From ‘asexual’ to ‘zoosexual’

It is not very easy to keep track with all the sexual orientations and their denominations.
Just a couple of years ago we all scratched our heads about the ‘metrosexual’, now the ‘ecosexual’ has lost us.
Time to get all those sexualities back on track to enlighten us and most of all, avoid confusion in the dating game!

Asexuality is a sexual orientation describing individuals who do not experience sexual attraction Asexuality as a human sexual orientation has only been recognized and defined in a few academic studies since the late 1970s, and a community of self-identified asexuals has only coalesced since the start of the 21st century, aided by the widening popularity of online communities. One commonly cited study placed the incidence rate of asexuality at 1%.

Autosexuality refers to sexual stimulation, especially of one's own genitals and often to the point of orgasm, which is performed manually, by other types of bodily contact except for sexual intercourse, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is the most common form of autoeroticism, and the two words are often used as synonyms, although masturbation with a partner (mutual masturbation) is also common. Animal masturbation has been observed in many species, both in the wild and in captivity

Bisexuality is a sexual orientation which refers to the romantic and/or sexual attraction of individuals to others of both genders. Most bisexuals are not equally attracted to men and women and may even shift between states of finding either gender or sex exclusively attractive over the course of time. However, some bisexuals are and remain fairly static in their level of attraction throughout their adult life.

Ecosexuality is a recently created term which refers to people who select their mates based on their shared environmental concerns. Usually it is related to lifestyle choices such as veganism or vegetarianism. Vegan dating websites are an example of ecosexuality. Annie Potts, the co-director of the New Zealand Centre for Human and Animal Studies at Canterbury University, coined the word 'vegansexual' to describe people who choose to be intimate only with those who share in their vegan dietary habits.

Homosexuality refers to enduring sexual and romantic attraction towards those of the same sex. Homosexuality is contrasted with heterosexuality, the attraction, behavior, or orientation between opposite sexes.
Metrosexual is a neologism generally applied to heterosexual men with a strong concern for their appearance, and who display many of the lifestyle tendencies of stereotypically gay men. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition of the word is: A heterosexual man whose lifestyle, spending habits and concern for personal appearance are likened to those considered typical of a fashionable, urban, homosexual man.
Pansexuality, sometimes referred to as omnisexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by the potential for aesthetic attraction, romantic love and/or sexual desire for people, regardless of their gender identity or biological sex. Pansexuality is sometimes described as the capacity to love a person romantically irrespective of gender. Some pansexuals also assert that gender and sex are meaningless to them. The word pansexual is derived from the Greek prefix pan-, meaning "all". This prefix is used specifically in contrast to the idea of 'two' genders as expressed by bi-, not to encompass all forms of sexuality, such as sexual fetishes unrelated to gender.

Transsexualism is a condition in which a person identifies with a physical sex different from the one that they were born with or assigned in cases where ambiguity of the child's sex organs led to assigning them a physical sex. Transsexualism is considered a taboo subject in many parts of the world and has become more widely known in Western nations in the late 20th century due to the sexual revolution, but remains a highly controversial topic. Negativism and discrimination about transsexualism may stem from religious beliefs or cultural norms. However, many cultures around the world and throughout time have not only held a place for transsexuals within their societies but even culturally sanction them, for example, the so-called two-spirit people in native American tribes.
Zoosexuality is a term covering sexual orientation towards animals. It has been in use informally since at least the 1980s. Zoosexuality is a value-neutral term covering the spectrum of human-animal sexuality, and implies nothing more than a person with an orientation towards animals. This may love or violent behavior, incidental intermittent or long term, actual or wished-for, fantasy or reality, and may in fact also be sexual or non-sexual in nature. Also, similarly to other orientations such as homosexuality and heterosexuality, it may be "exclusive" in nature, or one of a range of sexual focuses - the person may have human partners as well, and their relationships may be authentically relational or otherwise. The debate over whether zoosexuality should be seen as aberration or orientation is a controversial one outside the field and in popular culture.