Wayne Brady comes out as pansexual and opens up to PEOPLE about his long road to self-discovery and how his daughter and ex-wife are showing him acceptance
The definition I originally came across is a pansexual person is not attracted by gender but by the personality. So no rules or restrictions on sex organs or gender identity or presentation. It’s really attraction to the person underneath above all else.
The “bi” part of bisexual implies a gender binary. Some people like that, some people don’t. Pansexual is just an alternative that is explicit in its attraction to non-binary people. Some people aren’t attracted to non-binary people, and use bisexual as a label to specifically mean only an attraction to men and women. Other people who might be described as pansexual describe themselves as bisexual simply because it is a more well known word. It all varies.
“Non superficial bisexual” isn’t the worst definition of pansexual, but saying pansexual is shorter.
I’ve always felt that bi = people of my sex or people of the other sex. Nothing about the word “bisexual” implies any gender to me, it just means I’m not explicitly gay or straight!
It is mostly because of the words themselves. The “bi” prefix means 2, or twice, etc. That would mean the word bisexual literally means “twice sexual”. Sexuality is inherently related to gender because it is a quality defined by relationships between people’s genders, and bisexual thus (literally, but often not functionally) means a person who is sexually attracted to two genders.
The “pan” prefix on the other hand, means all, or including everything. Thus we can assume pansexual to (literally) mean a person who is sexually attracted to any and every gender that there is or could be.
The “pan” prefix on the other hand, means all, or including everything. Thus we can assume pansexual to (literally) mean a person who is sexually attracted to any and every gender that there is or could be.
The “pan” prefix on the other hand, means all, or including everything. Thus we can assume pansexual to (literally) mean a person who iscan be sexually attracted to any and every gender that there is or could be.___
Hetero, bi, and gay people are not attracted to any or every of their preferred gender. It’s a small difference in language but I think pansexuals would agree that phrasing it as “is sexually attracted to any and every gender” implies pansexuals are out there trying to bang anything with a pulse whereas the truth is just that gender or sexuality are not barriers to them. I guess it would be more accurate to say “pansexuals are sexually attracted to partners independent of sex and/or gender identity”?
This is probably oversimplified, but maybe helpful:
Straight - consider themselves sexually attracted to opposite gender/sex
Gay - consider themselves sexually attacted to same gender/sex
Bi - consider themselves sexually attracted to either gender/sex
I agree that pansexuality doesn’t mean an attraction to every individual of every gender, yes. I should have been more direct in how I said this part, but when I say “a person who is sexually attracted to every gender that there is or could be” I am just trying to communicate what you said. I suppose I would personally see a distinction between “attraction to a gender” and “attraction to a person of said gender”, where the prior means overall sexual compatibility with that gender, and the latter means a literal instance of someone feeling attracted to someone else. But I can see how there isn’t any actual clear distinction between the two, I should say it different.
No. Historically it kind of did, but the definition has evolved since the existence of non-binary started to be widely accepted in LGBT+ circles. Now it just means attracted to more than one gender. Pansexual is a subcategory of bisexual.
The way I (a bisexual) have always interpreted the difference is that pansexuals feel the same attraction to all genders and that bisexuals feel different attraction to different genders. I identify as bi because I definitely feel different kinds of attractions towards men, women and enby’s.
I’d assume people that are bi are attracted to biological males and biological females, but not necessarily transsexuals or anything else on the sexuality/gender spectrum.
Sorry, that’s incorrect. Bisexuals are attracted to more than one gender, and thats any of the genders on the gender spectrum. Pansexuals are less specific; most define it as gender not being the primary part of their attraction. Some pansexuals are only interested in certain genders, others consider themselves open to any gender. The overlap for these two terms is pretty big, but there are a few differences nonetheless.
“Bisexuality is a whole, fluid identity. Do not assume that bisexuality is binary or duogamous in nature: that we have “two” sides or that we must be involved simultaneously with both genders to be fulfilled human beings. In fact, don’t assume that there are only two genders. Do not mistake our fluidity for confusion, irresponsibility, or an inability to commit. Do not equate promiscuity, infidelity, or unsafe sexual behavior with bisexuality. Those are human traits that cross all sexual orientations.”
(The Bisexual Manifesto, Bay Area Bisexual Network, c. 1990)
I’m pansexual.
In doing my research, both with myself and just with the world, I couldn’t say if I was bisexual, because I had to really see what that was, especially because I really have not gotten a chance to act on anything. So, I came to pansexual because — and I know that I’m completely messing up the dictionary meaning — but to me, pan means being able to be attracted to anyone who identifies as gay, straight, bi, transsexual or non-binary. Being able to be attracted across the board. And, I think, at least for me for right now, that is the proper place. I took pan to mean that not only can I be attracted to any of these people or types physically, but I could be attracted to the person that is there.
Pansexuality is broader than bisexuality, and people who identify as pansexual may be attracted to people of all genders. Bisexuality is the attraction to two or more genders, but not necessarily all.
The terms broadly overlap, but the distinction matters to some people and that’s okay.
To clarify, most people had no idea what bisexual was before David Bowie put a label on it in the late 70s and I doubt people who are calling themselves bisexual are doing it to be exclusionary. Shit, people still have trouble admitting the Starman liked women and men to this day and the guy was dumped by the love of his life for that revelation.
Two or more. If you’re really dead set on saying bisexuality is inherently sexist or transphobic, that’s your own thing to deal with. I don’t get the sense that this is in good faith.
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The definition I originally came across is a pansexual person is not attracted by gender but by the personality. So no rules or restrictions on sex organs or gender identity or presentation. It’s really attraction to the person underneath above all else.
don’t mean to be ignorant but how is that not just a word for non-superficial bisexual?
The “bi” part of bisexual implies a gender binary. Some people like that, some people don’t. Pansexual is just an alternative that is explicit in its attraction to non-binary people. Some people aren’t attracted to non-binary people, and use bisexual as a label to specifically mean only an attraction to men and women. Other people who might be described as pansexual describe themselves as bisexual simply because it is a more well known word. It all varies.
“Non superficial bisexual” isn’t the worst definition of pansexual, but saying pansexual is shorter.
I’ve always felt that bi = people of my sex or people of the other sex. Nothing about the word “bisexual” implies any gender to me, it just means I’m not explicitly gay or straight!
Allow me to be more clear about why I said that.
It is mostly because of the words themselves. The “bi” prefix means 2, or twice, etc. That would mean the word bisexual literally means “twice sexual”. Sexuality is inherently related to gender because it is a quality defined by relationships between people’s genders, and bisexual thus (literally, but often not functionally) means a person who is sexually attracted to two genders.
The “pan” prefix on the other hand, means all, or including everything. Thus we can assume pansexual to (literally) mean a person who is sexually attracted to any and every gender that there is or could be.
.
Hetero, bi, and gay people are not attracted to any or every of their preferred gender. It’s a small difference in language but I think pansexuals would agree that phrasing it as “is sexually attracted to any and every gender” implies pansexuals are out there trying to bang anything with a pulse whereas the truth is just that gender or sexuality are not barriers to them. I guess it would be more accurate to say “pansexuals are sexually attracted to partners independent of sex and/or gender identity”?
This is probably oversimplified, but maybe helpful:
Straight - consider themselves sexually attracted to opposite gender/sex
Gay - consider themselves sexually attacted to same gender/sex
Bi - consider themselves sexually attracted to either gender/sex
Pan - consider themselves sexually attracted
I agree that pansexuality doesn’t mean an attraction to every individual of every gender, yes. I should have been more direct in how I said this part, but when I say “a person who is sexually attracted to every gender that there is or could be” I am just trying to communicate what you said. I suppose I would personally see a distinction between “attraction to a gender” and “attraction to a person of said gender”, where the prior means overall sexual compatibility with that gender, and the latter means a literal instance of someone feeling attracted to someone else. But I can see how there isn’t any actual clear distinction between the two, I should say it different.
I feel as a straight man with few connections to the LGBT community that I should be able to define the differences between Pan and Bi
makes sense, thanks
No. Historically it kind of did, but the definition has evolved since the existence of non-binary started to be widely accepted in LGBT+ circles. Now it just means attracted to more than one gender. Pansexual is a subcategory of bisexual.
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The way I (a bisexual) have always interpreted the difference is that pansexuals feel the same attraction to all genders and that bisexuals feel different attraction to different genders. I identify as bi because I definitely feel different kinds of attractions towards men, women and enby’s.
I’d assume people that are bi are attracted to biological males and biological females, but not necessarily transsexuals or anything else on the sexuality/gender spectrum.
Sorry, that’s incorrect. Bisexuals are attracted to more than one gender, and thats any of the genders on the gender spectrum. Pansexuals are less specific; most define it as gender not being the primary part of their attraction. Some pansexuals are only interested in certain genders, others consider themselves open to any gender. The overlap for these two terms is pretty big, but there are a few differences nonetheless.
Lover of cookware
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Universal Boner Donor.
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The terms broadly overlap, but the distinction matters to some people and that’s okay.
To clarify, most people had no idea what bisexual was before David Bowie put a label on it in the late 70s and I doubt people who are calling themselves bisexual are doing it to be exclusionary. Shit, people still have trouble admitting the Starman liked women and men to this day and the guy was dumped by the love of his life for that revelation.
I know we don’t use this term much here but
Hella based.
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Two or more. If you’re really dead set on saying bisexuality is inherently sexist or transphobic, that’s your own thing to deal with. I don’t get the sense that this is in good faith.
17 plus genders? Amateur numbers.
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/why-this-fungus-has-over-20-000-sexes
Every time you complain, we add 5 more.
Or just read the article before you post something so ignorant.