Advice for a relationship with a sexual person?

First of all, as an ace married to an allo for 20 years, I'd like to give you some advice.

Communication must be a two-way street.

MAKE SURE that she is capable of and willing to speak up and communicate if she is feeling that she is particularly craving sexual contact, and won't just be stewing about it silently. She has to be mature enough to either take care of her needs on her own, and mature enough to speak up when she needs some participation from you. You both have better things to be doing with your time and energy than her waiting for you to suddenly become telepathic, and you worrying about whether or not she's silently miserable and playing martyr or thinking of finding greener pastures.

Invest in a nice 'toy' collection you are both comfortable with, that she can use solo or with your help. (EdenFantasys.com is a great site)

As soon as you can, negotiate with her to work out what your limits are. There might be some things you'd be willing to participate in, and other things that will be off the menu for you. Make sure that you are both accepting of what is or isn't on offer.

Don't force yourself to agree to things that are a turn-off for you. Yes, at times you may be bored out of your mind while she's having fun and you're wishing you could ask if she wouldn't mind if you did a crossword puzzle or something until everything's over with. Strong hint: Don't ask to do a crossword puzzle or read a book. That tends to not go over very well :D

Yes, you may be bored by some of the suggested proceedings, but if you can tolerate something that's different than being averse or repulsed.

If neither of you are touch-averse or repulsed, then hugs and cuddles are vital. V.I.T.A.L.!!! My husband's from Japan - spousal hugging is almost unheard of there. I was seriously touch-starved before he finally got it that this was a major thing for me. Now he constantly hugs me and we're both happier. He also speaks up if solo missions aren't doing it for him and he needs something more. I'm a bit sex-averse, but there are still things on the menu that I can do for and with him that he's satisfied with. We also tried experimenting beyond the vanilla spectrum and surprisingly we found some other ideas from that, that he enjoys.

I HIGHLY recommend the book "The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman. He writes that there are 5 main ways that people most usually feel comfy with giving or receiving love. Finding which one(s) may be your partner's favorite, or second favorite may be helpful, as an alternative to sexual contact.

Also, the book "Hug Therapy" by Kathleen Keating is also a very good read.

And if she has an issue that you never take initiative with starting the proceedings for whatever's on the menu, then you might consider scheduling it. At first my husband had an issue with the lack of spontaneity, but then I finally got him to understand that that kind of thing just doesn't 'ping' on my radar, and just never occurs to me, and that he could either accept that if he wants me to start things off, I needed to schedule it and put an alarm on my kindle for it, or he'd be waiting a good long time for me to be the one who said 'let's get it on, fella!'.

Hope this helps!

/r/asexuality Thread