Monosexual

Monosexual describes a person who is attracted to only one gender. Someone who is monosexual experiences sexual or romantic attraction toward a single gender rather than multiple genders. The term is often used in discussions of sexual orientation to contrast with multisexual orientations (such as bisexual or pansexual). Examples of monosexual orientations include heterosexual and homosexual. ### Origins of the Term Monosexual The term monosexual combines two word parts. “Mono,” from the Greek "monos," means “one,” and “sexual,” from the Latin "sexualis," which relates to sex or sexual attraction. The idea behind the term existed long before the word itself. For most of the 20th century, sexuality was commonly framed as two main categories: heterosexual and homosexual. People who were attracted to only one gender were simply described using those terms. The umbrella concept “monosexual” was not widely used. The term monosexual began appearing in the 1990s in queer theory, bisexual activism, and academic discussions about sexual orientation. Writers used the term to create a contrast with bisexuality or multisexuality. Instead of saying “heterosexual and homosexual people,” scholars could refer to them collectively as monosexual people.