Terry Sarten: What is a sapiosexual?

Some say 'look at a person's shoes and that will tell you all you need to know'. Photo / File

This week's word is sapiosexual.

Before you shield your child's eyes from this because it contains sex think about what it means.

A sapiosexual is the term for a person who is turned on by intellectual assets rather than appearances. The sapiens bit means wise in Latin so joined to sex equates being dazzled by someone's mind rather than outward appearance.

This is revealed in deep conversations about literature, art and other highbrow stuff.

I struggle with complex maths and statistics but there are certainly people who find such things wildly attractive. It could be that having failed a postgrad stats paper I lack the credentials to critique this level of attractiveness.

Nevertheless, the sapiosexuals may be on to something as there is some merit in looking beyond appearances to find out who the real person is.

Surveys tell us that people make judgments about others based on a whole range of things. Some say 'look at a person's shoes and that will tell you all you need to know'.

Then there is the next level of checking out their socks to see if that sparks romance. There might be a third level – seeing a person's bare feet but nobody talks about that.

So, what should a person be called who is irresistibly drawn to obvious signs of wealth? Are they money-magneticsexuals?

Is there a specific amount that creates the allure? A million is no longer considered a lot of money these days, especially now that a million will not buy a house in most NZ cities.

Inflation has hit the marry-for-money strategy in a big way and the natural beauty of a billionaire has now become more desirable than ever.

There is certainly some truth to the notion that appearances can be deceptive. In an age when social media prompt us to judge people on how they look rather than how they behave this has become a norm.

Sometimes the two, appearance and behaviour, do go together with the fake in outward appearance a strong indicator of the fake inside. Politicians are a prime example of this and yet people fall for it despite the clearly false façade.

Being attracted to charm can be risky. Charmsexuals may be smitten by the shimmer of dazzling charm only to find a narcissist concealed beneath its shiny exterior. Does the thrillsexual find excitement in stunt action moves?

Is a person who constantly makes puns attractive to the punsexual? Puns are tricky as there is an odd dichotomy at work - a bad pun is a good pun.

The more people shake their heads in dismay the more pleased the punster is with the outcome. As an irreverent punster myself I find it difficult to ignore any potential for making a pun.

I did try one year, with encouragement from my wife, to give up making puns for Lent. I managed three days before folding under the sheer weight of impending pun-doom and it was not a pretty sight.

Is there such a thing as a dimsexual – someone who claims to have no idea where babies come from because they had their eyes shut when conception occurred?

The requirement for new words to describe the many ways that desire overtakes common sense has been around for a long time and is constantly changing, despite the fact that humans have been finding other humans attractive since Adam and Eve.

Terry Sarten is a writing satirist, musician and a punsworthy.