romantic orientation, also called affectional orientation, indicates the sex or gender that a person is most likely to have a romantic relationship with. it is compared to the term "sexual orientation". romantic orientation is based on the idea that sexual attraction is one component of a larger picture. for example, although a pansexual person may feel sexually attracted to multiple genders, they may be predisposed to romantic intimacy with females. for asexual people, romantic orientation is often considered a more useful measure of attraction than sexual orientation, as some are not aromantic.