In spring of 2022, a story about Akihoko Kondo, a man who unofficially married a hologram of a fictional character, appeared in the New York Times. As the author of the article wrote, “Kondo has long known that he didn’t want a human partner. Partly, it was because he rejected the rigid expectations of Japanese family life. But mostly, it was because he had always felt an intense—and, even to himself, inexplicable—attraction to fictional characters.”
Kondo isn’t alone—many others have made a commitment to characters from anime, manga, and video games.
Fictosexuality and fictophilia are terms that refer to the desire or attachment that people experience for fictional characters. Let’s explore what this really means.
What is fictophilia?
Fictophilia is an umbrella term for those who experience intense, emotional attachment—which may be sexual or romantic—toward fictional characters, including those in comics, books, and cartoons.
Fictiophilia is considered a parasocial attachment. Parasocial relationships are typically defined by one-sided social and emotional connections developed with fictional characters but also celebrities, athletes, singers, actors, influencers, TV anchors, radio/podcast hosts. When people with a “parasocial attachment” watch, listen to, or are otherwise exposed to these figures, it can cause them to feel like they actually know them.
Specific types of fictophilia include:
- Animesexuality: Attraction to anime characters
- Cartosexual: Attraction to cartoon or comic characters
- Booklosexual: Attraction to novel or visual novel characters
- Gamosexual: Attraction to video game characters
What is fictosexuality?
The most agreed-upon definition for fictosexuality is someone who desires sexual relationships with fictional characters and does not pursue real-life humans. Keep in mind, people who identify as fictosexual may interpret it in their own way, as some may also be interested in “real life” people.
Another distinction: Fictosexuality refers to sexual attraction for these made-up characters, whereas fictoromantic is when the attraction is strictly romantic and not sexual in nature.
Is fictosexuality considered a mental health disorder?
While fictosexuality may sound strange to some, it’s not necessarily a concern. Neither the World Health Organization nor the American Psychiatric Association have classified fictophilia or fictosexuality as diagnosable mental disorders. “If this is what really excites you and you’re not bothered by it and it’s not interfering in your life, what am I going to diagnose?” says Dr. Patrick McGrath, PhD, a therapist and the Chief Clinical Officer at NOCD.
It’s especially difficult to pathologize the attraction when people legitimately understand that their entire relationship is one-sided.
On the other hand, if there is a level of psychosis—where people actually think they are in a mutual relationship with a fictional character—that would be considered a delusion, according to McGrath. Those delusions may be signs of a larger mental health diagnosis, like schizophrenia.
Can attraction to fictional characters impact mental health?
It depends. Some people say they’re perfectly happy being fictosexual.
People who identify as fictosexual often claim that their relationships with fictional characters make them feel less alone. Some research backs this up by showing that parasocial relationships can provide social support for those who are especially isolated.
Still, certain studies do demonstrate that these relationships do not replace the emotional connection that comes from face-to-face interactions. One recent study found that “individuals who engage in parasocial interactions may find comfort in the predictable and controllable nature of these relationships, as the outcome of these interactions is less uncertain than real-life relationships.”
“Those with social anxiety might find this to be ideal because they can really set up a relationship that just meets all of their needs without having to make an effort or interact with somebody,” Dr. McGrath says.
Be mindful that this can set the stage for unrealistic relationship standards.
Fictosexuality and OCD
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic mental health condition characterized by obsessions, or recurrent and intrusive thoughts, urges, feelings, sensations, or images that cause distress. In response, someone with OCD engages in compulsions, or mental acts or repetitive behaviors in order to decrease distress and anxiety.
Contrary to what many people believe, not everyone with OCD is concerned with orderliness and cleanliness. That’s because OCD is a disorder that includes a wide range of subtypes and obsessions—including intrusive thoughts related to sexuality and attraction (yes, even to fictional characters).
You might be watching a movie and suddenly a sexual thought about the main character pops up into your head. With OCD, you may spiral into worries and fears that these thoughts mean something specific.
I see this on the NOCD message board a lot where people maybe find an anime or a cartoon character attractive that is under 18,”
Dr. Patrick McGrath
They then wonder if they have pedophilia tendencies because they find a character under the age of consent to be attractive, explains Dr. McGrath.These types of thoughts are commonly seen with pedophilia OCD, a subtype of the condition marked by unwanted sexual thoughts about children.
How fictosexuality and OCD are different
Keep in mind, having intrusive thoughts does not mean they will ever be acted upon in real life. What’s more, people without OCD may get these types of sexually intrusive thoughts too, but they’re able to shrug them off and move on with their day. Whereas someone with OCD can’t shake the doubts and fears that these thoughts bring up. They will engage in compulsions, which are repetitive behaviors or mental acts done in an attempt to neutralize the thoughts or ease discomfort. That might look like rewatching TV scenes (or re-reading passages) to “check” if arousal occurs, or constantly asking others if it’s normal to be attracted to a fictional character.
If you are experiencing distress or anxiety about intrusive sexual thoughts related to fictional characters, it’s important to seek support from a mental health professional. They can help you differentiate between OCD-related doubts and your actual feelings, guiding you through effective therapeutic strategies such as exposure and response prevention (ERP) therapy.
In fact, all forms of OCD are best treated with ERP, a highly effective behavioral therapy done in collaboration with a trained therapist. Through ERP, rather than avoid your triggers, you face them—so that you can learn new ways of responding to your obsessions that don’t include compulsions.
Maybe your therapist will encourage you to watch a particular show, and then perhaps “you’re not allowed to talk about it to anybody else, because of all the reassurance-seeking that people rely on in these situations,” says Dr. McGrath. With time and patience, you’ll be able to consume any type of media and better handle any distressing thoughts that arise.
Bottom line
Unless it causes you distress, fictosexuality is not a problem. As Kondo told the New York Times: fictosexuals like him don’t want to be fixed, just seen and understood: “It’s about respecting other people’s lifestyles,” he said.
OCD, of course, is something different altogether—since the thoughts people have toward fictional characters aren’t wanted, and typically come with a lot of distress. That’s when reaching out for help can go a long way.
