Straight, but never felt anything towards a woman?

I'm a 19-year-old male starting university in the autumn, and as the title says, I am straight, but I have never felt anything towards a woman. Let me clarify what I mean by this. I know that I am not gay/bisexual, and I know that I am physically attracted to women, but I have never felt actual feeling, either physical or emotional, towards a real woman - I feel strangely uninterested in them.

Admittedly, my experience of being around women is incredibly limited. I have been home-educated my entire life and don't have any friends to speak of, and so my only experience of women is just brief exchanges when outside. I am not stupid enough to think that a man is supposed to want to jump the bones of every good-looking woman he sees, but I have never felt any feeling whatsoever towards a woman.

Is this just normal for someone like me with such little social experience? Do you think that it is simply a phase? I'd like to think that one day I will meet a woman who I will feel something towards, but when I assess my current state of mind I just cannot see it ever happening. It is not as if I have not seen any pretty women out there - some beautiful ones in fact - but this means nothing more to mean than some objective fact.

Any (constructive) input would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. Went anon because such a thread is not usually my style.

Ok. Psychology says in early childhood development, people learn rules of communication and personal interaction skills around 1 and 2 yrs old. And when they're 5 or 6, whatever they have soaked up before then, becomes embedded in them naturally and it greatly affects how they connect, relate and interact socially, psychologically and emotionally with other people. As sexuality is greatly psychological, you probably are just suffering a great disconnect. Technically it could be seen as asexual since something in your subconscious is affecting you and keeping you from naturally connecting to people you are meant to. It's fine you just gotta experience a bit more.

have you looked into asexuality?

Yes, I have. However, I am sexually attracted to women - I just have no emotional (or even physical) feelings towards them when I am around them in person.

Ahh okie makes sense. do you have any female friends?

Zero friends of any description .

Could I ask why? (it's ok if you don't feel comfortable talking about it. I understand). You might possibly want to come out of your comfort zone a bit more, join a club meet some new people etc? Are you going to uni this year?

A mixture between being home-schooled and having no money for extra-curricular activities have led to me having no opportunity to make any friends whatsoever. Ever. However, the fact that I have never had them has meant that I have no always felt the need for them - I don't really know any different.

Despite this, I don't suffer from any social anxiety beyond perhaps a little initial shyness and gentle speech. I just feel as if a very large part of my life is missing - attraction to the opposite sex in a social setting!

To answer your question, I am going to university this year, and I do intend to join some societies to help me become more social, and I guess this may help me out with my problem.

I guess I'm just concerned that there is something abnormal about me - a bit of a soppy sentiment, but I guess that's what anon posting is for .

This isn't uncommon. It is called aromanticism: http://www.asexuality.org/wiki/index.php?title=Aromantic_FAQ

At the risk of simply regurgitating what others are saying here, I agree that it seems like, from your post, that you don't have any "issues" but rather need to socialize more if you'd like to meet a girl you might "feel something" for.

It doesn't seem strange to me at all considering your circumstance (home schooled, limited friends etc) that you've never liked a girl.

Humans are all different so what goes for one doesn't always necessarily go for another.This means that, in your case, you might find emotional attachment or liking doesn't come too easy for you and you might be someone who is more emotionally detached. Using the MBTI personality archetype, i'd take a random guess at you being an INTJ, INTP or an ISTJ; this is because people of these personality types, as Introverts and as Thinkers tend to not do so well in the "love" department as, stereotypically, it takes longer for them to like/fall in love with someone. These types are also in the extreme minority, hence, they don't represent the norm. What I mean by all of this, regardless of MBTI is that different people feel different things at different times. My brother is similar to you (despite going to a public coed school his whole life) and I don't worry for him a bit.

(:

ISTJ, through and through .

Thank you for sharing this - it means a lot to gain knowledge which tells you that you're not a freak.