the energy of the relationship. The author explained how it is a genuine desire towards the ‘whole’ of the relationship, not just a person.

Symbiosexuality: New dimension of romance and attraction

The concept of symbiosexuality emerged from observations in cultural and academic discourses that some people are drawn to the relationships between others rather than to individuals themselves. Despite this, the phenomenon has remained largely unexplored, with most discussions on human attraction focusing on one-to-one dynamics.

Dr Sally W. Johnston, the author of the study, suggests re-evaluating the idea that human attraction and desire for these things might not be limited to one-to-one encounters.

Her initial experience with symbiosexual relationships, she said, came from the research she conducted on the treatment of “unicorns” in polyamorous relationships.

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A unicorn is a person who enjoys intimacy with a couple but doesn’t take part in other facets of the relationship. This third partner in a relationship is treated poorly, often objectified and shunned despite taking sexual advantage of him/her.

The findings of the recent study were based on The Pleasure Study, a much bigger initiative aimed at exploring multiple dimensions of gender, sexual orientation, relationship patterns, cultural background and particular encounters with couples.

The survey by Johnston administered the 65 questions mentioned in The Pleasure Study.

Johnston only focused on replies from those who said they had been attracted to a couple, which is described as being attracted to two people as a couple rather than to each person individually.

At least 145 of The Pleasure Study’s 373 participants reported experiencing this kind of attraction.

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With over 90 per cent of them identifying as queer and 87.5 per cent claiming to be polyamorous, the bulk of the results included white, middle-class university graduates.

However, there was a diverse population of people who experience symbiosexual attraction, said Johnston, in which a person is drawn “to the energy, multidimensionality, and power shared between people in relationships.”

The majority of symbiosexuals identify as extroverted, enjoy a great deal of closeness, affection and consideration, and are less prone to feel jealous.

(With inputs from agencies)