Sapiosexual: The Real Reason You're Scientifically Attracted To Intelligence

Sapioseuxals are people who are attracted to someone's intelligence. Sure, everyone's attracted to someone being smart, but sapiosexuals put looks and personality on the back burner and prioritize knowledge. Diana Rabb, a PhD in transpersonal psychology, wrote on Psychology Today, "Those who admit to being sapiosexual will say that they are turned on by the brain and tend to be teased and excited by the insights of another person. This means the person whom you are attracted to might have a tendency to have an incisive, inquisitive, and irreverent mind." Rabb goes on to say, "As foreplay, the sapiosexual person may crave philosophical, political, or psychological discussions, because this turns them on."

If this sounds like you, you may be a sapiosexual. Let's dive in a little bit more to understand why knowledge is sexy. 

The term sapiosexual was coined in 1998 by a LiveJournal user known as wolfieboy (via Mashable). Since its creation, the term has had many ups and downs and has been the subject of plenty of criticism. After OKCupid decided to make it an option as a sexual orientation on their website, the term really took off (via OkCupid). 

Kristin Tynski even created the app, Sapio, and told HuffPost, "For many, defining oneself as sapiosexual has become statement against the current status quo of hookup culture and superficiality, where looks are prized above all else." This rings true with what Psychology Today reported in 2011: Generally speaking, those with higher education have a lower numbers of sexual partners.

Mashable reports that sapiosexuals are hard to define due to different definitions of intelligence (humor, emotional maturity, IQ, goals in life, or being educated). While many self-identifying sapiosexuals do say that physical attraction is still important, they acknowledge that looks don't last. Being smart is forever and their attraction to knowledge and fulfilling conversations is what appeals to them the most (via IdeaPod).

But science says that women find intelligence sexy because of natural selection and their desire to reproduce, which drives them to make the subconscious choice to be with an intelligent man. A 2009 study found that men with higher IQs have healthier sperm and are more virile, something women are seemingly able to perceive. And while smarties might not be having more sex, another study has found that they do have a higher sex drive, which is also an attractive quality in a partner.