Jameela Jamil explains what ‘sapiosexual’ identity means

Home> Entertainment> Celebrity

Jameela Jamil explains what ‘sapiosexual’ identity means

Jameela Jamil admitted on Anna Wolfe’s 'How to Get Wet When You’re Dry' podcast that she doesn't have a particular 'type'

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

Jameela Jamil has opened up about what turns her on after coming out as 'sapiosexual'.

The Good Place star, who's been in an 11-year relationship with 'Retrograde' singer James Blake, shared her sexual preferences on a recent episode of Anna Wolfe’s How to Get Wet When You’re Dry podcast.

When asked about what she's into visually, the 40-year-old said she's a fan of the beard and likes when he 'looks like a grown adult man'.

"As soon as anyone looks too young, like that's it. Vagina just [disappears]," Jameela - who once accidentally had an orgasm in front of 6,000 farmers - admitted.

"And I like someone to be clean and to not smell, but that's really it."

Despite confessing to liking a bit of facial hair, the London-born actor revealed that she's sapioexual, a type of sexuality that involves being more attracted to intelligence than the appearance of a person's body.

'I've never checked anyone out purely from just the physical'

Jameela Jamil has opened up about 'sapiosexual' (Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)
Jameela Jamil has opened up about 'sapiosexual' (Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)

"I'm sapioexual, so I'm attracted to anyone I find very funny and compelling and have a hormonal, like a pheromonal reaction to," she explained.

"So I don't really have a type or a gender or anything that I am especially attracted to.

"It really is just the person. And then from there, I become physically interested."

Jameela admitted that she's never been attracted to someone based purely on their looks.

Jameela has been in an 11-year relationship with James Blake (Lionel Hahn/Getty Images)
Jameela has been in an 11-year relationship with James Blake (Lionel Hahn/Getty Images)

"I literally don't even know what that is. And I would love to know what that's like. I would love to know what it's like to see someone and be like f**king yeah," she said.

"It has never happened. I've never checked anyone out purely from just the physical. It has to be psychological or intellectual or something. I don't know what's wrong with me."

Breaking down sapiosexuality

Sapiosexual 'isn't just about gender' (Savion Washington/Variety via Getty Images)
Sapiosexual 'isn't just about gender' (Savion Washington/Variety via Getty Images)

Social psychologist Phillip Hammack told Business Insider that 'this explosion around new sexuality language tells that story, but it doesn't mean gender isn't a strong anchoring concept for sexual desire'.

"Intelligence can be embodied in so many ways, which is why I suspect it will be and is used as more of a supplement to other sexual identities," the expert said.

He noted that sapiosexual won't replace the word 'gay' or 'bi', then, but a person might call themselves 'gay-sapiosexual'.

"A lot of people are identifying with language that isn't just about gender, which the scientific community is stuck on, but it's also about non-physical traits you like and the intensity of those feelings of desire," Hammack added.

Featured Image Credit: Savion Washington/Variety via Getty Images

Topics: Celebrity, Sex and Relationships