Meaning
What does Alterous attraction mean?
Alterous attraction is the expression used to describe a feeling of attraction towards someone that is neither fully platonic, nor fully romantic.
It is a very deep emotion, but not platonic as that of a friendship, nor romantic as that of a traditional relationship.
“-alterous is used as a suffix instead of “-platonic” or “-romantic”, for example, instead of “bi-romantic”, you would say “bi-alterous”.
The term has gotten some backlash from aroace, aromantic and queerplatonic people, as some claim it suggests that alterous and romantic bonds are stronger than platonic ones.
Origin
What's the origin of Alterous attraction?
The concept of “alterous attraction” got its name around 2015, mainly as a result of alterous people not feeling comfortable with calling their attraction type fully platonic or romantic.
It is a new term (as of 02.09.2020), and the pride flag for “alterous attraction” was only created in 2016, by Tumblr user Alterous-Albatross.
Spread & Usage
How did Alterous attraction spread?
Amy Maria Flannigan submitted an article about “alterous attraction” on Our Queer Stories and argued that this form of attraction could almost be considered the seventh type of attractions, if it wasn’t for the fact that it is so similar to emotional attraction.
“Alterous attraction” is an orientation that is generally accepted in the LGBTQ community, and it is a term that is necessary for people to be able to define themselves fully.