Wanting sex less than you expected can mean very different things. Desire can arrive after closeness begins, follow a deep bond, never be part of how you love, or dim because life got heavy. This test shows which pattern fits your answers best.
Not a diagnosis. You decide what to call yourself.
More about this quiz
Written by Andrea Leijon, Founder of Temple
This test shows which of four patterns your answers sit closest to: Warmth First (responsive desire), Heart First (demi-leaning), On the Ace Spectrum, or The Quiet Season. It cannot diagnose anything, and what you call yourself stays your decision. Searching "am I asexual" usually starts with a quieter question: why don't I want sex the way other people seem to? There is more than one answer. Low or responsive desire is common and can change: desire arrives after touch and closeness begin instead of before. Demisexual describes sexual attraction that only appears after a strong emotional bond. Asexual describes little or no sexual attraction, and a 2017 review of the evidence found it insufficient to treat asexuality as a disorder of desire. A quiet season is when stress, health, medication or life has turned desire down. The test takes three minutes, asks about concrete moments rather than labels, and no result is a reason to change who you are.
If you've typed "am I asexual quiz" or "asexual test" into a search box, you may be looking for one of two things: words for something you already feel, or reassurance that nothing is wrong. This page tries to offer both without pushing you toward either.
Attraction is who pulls at you. Desire is wanting sexual activity. Arousal is the body's response. They often travel together, and they can come apart. In a small lab study of 38 women, seven of them asexual, genital and subjective arousal to erotic film did not differ between groups, even though the asexual women reported less sexual-attraction feeling (Brotto & Yule, 2011). A body that responds does not settle the question of attraction, and a low-desire pattern is not the same thing as asexuality.
Rosemary Basson's circular model describes desire that follows arousal instead of leading it, and she warned against diagnosing a dysfunction when a response is simply different from the traditional linear cycle (Basson, 2000). She also noted that desire before any activity varies greatly even among women without complaints (Basson, 2005). Bancroft and Janssen's dual control model adds that people differ in how easily sexual response switches on and off (Bancroft & Janssen, 2000). A person with this pattern often feels desire once touch or closeness has started, which is a different experience from having little or no sexual attraction at all.
Demisexual describes people who feel sexual attraction only after a strong emotional bond has formed, and it is usually counted as part of the ace spectrum. In the Ace Community Survey, asexual respondents (n = 9,476) scored lowest on sex drive, graysexual respondents (n = 1,698) came next and demisexual respondents (n = 1,442) scored higher than graysexual ones on sex drive and personal disposition toward having sex (Copulsky & Hammack, 2023). The word doesn't describe everyone who needs trust before desire, since many people do, and only you can say whether it fits.
If desire used to be easier to reach and has dimmed, the cause is often something around you rather than something in you. In a US national sample, sexual problems were more likely among people in poorer physical and emotional health (Laumann et al., 1999). If a change is sudden, lasting or bothers you, a clinician can look at health, hormones, mood, sleep and medication, which a test cannot.
A result here is a pattern you can notice, not a label you have to wear.
Temple built this test to respect both readers it serves: people wondering about low or responsive desire, and people who recognise themselves on the ace spectrum. Asexuality is not something to fix, and this test never treats it that way. If you want to read more from asexual people themselves, the Asexual Visibility and Education Network at asexuality.org is a good place to start.
The research in numbers
What you'll discover
Key concepts
Asexual
A word for people who experience little or no sexual attraction to others. It is usually understood as a sexual orientation and sits on a spectrum, often called the ace spectrum. Asexual people can still feel love, close bonds and, for some, romantic attraction.
Demisexual
A word for people who feel sexual attraction only after a strong emotional bond has formed. It is usually counted as part of the ace spectrum. It describes how attraction works, not how often someone wants sex.
Graysexual
A word for people who experience sexual attraction rarely, weakly or only in some circumstances. It sits between asexual and allosexual on the ace spectrum.
Responsive desire
Desire that arrives after touch, closeness or the right setting has begun, instead of before. It is a common pattern described by Rosemary Basson, and it is different from having little or no sexual attraction.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if I'm asexual?
Asexuality is generally described as experiencing little or no sexual attraction to others. Only you can decide whether the word fits. A test can show which pattern your answers resemble, but it cannot diagnose an orientation. Many people find it helps to read how asexual people describe attraction, and to give themselves time.
Can this test tell me if I'm asexual?
No. It looks at attraction, desire and arousal in concrete moments and shows the pattern your answers sit closest to. You decide what to call yourself, and any result can be revisited.
Is low sex drive the same as being asexual?
No, though they can look alike from the outside. Low or responsive desire usually means desire is easy to miss until touch or closeness starts, and it can change with context. Asexuality is about attraction itself. Distress also differs: in a study of 187 asexual people, low sexual response was not experienced as distressing (Brotto et al., 2010).
What does demisexual mean?
Demisexual describes people who feel sexual attraction only after a strong emotional bond has formed. It is usually counted as part of the ace spectrum. Many people who don't use the word also need trust before desire appears, so only you can say whether it fits.
Is asexuality a disorder, or something to fix?
No. A 2017 review concluded that there is not sufficient evidence to classify asexuality as a psychiatric condition or as a disorder of sexual desire, and that it likely meets the conditions for a sexual orientation (Brotto & Yule, 2017).
Can asexual people have relationships?
Yes. Many asexual people have close, loving partnerships and friendships. In an interview study, asexual people partnered with sexual people described having to negotiate sexual activity, which honest conversation can make easier (Brotto et al., 2010).
Can responsive desire change?
Responsive desire is a pattern, not a fixed trait, and it often shifts with context such as time, stress and safety. No one can promise how it will change for any one person.
When is it worth seeing a doctor?
If a change in desire is sudden or lasting, comes with pain or low mood, or bothers you, a clinician can look at health, hormones, medication and mood. If you are at ease with how you are, there is nothing to treat: the clinical definition of low desire requires distress (Brotto, 2010).
Does Temple try to change my orientation?
No. Temple's courses are about desire, pleasure and body trust, and they do not aim to change anyone's orientation. If you are on the ace spectrum, the lessons suggested here are about saying no freely, sex only from real desire and being present in your senses.
Explore more
Recommended course
Foundation
Temple's first course — build a strong relationship with yourself before anything else.
Explore the course →Based on research by Bogaert (2004), Brotto and colleagues (2010, 2011, 2017), Copulsky & Hammack (2023), Hille et al. (2020), Basson (2000, 2005) and Bancroft & Janssen (2000).