Uranic Meaning: Meet the Fab Family of Masculine Attraction

Have you ever found yourself attracted to someone just because they seemed like… a guy? A dude? A manly macho bro? Not necessarily because that person identifies as a man but because their energy is undeniably masculine. If so, you might just be uranic.

Uranic sexuality is a micro-sexual orientation that describes a person who is attracted to masculine energy, traits, and masculinity in general. Sometimes called nofemsexual, uranic refers to anyone of any gender identity or sexual orientation that is attracted to men and masculine nonbinary individuals. 

Of course, there’s more to the uranic experience than just that. So, crack a brewski, give a bro a fist bump, and turn your baseball cap around while we dive deep into all things uranic. 

What is uranic? Origins of the term

Now that you’ve got the basics, we can go a little bit deeper. (Wink wink.) Uranic sexuality is, as you might have guessed, a newer term in the realm of sexual identity and sexual orientation — and that’s a good thing! Micro-identities, such as uranic, neptunic, or saturnic (which we’ll get into later), allow everyone to talk more accurately about who they’re attracted to and how.

If you’re sitting there thinking, “Uranic sounds like something that was invented in an internet forum,” you’re (mostly) right! Uranic was first used on Tumblr by user @loud-and-queer in 2017 and has grown in popularity since then. Although it might not be the most broadly used term, it has afforded many queer people the language to express their desire. 

Folks who use uranic are often nonbinary, aka enby. (Enby comes from the “NB” of nonbinary.) The term provides a way to describe attraction to masculinity or masculine energy without saying “attracted to men” or “being manly.” That kind of language isn’t as all-encompassing and has more associated baggage.

Uranic flag

There are several versions of the uranic Pride flag floating around. Regardless of which version you’re looking at, the uranic flag features a gradient of horizontal stripes, starting with a deep blue shade at the top and slowly fading into a sandy tan at the bottom. 

The colors are not assigned specific meanings. Some believe the shades of blue represent the spectrum of masculinity, whereas others think the colors are derived from the planet Uranus’s blue-and-tan appearance. Some versions of the uranic flag feature a simplified representation of the planet, lending credence to the latter theory. 

Am I uranic? Who can identify as uranic?

Are you reading this and thinking to yourself that you might be uranic? Well, then, you just might be. Although uranic is a term most often used by nonbinary people, you don’t have to be enby to use it or to identify as uranic. Attraction to masculinity or masculine traits isn’t reserved for people of one specific gender, gender identity, sexuality, or sexual orientation. Anyone can be uranic.

Because uranic refers to the attraction to masculine-presenting cisgender, transgender, and nonbinary individuals (or to masculinity in general), some describe it as an attraction to people of all genders except women and those fem-presenting gender identities (hence “nofemsexual”). And that’s fine, as long as you aren’t assigning more value to one group over another. Although you might find yourself more attracted to masculinity, it doesn’t hold more inherent worth than femininity (and vice versa).

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Related LGBTQ microlabels

All this talk about being uranic must have you wondering, “But is there anything else?” We’re talking about LGBTQ people here, so of course there’s something else! In fact, there’s a whole vocabulary of desire to explore. Here are a few other terms for specific romantic and sexual desires: 

• Neptunic: Neptunic is a sexual orientation used by (frequently nonbinary) folks who are attracted to women and feminine nonbinary people but not to men or masculinity.
• Saturnic: Saturnic describes a nonbinary sexual orientation where a person is primarily attracted to gender-neutral nonbinary people and other gender identities that aren’t overwhelmingly masculine or feminine. 
• Marsic: Marsic is an enby identity that describes attraction to masculine-aligned people. This may include men and enby folks with masculine traits or presentations. It might sound similar to uranic, but the distinction is that uranic can describe anyone, whereas marsic is an identity only for nonbinary people. 
• Venusic: In the same way that marsic is an identity for nonbinary people who are into masculine traits, Venusic is a nonbinary orientation describing an enby who’s attracted to feminine-aligned people. It’s like the whole “men are from Mars, women are from Venus” thing, but for enbys.
• Mascic: Mascic is an umbrella term that includes any non-straight attraction to masculinity. A straight woman might be considered uranic, but she likely wouldn’t be mascic. 
• Nowomasexual: Nowomasexual is a sexual orientation used by a person who is attracted to everyone except binary women. They’re still attracted to cis and trans men, enby and agender folks, and fem-presenting nonbinary people.

As with all identities, attraction and sexuality exist on a spectrum. Maybe you identify as uranic right now; perhaps you used to and feel differently. That’s totally valid! Your attraction can shift and change as you go through life. The important thing is to go with the flow and remain open to yourself and others.

Go man-to-man on Grindr

Ready to get your uranic freak on? Grindr is just the place to do it. Plenty of guys (and also dudes!) are on the grid. Just download the Grindr app and find yourself a fella.