User:Emiller202/sandbox

Sapiosexuality is the romantic and/or sexual attraction to the intelligence of another individual. For sapiosexual-identifying individuals, intelligence is the most attractive feature and takes precedence over all other characteristics.

Etymology
The word sapio means, "I discern or understand" in Latin.

History
Sapiosexuality first gained mainstream attention in 2014 when dating website OkCupid allowed users to choose from a variety of new sexual orientation and gender identity options. The word "sapiosexual" was officially added as a new word in Dictionary.com's 2015 update.

Overview
In a study of over 300 participants conducted by the School of Psychological Sciences at the University of Western Australia, it was concluded that an IQ of 120 was the most sexually attractive and desirable level of intelligence. However, through this study, it was also discovered that an IQ of over 135 was perceived as no longer attractive, speculated to be a result of "non-intellective factors." The study states that other factors, like personality and interpersonal skills, are potentially perceived as negatively impacted due to extreme levels of intelligence.

About 0.5% of OkCupid users identify as sapiosexual and women are more likely to identify as sapiosexual than men. This is identity is most common among the 31 to 40-year-old age demographic. Those who identify as sapiosexual are more likely to believe that religion is not important and gravitate to or fall on the liberal side of the political spectrum.

Criticisms
Debby Herbenick, a sexual health educator and professor of applied health science at Indiana University School of Public Health, stated that sapiosexuality is more of an identity than a sexual orientation. Sapiosexuality is considered genderless since sapiosexual-identifying individuals can also be gay, straight, bisexual, asexual, and so on.

Upon the mainstream awareness of sapiosexuality, there have since been criticism with media outlets like The New York Times, The Daily Beast, and Hindustan Times noting that it is "elitist," "discriminatory," and "pretentious." The New York Times considers the term's offensiveness since it automatically excludes those with intellectual disabilities, on the autism spectrum, and those who cannot access higher education.

Other media outlets like WTVQ and Psychology Today along with The New York Times realize the narrow definition of intelligent that this identity has the potential to create. WTVQ speculates that sapiosexuality sets the definition of intelligence as relational to the individual who identifies as sapiosexual. Intelligence can vary in meaning and is subjective to the individual who defines it. It can mean social intelligence, emotional intelligence, educational intelligence, and so on.

On the other hand, media outlets like The Record, The New York Times, and Hindustan Times have also pointed out the rationality in identifying with this term. The Record interviewed 26-year-old Tinder user, Liam Nelson, where he stated "It's no different from saying, 'I'm attracted to brunettes,'" that attraction to intelligence is the same as attraction to other characteristics. The term allows people to precisely label themselves and enables them to find other individuals like them. The way we go about labeling our sexual orientation has changed and expanded to suit the needs of subgroups within the LGBT community and bridges the gap between heterosexual and homosexual orientations since sapiosexual does not differentiate between genders.

In the Media
In March 2017, CineKink NYC, an annual film festival that showcases "positive depiction of sexuality and kink in film and television," featured short film Sapiosexual. The 14-minute film tells the story of Cass who realizes her growing attraction to her date as he discusses the work of English novelist E.M. Forster. His detailed and intellectually-stimulating discussion is the major and deciding factor in Cass's attraction to her date.

In 2016, the dating app Sapio was created specifically for sapiosexual-identifying individuals. Dubbed the app for those "sick of superficial hookup apps," Sapio is the self-proclaimed digital meeting ground "where physical and intellectual attraction are put on an equal level." The app matches individuals based on several hundred open-ended questions that range in depth to measure one's intellect.