There is a growing phenomenon in human sexuality that has many people puzzled, as an increasing number of individuals express affections for beings that can never reciprocate those feelings.
For most, having a crush on a fictional character is harmless fun, whether it’s daydreaming about the aloof Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice, the intense Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, or even Lola Bunny, the animated rabbit from Space Jam.
However, for some who identify as ‘fictosexuals’, their attraction to these imaginary figures is very real, leading to passionate romances and relationships with entities that only exist in the realm of fiction.
So, what exactly is ‘fictosexuality’ and how does it function? Although it might appear as a peculiar trend of recent times, this inclination has likely existed for a while, with some adherents even entering into matrimonial unions – such as Akihiko Kondo, who wed a holographic pop star in 2018.
Rebecca Minor, a therapist and gender expert, described the orientation to Cosmopolitan as: “Fictosexuality is a sexual orientation where someone feels drawn—emotionally, romantically, or sexually—to fictional characters, sometimes more than they do to real people”.
Kondo identifies as a fictosexual and went to great efforts to marry his virtual partner, Hatsune Miku, using a subscription service that allowed him to wed a hologram of the AI pop star. This endeavor cost him $15,000.
Minor further elaborated on how some individuals’ affection for their cherished characters can be profound. She stated: “For folks who identify this way, those connections aren’t imaginary or surface-level—they’re deeply felt and genuinely meaningful.”
While marrying a virtual partner might seem unnecessary, for Kondo, a Japanese fictosexual, it provided him with a sense of stability that no human companion could ensure. He remarked that Miku will ‘always be there for him, never betray him, and he’ll never have to see her get ill or die.’
Agnès Giard, a researcher at University of Paris Nanterre, suggests that the allure of fictional characters partly lies in their inability to reject, and some individuals use their virtual partnerships as ‘a way to challenge gender, matrimonial, and social norms.’