Asexuality remains largely underexplored in academic discourse, with individuals in the asexual spectrum (a-spec) facing significant stigmatization, similar to other sexual (LGBTQ+ people) and gender (e.g., non-binary people) minorities. We extended this reasoning to dehumanization and examined if a-spec individuals were perceived to lack human emotions relative to allosexual individuals (i.e., who experience sexual attraction). Across two experimental studies (combined N = 498), participants were randomly presented with the descriptions of asexual and allosexual couples who differ in their engagement in sexual activity (Study 1), and experience of romantic attraction (i.e., aromantic vs. romantic couples; Study 2). Participants were asked to attribute negative (e.g., fear, remorse) and positive emotions (e.g., love, admiration) to each couple. In Study 1, participants attributed similar emotions to a-spec couples (regardless of whether they engaged in sexual activity or not), and more negative (and less positive) emotions to both a-spec couples when compared to the allosexual couple. In Study 2, participants attributed more negative (and less positive) emotions to the a-spec aromantic couple when compared to the romantic a-spec couple and the allosexual couple. Taken together, our results suggest that a-spec individuals in relationships, and particularly those who depart from the expected romantic norm, are targets of emotion-based dehumanization. This research adds new insights into the stigmatization of a-spec people and can contribute to raise awareness toward this social issue and foster healthier and more inclusive environments for a-spec people.

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