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What is pansexual?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by SnixxJuice, Jun 18, 2016.

  1. SnixxJuice

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    Out of general curiosity, could somebody explain pansexuality to me?
     
  2. iiimee

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    It's basically the same thing as bisexual. I mean, there's a slight difference I guess, but really that difference is in a person's mindset and not their behavior, so I don't really count them as different.
     
  3. Aberrance

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    Essentially pan is just all inclusive. Where bisexual infers only two genders, male and female, pansexual includes nonbinary and those who are outside the box. They tend to be interchangeable though since bisexual is more well known. It's just preference.
     
    #3 Aberrance, Jun 18, 2016
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  4. BrookeVL

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    For the record, bisexual does not necessarily disclude those things.

    For me, I don't take gender into account when choosing a partner. If I like you, I like you. You could be the most androgynous genderqueerest transsexual on the planet, doesn't matter.
     
    #4 BrookeVL, Jun 18, 2016
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  5. SnixxJuice

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    Thank you!
     
  6. LooseMoose

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    - Pansexual is an identity- whilst bisexual is also an umbrella term which encompasses all orientations where people are attracted to more than one gender.

    - Pansexual falls under the "bisexual umbrella" but it is different from "bisexual" as an identity.

    - pansexuals describe their attraction as "to the person, not the gender", "regardless of gender", "attraction to the soul" etc.. The difference is also in that pansexuals are attracted to combinations of masculine & feminine traits, found in male/female/trans and non-binary people, whilst the assumption is that bisexuals are attracted to feminine traits on women, or masculine on men, and are not really open to dating non-binary folk. This assumption might be refuted by some bisexual-identified people.

    - Arguably the things that make pansexual different from bisexual, are inherently included in the "bisexual" label- but pansexual people want them more emphasised/ or feel that the common reading of "bisexual" does not really describe the way their attraction works, hence they choose a separate label.
     
  7. Mahidevran

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    In shortest, pan people just don't pay attention to genders because they aren't a factor to them. I consider myself demi-panromantic (not sexual, but it's actually in the same matter, just romantic instead of sexual) and when I love someone, it doesn't matter to me what type of body they have of how they identify. Because I just love a person.
     
  8. Invidia

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    Bisexual specifies an attraction to at least two genders, and does not specify an attraction to more than two genders, although it is possible for a bisexual person to be attracted to more than two genders - it just isn't specified in the label.
    Pansexual specifies an attraction to all genders, i.e. "call yourself whatever you want; if I like you, I like you."
     
  9. Randy

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    People who are sexually attracted to pans

    I hate myself sometimes
     
  10. gravechild

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    [​IMG]
     
  11. Randy

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    Ever so slightly.
     
  12. RavenTheRat

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    I love gay jokes :slight_smile:
    I make the ol' "Straight as I am" dad-level joke WAY too often, ask anyone who's ever talked to me.
     
    #12 RavenTheRat, Jun 18, 2016
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  13. Aspen

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    My girlfriend (pansexual) explains it like this: Pansexuals are attracted to individuals, regardless of gender identity and expression. In other words, gender doesn't play any role in their attraction to someone, as it does for bisexuals and other sexualities.
     
  14. derVaminoi

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    Wait, how exactly do bisexuals take gender into account? As far as the body is concerned on a primal level, there are only two "main" ones (as in biological sex) and bisexuals are attracted to both. There's shouldn't be a gender barrier there.
     
  15. Invidia

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    Many bisexuals, or so I've heard from them, are attracted to male and female bodies, but are not attracted to e.g. binary trans people, non-binary people, or people with ambiguous gender expressions (in other words the personality is a problem, so to say).
     
  16. gravechild

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    In that case, I'm pansexual, since I've got a soft spot for gender non-conforming and androgynous folk (I'm also attracted to more conventional men and women).

    I say bi, since most people fall under one of the two body types, saving intersex, who are a small part of the population.
     
  17. Pret Allez

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    I only identify as bisexual to people outside the community, because it's hard to explain nonbinary to them (and I don't feel like justifying my existence all the time).

    Honestly I feel like bisexuality and pansexuality are really the same thing, except the latter signifies a lot more positively to people in the trans and genderqueer community.

    There is a lot of unfair and false conflict between bisexuals and the trans community. But many trans people identify as bisexual themselves, Shiri Eisner being an example. (*hug*)
     
  18. BrookeVL

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    Yeah, I generally only use bi when I'm talking to a "muggle" as I don't really have to explain it. And it's close enough anyway.
     
  19. thepandaboss

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    Yeah, pansexual and bisexual are virtually the same thing except pansexual is implied to be more open to non-binary genders. I used to have a hard time wrapping my head around the difference and I'm really sorry about that, pansexuals. But I think we consider pan sexuality part of the bisexual umbrella kind like how genderqueer is in the transbrella
     
  20. Cora san

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    I'm pretty new to the term myself, so please correct me if I'm wrong, but for what I understood the difference would be that for bisexuals gender does matter, even though they are into more than one gender, while for pansexuals it doesn't.
    E.g. A bisexual may still have a preference between male, female, trans, etc. when looking for a date while a pansexual would completely ignore the gender factor.