BROOKLYN, NY— Following the breakout success of Obsession, members of the growing psychosexual community say they have finally found the representation they’ve been waiting for.
“For years, people told me I was just attracted to toxic ‘nice guys,’” said psychosexual activist Maren Bell. “But with Obsession? We finally have our own Brokeback Mountain.”
While the psychosexual community generally defines itself as people attracted to psychologically manipulative, extremely cinematic relationships, members remain divided on the finer details. Some prefer the term “toxiromantic,” gay men often opt for “homocontextual,” while psychosexual lesbians call themselves “cinemasapphic.”
Almost everyone agrees their love needs to feel like an arthouse darling directed by someone recently divorced.
“I’m not attracted to men or women,” said Jacob Ramsey, taping up his callused, bloody fingers with shaking hands. “I’m exclusively attracted to a controlling violin teacher who is just maternal enough to lead to a deeply unsettling sex scene.”
The group’s Pride campaign, titled “Love Is Love, But Also Love Is Self-Mutilation, Death… And Maybe Rebirth? I Don’t Know, We Need To Rewatch Lars von Trier’s Antichrist,” aims to educate the public about psychosexual visibility while fighting harmful stereotypes that psychosexuals are merely “people who watched Gone Girl wrong.”
“People think we’re broken, but we’re not,” said organizer Clara Wren, wiping away a tear. “We’re simply incapable of feeling desire unless that desire will break us. I try to explain who I am, and they think I’m just an A24 fan.”
The psychosexual community is currently finalizing its official flag design, with members split between a simple red flag or a blown-up still of Willem Dafoe’s penis. There is also fierce debate over which groups fall under the umbrella.
“The fraternal twincest community says it’s not incest. They argue it’s ‘narcissistic masturbation,’ and sure. Okay. I’d say ‘you do you,’ but you’re effectively already doing that,” said Wren. “But that’s not psychosexual unless someone is using intimacy as a weapon and the lighting suggests generational trauma.”
Community members say they often feel erased in mainstream dating culture, where healthy communication and mutual respect remain unfairly privileged.
“I went on a date with this guy, and he was kind, stable, and actively listened, and I felt nothing,” said psychosexual Maria Torres. “Then he mentioned I looked just like his wife, who went missing in the Mojave, and suddenly I was back.”
Torres grinned and flashed her new engagement ring.
“We’re getting married in July,” she said. “In the Mojave!”
The psychosexual community will make its official debut during San Francisco’s Pride Parade, positioned between the “Allies Who Will Say They’re Bi So They Can Be In The Parade” contingent and the “Trying Polyamory Before The Divorce” float.
Jung spoke about mythologizing your life, but why not eroticize the mythology while you’re at it?