A new term is stirring up conversation in the world of sexual identity: symbiosexuality. While the name may sound unfamiliar, the experience it describes might not be. According to new research out of Seattle University, symbiosexuality refers to individuals who are sexually or romantically attracted not to one person, but to the energy and chemistry shared between people in an existing relationship.
Unlike traditional forms of attraction that focus on individuals, symbiosexual people are drawn to the bond, charisma, power, and emotional connection between two partners. It’s less about who the individuals are and more about the magnetic connection they share as a couple.
Dr. Sally Johnston, a researcher and adjunct professor at Seattle University, led the study that introduced symbiosexuality into public discussion. The study, featured in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, conducted a detailed analysis using data gathered from the 2023 Pleasure Study. It found that this type of attraction is experienced by a diverse population, crossing lines of age, gender, race, and socio-economic status.
So, what does this attraction look like in real life?
Participants in the study described being mesmerized by the dynamic between couples. One individual explained the feeling as being drawn to “something greater than the sum of a couple’s parts.” Another expressed a desire to be “smack in the middle” of a relationship, not to interfere or disrupt, but to be part of the shared emotional energy.
The term might bring to mind certain fictional examples. One frequently cited case is the central relationship in the 2024 film Challengers, which portrays a tennis love triangle that spans over a decade. The film explores how the relationship between the three characters—particularly the bond between the two men and the woman who connects them—creates an emotional tension that fans couldn’t stop talking about.
What sets symbiosexuality apart from polyamory, bisexuality, or pansexuality is that it’s not based on attraction to multiple genders or open relationships. Symbiosexual individuals aren’t necessarily interested in threesomes or polyamorous dynamics. Instead, their focus is on the relationship itself as a living, emotional force.
Still, symbiosexuals often find themselves misunderstood—sometimes even within the LGBTQ+ and polyamorous communities. The term “unicorn” is often used derogatorily to describe someone open to dating couples, but Johnston argues that such labels fail to capture the emotional and psychological depth of symbiosexual attraction.
Some participants even questioned whether their feelings were healthy. One man reflected on his repeated attraction to couples, saying, “Whether or not that’s psychologically healthy, I think we can debate… But I definitely am attracted to that partnering, to even that love between two people.”
Despite references to similar themes in ancient texts, essays, and memoirs, symbiosexuality remains largely unrecognized in mainstream conversations around identity. Johnston hopes her research will begin to change that.
“Recognition and validation of symbiosexuality will offer support for this sexual minority,” Johnston wrote in the study. She also noted that those who identify as symbiosexual tend to score high on qualities like extroversion, empathy, and a strong desire for intimacy.
As the term begins to circulate more widely, experts believe that understanding and accepting symbiosexuality could help reduce stigma—not just in monogamous spaces, but within non-monogamous ones as well.
The bottom line? Symbiosexuality might be a new term, but the feeling it describes has likely been around for as long as relationships have. And now, for those who experience it, there’s finally a word that fits.