Canvassing the Internet: Platonic Admiration

[tealin]

I know I was behind the door when hormones were handed out, but surely I am not the only one who finds it possible to respect and admire someone – or even just like a fictional character – without being sexually attracted to them. In high school the response to a statement of such admiration was usually full of conspiratorial innuendo, accompanied by a virtual 'wink wink nudge nudge.' I thought that when I joined the grownup world that mindset had been left behind, but I've encountered it a few times recently and it's got me wondering. Anyone out there know what I'm talking about? Opinions? Insights? Observations? Advice, even?

Comments

[ardys-the-ghoul.livejournal.com]

I'm asexual, so I think I know exactly what you mean. It's a really annoying habit a lot of people have of injecting sexual stuff into situations where it doesn't exist. I mean, there are a lot of people I admire, and I wouldn't want to have sex with any of them. I've had a sort of "platonic infatuation" with fictional characters before--that is, I love to read about them and find them fascinating in a completely non-sexual way. And just because I say I think someone is good-looking, that doesn't mean I'm attracted to them. You know?