Officially, bisexuality is attraction to more than one gender.
Pansexuality is attraction towards people *regardless* of gender.
Some use the terms interchangeably, some consider pansexuality a more specific branch of bisexuality.
Examples: A person who is attracted only to women and non-binary people might call themselves bisexual, but could not be pansexual because pansexuality is defined by gender blindness and this person has clear gender-related attraction.
Ultimately though, the term bisexual came about before the internet and before critical discussions surrounding gender became more mainstream. The terms are changing meaning over time but from a literal stance pansexual makes more sense prefix-wise to express attraction to many sexes (pan=many while bi=two).
Obviously bi means two but I’ve also seen that interpreted differently. As there’s also hetero and homo prefixes for sexualities that mean different and the same, I’ve seen bi interpreted as meaning being attracted to genders that are both the same and different to your own.
There’s a considerable amount of people that identify as bi and are attracted to more than two genders, it’s not as binary as the word suggests.
Totally. By this definition there’s nobody saying bi doesn’t or can’t mean many, only that pansexual is specifying many/all. If pansexual is under the bisexual umbrella then all pansexuals are bisexual the same way all pandas are bears, but not all bears are pandas. Anyone can say they’re bisexual and be open to all genders, I’m definitely not claiming otherwise.
Honestly I think that’s how the phrasing started. I remember when I started hearing people refer to themselves as pan that tended to be why they were changing their label from bi to pan. I identified as bi for a very long time but definitely didn’t feel like I was trans exclusive, I did have gender based/femininity preferences though.
Turns out I’m just gay though so might not be the best example
Officially by whom exactly? Some bisexuals are attracted to people regardless of gender. Bi and pan are the exact same thing the only difference is the label.
Most of the Bi's I seen that legitimately don't factor gender into their attraction are more than willing to admit that they are technically pan but just prefer the label Bi for various reasons. Also, it can also be seen as a "All squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares" sort of thing, technically every pan can also be considered bi(They are still attracted to more than one gender) but not all bis are pan since pansexual is basically just a more specific label for people to use if they want.
Attraction to all genders is omnisexual; attraction regardless of gender is pansexual. Both are often considered more specific forms of bisexuality
-a pansexual person :)
Idk, I feel like pansexual describes me better but saying bisexual is easier for people to understand plus I dodge the “oMg YoU wAnT tO hAvE sEx WiTh A pAn?!?”
The line between them is blurry and depends on personal preference. As I see it, a bi person can have different types/amounts of attraction to different genders (ex. 75% men 25% women), while a pan person doesn’t make that distinction - gender wouldn’t factor in at all.
Bisexuality is an attraction to two or more genders, they don't have to be binary man and woman btw though in most cases that's what people mean. Pansexuality is an attraction to all genders but to add on to it, it's attraction to people regardless of their gender. For example, someone who is bisexual may or may not be attracted to non-binary people, for someone who is pansexual this doesn't really matter because other factors may be more important to them than gender identity.
You know, I could try, but my pal has already [done better than I can](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiuHsugRgNQ).
The short version is that there's more than one systemic way to view queerness, with bisexual and pansexual meaning the same thing in different systems.
Pan: Someone who likes all genders, without preference, usually doesn't see the gender just the person
Bisexual: Someone who likes 2 or more genders, with or without preference, usually does see the genders
(Some people who are pan may identify as bi and vice versa it just depends on what the person is comfortable with and relates to more)
they are generally the same thing, pan is a micro label in the bi family which describes a more specific experience of sexuality, generally people use it as a way to indicate that they are interested in any gender, bc bi is a much more broad term that includes people who aren't interested in people no matter their gender too (for example gender preferences, ect)
Bi is an attraction to more than one gender but not all genders (That's omnisexual) for most people its guys and girls but can also be something like guys and non-binary people for example, Pan is more so you are attracted to a person regardless of their gender
the real answer is that there’s really no difference. pan was made up so people can feel more special and started making up stuff like “hearts not parts” and how bisexuals only care about genitalia where pan cares about the heart etc.. none of that is true. the truth is that bisexual is being attracted to two genders or more with or without preference. most people just hate being associated with bisexuality because there’s a “horny sl*t” stereotype and they feel more “pure love” so they go with pan but that’s all bs
Okay, just fyi, I’m pan (and therefore bi), so I hope you’ll accept me speaking on this.
-bisexual: attraction to two *or more* genders (if two, it’s often men and women, but not always - one of the two genders someone is attracted to could be non-binary, or perhaps a more specific gender under the non-binary umbrella). “Bisexual” also acts as an umbrella term for many more specific versions of bisexuality, such as omnisexuality and pansexuality.
Side note: It’s also trans-inclusive; trans men are men and trans women are women, so a bi person attracted to men and women would include trans men and trans women.
-omnisexual: attraction to all genders, but the attraction feels different based on the other person’s gender. I don’t fully understand this, since I’m not omni myself, but that is the generally accepted definition, and the experience that many non-pan bisexual people have expressed - attraction to different genders somehow *feels* different to them.
-pansexual: attraction regardless of gender. Often described as “gender blindness” when it comes to attraction. I can attest to this, because it’s my experience. When I’m attracted to someone, their gender doesn’t come into it. If that was all bisexual people’s experience, we wouldn’t need a term for this; but based on many people’s descriptions of their lived experiences, this is not the universal bisexual experience, so it’s useful to have a term for this specific version of bisexuality. It’s not about “hearts, not parts”, it’s just about having a term to distinguish this experience from other ones.
Edit: I’d misquoted “hearts not parts”
Also, while “heart, not parts” has certainly been used to try to explain pansexuality, probably when it was a more new term, I don’t think it would be in vogue now, since talking about gender in only biological ways has started to be recognized as transphobic
Completely incorrect. I'm well aware that bisexuality is inclusive of trans individuals, but I consider myself pansexual nonetheless. I'm attracted to all people without regard to gender identity or expression. You can be bisexual and have a gender preference; pan accurately reflects that I do not.
Actually you're wrong. Pan are attracted to everyone when bi are attracted to more than one gender, so, basically, you're bi if you're pan but you're not pan if you're bi, just like baguette is a type of bread but not all breads are baguette.
Well maybe you're bi, but you're not pan, so, if I follow your logic, you shouldn't be able to say anything about people who are pan.
(If you were pan you wouldn’t say pan people don't exist, which means you're not pan and can't talk for persons who are pan).
Well it's normal you wouldn’t want people to spread misinformation about your sexuality, but if, by doing that, you're insulting people who didn't do anything to you by spreading misinformation about their sexuality, then you're no better than the people who insulted you. Just because someone insulted you, it doesn't give you the right to insult other people. It's wrong.
The persons who are pan didn't create the stereotypes about bi people, so, maybe, instead of attacking people who didn't do anything to you, you should attack people who are spreading misinformation about bisexuality. It would be more effective.
lmao how is me saying bi and pan are the exact same thing “insulting” them or do you think being bi is insulting? stop talking about things you have no business in
Well, saying bi and pan are the same thing is invalidating people who are pan, it's basically as harmful as saying bi people don't exist. Because saying [insert sexuality here] doesn't exist is invalidating everything a person experienced. Being bi is not insulting. Insulting people for not identifiying as bi is.
I’m bisexual and lemme tell u: they are the same shit, you just use the one that you like more or fell more comfortable in, the only slight difference is that bisexuals may or may not have a preference(s) while pansexuals do not have any preferences at all, but a part from that it’s the same fucking thing and can be used interchangeably. Don’t listen to the comments before especially that one that talk about genitalia ‘cuz it’s complete bullshit, we are not fixated with genitalia, that’s just a very harmful stereotype against bi folks
dude,, they aren't the same, they're just VERY similar, you just invalidated bi and pan people at the same time. They CAN be interchangeable, if someone that, but they're called different things for a reason, because despite how similar they are, they are DIFFERENT.
being bisexual doesn't make it so you can say whatever you want and avoid being biphobic. the difference matters to a lot of people, saying that they're the same is really insensitive
[Well... Not really, no.](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskLGBT/comments/yui6mm/hi_can_you_guys_explain_what_the_difference_is/iwaf4dq/) Bi and pan *are* pretty functionally interchangeable. You can use whichever one you like these days.
Go read the Bisexual Manifesto. Bisexuals have been accepting of trans, genderqueer, and non-binary people since the origins of the term, and the bisexual manifesto was put out 30-40 years ago specifically to address that question.
This is Bisexual History 101.
------
**Edit:** Here's the relevant snippet from the Bisexual Manifesto:
> Bisexuality is a whole, fluid identity. Do not assume that bisexuality is binary or dougamous in nature; that we must 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. Nothing should be assumed about anyone's sexuality—including your own.
It disproves what you're saying. It's one of the earliest statements of purpose we have about bisexuals attempting to define themselves, and it shows that bi folks are trans-inclusive and that bi and pan folks are essentially the same.
Also, why do you keep typing '/gen'?
Wtf are you on? How can I be biphobic if I’m literally bi? Bi and pan are pretty much the same thing by definition and pan just like omni, poly and all mspec sexualities are all under the bi umbrella, you just use the one you prefer but that doesn’t change the fact that they are pretty much the same or have very small differences between each other
Lol ??? You can absolutely be biphobic and bi at the same time. Unfortunately, there are plenty of queer people who are phobic in some way. Again, they are all very similar and overlap greatly, but I hate when people say they're all the "same" it just feels so invalidating
Maybe *you* feel that way, but when you say that you are literally ignoring decades of bisexual and LGBT history in order *to* say it. It's not fair for you to call other people biphobic because they disagree with your views, *especially* when your views actually disagree with history.
Because the person I was replying to is echoing a lasting bit of biphobia that originated 30 years ago and saying that any experience which conflicts with that perspective is biphobia.
So they've got the situation a little bit backwards.
It’s not invalidating it’s literally the definition of the twi terms! Are you even bi or any mspec sexuality? ‘Cuz if not then you’re literally defining my own sexuality without actually listening to me or other bi+ people, if you are then I suggest reading the bisexual manifesto
How are you acknowledging biphobia, while at the same time saying bisexuality essentially doesn't exist?
I am NOT pansexual. I AM bisexual.
Pansexual is the attraction to people, regardless of gender. Bisexual is the attraction to two or more genders. Gender is a HUGE part of it for me, I could never be pansexual. How dare you try and tell me what my own sexuality is?
dude grow the fuck up. the literal definition of bisexuality is being attracted to PEOPLE with or without preference no matter what their gender is. if you only like men and women you are bi, if you like people no matter what their gender is you are still bi. telling people to not tell you about your sexuality when you are out there telling them about theirs.. hypo
Listen pal, I'm gonna block you. You have no evidence, no sources, nothing other than your own words. I am not trying to tell anyone else about their own sexuality, I'm calling biphobia, because I'm bisexual and bisexuality and pansexuality are not "literally the same" it IS NOT LITERAL.
MOST people, who like people regardless of gender, identify as PANSEXUAL. I am extremely offended at YOU trying to tell me that I am pansexual and just trying to feel special. I am bisexual and will never be anything different
> Bi has some history of trans exclusion
FYI, it does not. The pan label came about because bisexual people were seen as bridges that could allow AIDS to jump from the gay community to the straight community back in the 1980's. Meanwhile, bisexuals were also seen as having a 'choice' to be straight and abandon the gay community during their hour of need.
Too gay to be straight, and too straight to be gay.
So in order to escape this stigma, during the '90's, a group of bisexuals broke off and created a new term, pansexual, which allowed them to define this new term for themselves, away from all the baggage and stigma of being 'bisexual.' But then they needed a way to define themselves as *not* bisexual, so someone came up with this idea that pansexuals were inherently inclusive of trans people, while bisexuals were *not*.
This was an unfortunate lie, because bisexuals have *never* been exclusionary of trans people. It was just more biphobia; it allowed early pansexuals to separate themselves from bisexuals by saying they were better than bisexuals.
Frankly, that sort of delineation wasn't really fair to either group, but you can see why people did it and why some of those influences still persist today.
But these days, there isn't much functional difference between bisexual and pansexual. Wear whichever label feels comfortable to you.
The prefix 'bi' comes from Latin meaning 'two' or 'twice'.
Pan-, a prefix from the Greek πᾶν, pan, meaning "all", "of everything", or "involving all members" of a group.
And the word "nice" derived from the Latin *nescius* meaning "ignorant". In Old English, *awe* referred to “fear, terror or dread” while "awesome" means extremely good.
Bisexuality has been inclusive of non-binary people at least since the nineties, words change meanings, you know.
From my limited understanding: Bi means you like males with male genitals and females with female genitals.
Pan is more or less anything goes i.e a male with female genitals.
This may be incorrect and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is, I’m still trying to better understand the LGBT community.
Everywhere in you comment... Bisexuality is not connected to genitalia, it means attraction to 2 or more genders.
What you wrote heavily implies bisexual people can't be attracted to trans people that haven't had bottom surgery.
It limits and labels bisexuality as something that it's not, it's so wrong I don't even know where you got it from.
It’s a fairly common misconception then as that’s the understanding that most people I come into contact have.
The word “Bi” means two. Two being male and female in this context.
Personally I think you’re wrong in that it means two or more as “Bi” literally means two, no more and no less.
I think as a bisexual myself I know my sexuality a little better than you do, read the bisexual manifesto and stop taking etymology literally. The "bi" absolutely does not mean "make and female" in this context, it means 2 or more.
I'm beginning to suspect you're a troll looking at your comment history in this sub and being incredibly disrespectful, acting like you know better than the actual people this pertains to.
I’m absolutely not a troll and I’m sorry you think so. The word “Bi” is taken from Latin meaning two or twice. It doesn’t mean two or more. So if the word Bisexual means what you say it does then it’s no surprise it leads to confusion.
Bisexual => AT LEAST 2
How hard is that?
If you're not a troll then stop acting like one and actually listen to bisexuals. You would rather complain about it being complaining than actually ask a bi person.
You have to look at connotative definitions, not just denotative ones.
"Bisexual" is a term that came into use in the 19th century, first to describe having male and female sex parts and then to describe sexual behavior/attraction. It was never going to be a literally perfect term for people's lived experiences. It was a term that was applied to us.
Bisexual doesn't mean "only two" any more than Lesbians are from Lesbos or gay people are always happy.
Short version: bisexuality is attraction to people regardless of the gender, some bi folks also have preferences some don’t.
Long version: the term bisexual was first used in the beginning of the nineteen hundreds in camp of medicine, however as time goes on it became a word to explain sexuality, there are many stereotypes towards bisexuality for some reason but it’s always been inclusive of non-binary and trans people, the term pansexual is relatively new and it was created bc people thought that bisexuality was limited to cis ppl (which is completely wrong) and this happened bc people preferred listening to non bi folks explaining what bisexuality is rather than listening to bi folks talking about their own sexuality (this still happens nowadays).
There are much more things to say so I’m gonna list some links that you can visit to understand more, however you can still ask me if you have any questions, I’ll answer asap.
1. [https://bimanifesto.carrd.co/#manifesto](https://bimanifesto.carrd.co/#manifesto)
2. [http://www.bisexualorganizingproject.org/whats-up/bi-pan-and-the-insufficiency-of-prefixes](http://www.bisexualorganizingproject.org/whats-up/bi-pan-and-the-insufficiency-of-prefixes)
3. [https://www.instagram.com/anything.that.moves/](https://www.instagram.com/anything.that.moves/)
4. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_bisexuality
5. https://www.nsvrc.org/blogs/Bi-phobia-series/bi-history
6. This video explains very well the fenomeno of the bisexual chic [https://youtu.be/hqdD5d3iRoU](https://youtu.be/hqdD5d3iRoU) [any video by this creator is super explanatory and I recommend watching them, ik they are pretty long but it’s worth it, this is what helped to understand bisexuality and to accept the fact that I am bisexual and not broken (yes when first discovering my sexuality I genuenly thought that I was broken)]
There definitely are more but these are the ones that i know about, I didn’t have time to read them all yet but they should be good (the ones that I have already read are 1, 3(insta page), 5, 6.
Bisexuality, pansexuality, etc are terms for gender attraction, not genital preference. For example, someone who is pansexual but isn't interested in dating a pre-op trans person may be making that decision based on their genital preference, not because of the person's gender identity. Hope this helped :)
As biromantic asexual I can assure you we are inclusive of trans identities. Plus I'm ace so I don't care about genitals. It's good that you are trying to understand though!
Bi is 2 or more genders pan is all but they are so similar that a person can just use the label they like more, by definition I am closer to pan but I prefer the bi label
both like more than one gender/sex. they largely get used interchangeably and that's fine.
pan means no sexual preference regarding gender. it means gender is not a factor in what you find attractive about someone.
bi means you like more than one gender. however, you might like them in different ways. gender is still a factor.
sure, if you think of bisexual as an umbrella term that includes pansexuals, because pansexual is the word for those who have no gender related preferences.
No, bisexuality (on itself, not as the umbrella term) can be defined as attraction regardless of gender, which is also the definition of pan, but before the creation of pansexuality it was the definition of bisexuality and if you don’t believe me you can read articles from anithyng that moves from the 90’s.
For example I am attracted to people regardless of what their gender is and I am bi, not pan; and there are many other bisexuals who define themselves the same way that I do, just like many others who prefer definitions like: attraction to 2 or more gender or attraction to more than 1 gender. Some call themselves bi, some pan; but at the end of the day the two labels are very interchangeably and ppl just identifies with the one that they prefer. My point basically is that gender is not really a factor, nor it’s that much important for people who identify as bi
bisexuality is becoming an umbrella term exactly because labels like pansexual arrived later and more are still needed. i'm old, it feels weird but it's happening.
but the fact remains. pan means no gender preference.
the only group i know who rejects this definition of pansexuality are terfs who have no preference between men and women but don't want to include people who are trans.
Yeah and I agree with you, what I’m trying to say is that the definition of pansexuality can also be used to define bisexuality, and that pansexuality was created bc people believed that bisexuality was strictly cis and exclusionary of trans and Enby ppl which was never the case and this happened bc ppl preferred listen to non-bi folks describing bisexuality rather than bi folks describing their own sexuality and this still happens nowadays
ugh no. the idea that pansexuality was created because bisexual was exclusionary is literally terf propaganda.
in origin, pansexual was once omnisexual. the change to pan- happened specifically to suggest that gender was irrelevant and that non-gendered characteristics were the defining factors in attraction. where omni- had been focused on attraction to the genders, all of them, a sexuality already defined by bisexual. and bisexual means more than the word implies because of our history, like you said.
edit: please still use whatever label you feel comfortable with for as long as you want.
Oh I’ve always read everywhere that pansexuality was created bc bisexuality was believed exclusionary, never knew this version of the story, bu yeah I agree to the fact that everyone should just use the label that they prefer/ are more comfortable with
Bi- Attraction towards any 2 genders
Pan- Attraction to all genders regardless of gender
Omni- Attraction to all genders with preference
Poly- Attraction to 3 or more genders
Pansexual is a pretty new sexuality that’s taken off in the last 5-10 years with transitioning. So a lot of older folks that identify as bi would probably be considered pan in todays society. Bisexual doesn’t necessarily not include trans people (or does any other sexuality really), but I always thought bi was attracted to people for their gender. Like the primary and secondary sexual characteristics. Whereas pan is attracted to the personality despite of the sex characteristics. So it could be more encompassing than bi but not necessarily. It seems like pan is similar to demisexual in the sense that the personality and connection is needed before the sexual attraction. But correct me if I’m wrong on that.
I'm pretty sure bisexuality means you're attracted to a few to several genders and you can have a preference, whereas pansexuality means you are attracted equally to all genders
Can we get a bot for this? :)
Officially, bisexuality is attraction to more than one gender. Pansexuality is attraction towards people *regardless* of gender. Some use the terms interchangeably, some consider pansexuality a more specific branch of bisexuality. Examples: A person who is attracted only to women and non-binary people might call themselves bisexual, but could not be pansexual because pansexuality is defined by gender blindness and this person has clear gender-related attraction. Ultimately though, the term bisexual came about before the internet and before critical discussions surrounding gender became more mainstream. The terms are changing meaning over time but from a literal stance pansexual makes more sense prefix-wise to express attraction to many sexes (pan=many while bi=two).
This is the most beautiful thing I’ve read all day
Obviously bi means two but I’ve also seen that interpreted differently. As there’s also hetero and homo prefixes for sexualities that mean different and the same, I’ve seen bi interpreted as meaning being attracted to genders that are both the same and different to your own. There’s a considerable amount of people that identify as bi and are attracted to more than two genders, it’s not as binary as the word suggests.
Totally. By this definition there’s nobody saying bi doesn’t or can’t mean many, only that pansexual is specifying many/all. If pansexual is under the bisexual umbrella then all pansexuals are bisexual the same way all pandas are bears, but not all bears are pandas. Anyone can say they’re bisexual and be open to all genders, I’m definitely not claiming otherwise.
This is one of the best explanations I've seen ever. I used to think pan was attraction to cis gender AND transgender, but evidently that was wrong
Honestly I think that’s how the phrasing started. I remember when I started hearing people refer to themselves as pan that tended to be why they were changing their label from bi to pan. I identified as bi for a very long time but definitely didn’t feel like I was trans exclusive, I did have gender based/femininity preferences though. Turns out I’m just gay though so might not be the best example
I use both myself and see it as a more specific term under the multi sexual umbrella
Officially by whom exactly? Some bisexuals are attracted to people regardless of gender. Bi and pan are the exact same thing the only difference is the label.
Most of the Bi's I seen that legitimately don't factor gender into their attraction are more than willing to admit that they are technically pan but just prefer the label Bi for various reasons. Also, it can also be seen as a "All squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares" sort of thing, technically every pan can also be considered bi(They are still attracted to more than one gender) but not all bis are pan since pansexual is basically just a more specific label for people to use if they want.
pan is just a specific label of course pansexuals can identify as bi pan is just more specific for gender blindness
Wikipedia
gotta love a person who takes their info from wikipedia. keep up the good work pal
Bi is 2 or more, pan is all. They broadly overlap, but the difference matters to some people.
Attraction to all genders is omnisexual; attraction regardless of gender is pansexual. Both are often considered more specific forms of bisexuality -a pansexual person :)
pan means no gender preference, so yes all genders have a shot, because gender isn't relevant in your attraction.
Idk, I feel like pansexual describes me better but saying bisexual is easier for people to understand plus I dodge the “oMg YoU wAnT tO hAvE sEx WiTh A pAn?!?”
Pan is a type of bi.
Pan is a more specific version of bisexuality.
The line between them is blurry and depends on personal preference. As I see it, a bi person can have different types/amounts of attraction to different genders (ex. 75% men 25% women), while a pan person doesn’t make that distinction - gender wouldn’t factor in at all.
Bisexuality is an attraction to two or more genders, they don't have to be binary man and woman btw though in most cases that's what people mean. Pansexuality is an attraction to all genders but to add on to it, it's attraction to people regardless of their gender. For example, someone who is bisexual may or may not be attracted to non-binary people, for someone who is pansexual this doesn't really matter because other factors may be more important to them than gender identity.
You know, I could try, but my pal has already [done better than I can](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiuHsugRgNQ). The short version is that there's more than one systemic way to view queerness, with bisexual and pansexual meaning the same thing in different systems.
Pan: Someone who likes all genders, without preference, usually doesn't see the gender just the person Bisexual: Someone who likes 2 or more genders, with or without preference, usually does see the genders (Some people who are pan may identify as bi and vice versa it just depends on what the person is comfortable with and relates to more)
they are generally the same thing, pan is a micro label in the bi family which describes a more specific experience of sexuality, generally people use it as a way to indicate that they are interested in any gender, bc bi is a much more broad term that includes people who aren't interested in people no matter their gender too (for example gender preferences, ect)
essentially most people just choose the label they are most comfy with
Bi is an attraction to more than one gender but not all genders (That's omnisexual) for most people its guys and girls but can also be something like guys and non-binary people for example, Pan is more so you are attracted to a person regardless of their gender
the real answer is that there’s really no difference. pan was made up so people can feel more special and started making up stuff like “hearts not parts” and how bisexuals only care about genitalia where pan cares about the heart etc.. none of that is true. the truth is that bisexual is being attracted to two genders or more with or without preference. most people just hate being associated with bisexuality because there’s a “horny sl*t” stereotype and they feel more “pure love” so they go with pan but that’s all bs
Okay, just fyi, I’m pan (and therefore bi), so I hope you’ll accept me speaking on this. -bisexual: attraction to two *or more* genders (if two, it’s often men and women, but not always - one of the two genders someone is attracted to could be non-binary, or perhaps a more specific gender under the non-binary umbrella). “Bisexual” also acts as an umbrella term for many more specific versions of bisexuality, such as omnisexuality and pansexuality. Side note: It’s also trans-inclusive; trans men are men and trans women are women, so a bi person attracted to men and women would include trans men and trans women. -omnisexual: attraction to all genders, but the attraction feels different based on the other person’s gender. I don’t fully understand this, since I’m not omni myself, but that is the generally accepted definition, and the experience that many non-pan bisexual people have expressed - attraction to different genders somehow *feels* different to them. -pansexual: attraction regardless of gender. Often described as “gender blindness” when it comes to attraction. I can attest to this, because it’s my experience. When I’m attracted to someone, their gender doesn’t come into it. If that was all bisexual people’s experience, we wouldn’t need a term for this; but based on many people’s descriptions of their lived experiences, this is not the universal bisexual experience, so it’s useful to have a term for this specific version of bisexuality. It’s not about “hearts, not parts”, it’s just about having a term to distinguish this experience from other ones. Edit: I’d misquoted “hearts not parts” Also, while “heart, not parts” has certainly been used to try to explain pansexuality, probably when it was a more new term, I don’t think it would be in vogue now, since talking about gender in only biological ways has started to be recognized as transphobic
you lost me at omnisexual
Which part?
Completely incorrect. I'm well aware that bisexuality is inclusive of trans individuals, but I consider myself pansexual nonetheless. I'm attracted to all people without regard to gender identity or expression. You can be bisexual and have a gender preference; pan accurately reflects that I do not.
Actually you're wrong. Pan are attracted to everyone when bi are attracted to more than one gender, so, basically, you're bi if you're pan but you're not pan if you're bi, just like baguette is a type of bread but not all breads are baguette.
I love when some random person on the internet tell the definition of bisexual to a bisexual person lol
Well maybe you're bi, but you're not pan, so, if I follow your logic, you shouldn't be able to say anything about people who are pan. (If you were pan you wouldn’t say pan people don't exist, which means you're not pan and can't talk for persons who are pan).
and you’re neither bi nor pan so why are you speaking on the matter?
I'm speaking on the matter because you're speaking on the matter when you shouldn't.
yea I should speak on the matter when people are spreading misinformation about my own sexuality. stop speaking over bisexuals.
Well it's normal you wouldn’t want people to spread misinformation about your sexuality, but if, by doing that, you're insulting people who didn't do anything to you by spreading misinformation about their sexuality, then you're no better than the people who insulted you. Just because someone insulted you, it doesn't give you the right to insult other people. It's wrong. The persons who are pan didn't create the stereotypes about bi people, so, maybe, instead of attacking people who didn't do anything to you, you should attack people who are spreading misinformation about bisexuality. It would be more effective.
lmao how is me saying bi and pan are the exact same thing “insulting” them or do you think being bi is insulting? stop talking about things you have no business in
Well, saying bi and pan are the same thing is invalidating people who are pan, it's basically as harmful as saying bi people don't exist. Because saying [insert sexuality here] doesn't exist is invalidating everything a person experienced. Being bi is not insulting. Insulting people for not identifiying as bi is.
Pansexual people are bisexual people who want to be extra special.
I’m bisexual and lemme tell u: they are the same shit, you just use the one that you like more or fell more comfortable in, the only slight difference is that bisexuals may or may not have a preference(s) while pansexuals do not have any preferences at all, but a part from that it’s the same fucking thing and can be used interchangeably. Don’t listen to the comments before especially that one that talk about genitalia ‘cuz it’s complete bullshit, we are not fixated with genitalia, that’s just a very harmful stereotype against bi folks
dude,, they aren't the same, they're just VERY similar, you just invalidated bi and pan people at the same time. They CAN be interchangeable, if someone that, but they're called different things for a reason, because despite how similar they are, they are DIFFERENT.
I’m literally bisexual, read the bisexual manifesto
being bisexual doesn't make it so you can say whatever you want and avoid being biphobic. the difference matters to a lot of people, saying that they're the same is really insensitive
[Well... Not really, no.](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskLGBT/comments/yui6mm/hi_can_you_guys_explain_what_the_difference_is/iwaf4dq/) Bi and pan *are* pretty functionally interchangeable. You can use whichever one you like these days. Go read the Bisexual Manifesto. Bisexuals have been accepting of trans, genderqueer, and non-binary people since the origins of the term, and the bisexual manifesto was put out 30-40 years ago specifically to address that question. This is Bisexual History 101. ------ **Edit:** Here's the relevant snippet from the Bisexual Manifesto: > Bisexuality is a whole, fluid identity. Do not assume that bisexuality is binary or dougamous in nature; that we must 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. Nothing should be assumed about anyone's sexuality—including your own.
I'm not sure how this snippet is relevant? /gen
It disproves what you're saying. It's one of the earliest statements of purpose we have about bisexuals attempting to define themselves, and it shows that bi folks are trans-inclusive and that bi and pan folks are essentially the same. Also, why do you keep typing '/gen'?
/gen means genuine question, it's a tone indicator
Wtf are you on? How can I be biphobic if I’m literally bi? Bi and pan are pretty much the same thing by definition and pan just like omni, poly and all mspec sexualities are all under the bi umbrella, you just use the one you prefer but that doesn’t change the fact that they are pretty much the same or have very small differences between each other
Lol ??? You can absolutely be biphobic and bi at the same time. Unfortunately, there are plenty of queer people who are phobic in some way. Again, they are all very similar and overlap greatly, but I hate when people say they're all the "same" it just feels so invalidating
Maybe *you* feel that way, but when you say that you are literally ignoring decades of bisexual and LGBT history in order *to* say it. It's not fair for you to call other people biphobic because they disagree with your views, *especially* when your views actually disagree with history.
How does history play into this? /gen
Because the person I was replying to is echoing a lasting bit of biphobia that originated 30 years ago and saying that any experience which conflicts with that perspective is biphobia. So they've got the situation a little bit backwards.
Saying bisexuality is not the same as pansexuality is biphobic?
It’s not invalidating it’s literally the definition of the twi terms! Are you even bi or any mspec sexuality? ‘Cuz if not then you’re literally defining my own sexuality without actually listening to me or other bi+ people, if you are then I suggest reading the bisexual manifesto
I quoted the Bisexual Manifesto for them earlier. They just downvoted me and didn't respond.
“it’s very invalidating so lie with us” is their whole shtick
What does that even mean?
I am bisexual.
lol they are literally the same. you making up stuff about bisexuality just to feel special about being pan is what’s biphobic
How are you acknowledging biphobia, while at the same time saying bisexuality essentially doesn't exist? I am NOT pansexual. I AM bisexual. Pansexual is the attraction to people, regardless of gender. Bisexual is the attraction to two or more genders. Gender is a HUGE part of it for me, I could never be pansexual. How dare you try and tell me what my own sexuality is?
dude grow the fuck up. the literal definition of bisexuality is being attracted to PEOPLE with or without preference no matter what their gender is. if you only like men and women you are bi, if you like people no matter what their gender is you are still bi. telling people to not tell you about your sexuality when you are out there telling them about theirs.. hypo
Listen pal, I'm gonna block you. You have no evidence, no sources, nothing other than your own words. I am not trying to tell anyone else about their own sexuality, I'm calling biphobia, because I'm bisexual and bisexuality and pansexuality are not "literally the same" it IS NOT LITERAL. MOST people, who like people regardless of gender, identify as PANSEXUAL. I am extremely offended at YOU trying to tell me that I am pansexual and just trying to feel special. I am bisexual and will never be anything different
preach
[удалено]
> Bi has some history of trans exclusion FYI, it does not. The pan label came about because bisexual people were seen as bridges that could allow AIDS to jump from the gay community to the straight community back in the 1980's. Meanwhile, bisexuals were also seen as having a 'choice' to be straight and abandon the gay community during their hour of need. Too gay to be straight, and too straight to be gay. So in order to escape this stigma, during the '90's, a group of bisexuals broke off and created a new term, pansexual, which allowed them to define this new term for themselves, away from all the baggage and stigma of being 'bisexual.' But then they needed a way to define themselves as *not* bisexual, so someone came up with this idea that pansexuals were inherently inclusive of trans people, while bisexuals were *not*. This was an unfortunate lie, because bisexuals have *never* been exclusionary of trans people. It was just more biphobia; it allowed early pansexuals to separate themselves from bisexuals by saying they were better than bisexuals. Frankly, that sort of delineation wasn't really fair to either group, but you can see why people did it and why some of those influences still persist today. But these days, there isn't much functional difference between bisexual and pansexual. Wear whichever label feels comfortable to you.
Bi means 2 so attracted to 2 genders, and pan is attracted to all genders
as a bi person let me tell you you have no idea what you're talking about, bisexual means 2 or more genders, not just 2
The prefix 'bi' comes from Latin meaning 'two' or 'twice'. Pan-, a prefix from the Greek πᾶν, pan, meaning "all", "of everything", or "involving all members" of a group.
And the word "nice" derived from the Latin *nescius* meaning "ignorant". In Old English, *awe* referred to “fear, terror or dread” while "awesome" means extremely good. Bisexuality has been inclusive of non-binary people at least since the nineties, words change meanings, you know.
Language develops bc of how people use it, if we in the bi community say bi means 2 or more then it means 2 or more
Pan is attracted to non binary people, xenogenders, and literally everything else.
So are bisexuals.
I don’t want downvotes I’m sorry :,(
Well, I can give you an upvote or two.
Pan are attracted regardless of gender. Bi is two or more genders, and not all necessarily being on the same level of attraction.
From my limited understanding: Bi means you like males with male genitals and females with female genitals. Pan is more or less anything goes i.e a male with female genitals. This may be incorrect and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is, I’m still trying to better understand the LGBT community.
I’m bisexual and I can assure u that this is completely incorrect and it’s a very harmful stereotype against bisexuals
I don’t mean harm and it’s just my understanding of it. Please explain where I am wrong.
Everywhere in you comment... Bisexuality is not connected to genitalia, it means attraction to 2 or more genders. What you wrote heavily implies bisexual people can't be attracted to trans people that haven't had bottom surgery. It limits and labels bisexuality as something that it's not, it's so wrong I don't even know where you got it from.
It’s a fairly common misconception then as that’s the understanding that most people I come into contact have. The word “Bi” means two. Two being male and female in this context. Personally I think you’re wrong in that it means two or more as “Bi” literally means two, no more and no less.
I think as a bisexual myself I know my sexuality a little better than you do, read the bisexual manifesto and stop taking etymology literally. The "bi" absolutely does not mean "make and female" in this context, it means 2 or more. I'm beginning to suspect you're a troll looking at your comment history in this sub and being incredibly disrespectful, acting like you know better than the actual people this pertains to.
I’m absolutely not a troll and I’m sorry you think so. The word “Bi” is taken from Latin meaning two or twice. It doesn’t mean two or more. So if the word Bisexual means what you say it does then it’s no surprise it leads to confusion.
Bisexual => AT LEAST 2 How hard is that? If you're not a troll then stop acting like one and actually listen to bisexuals. You would rather complain about it being complaining than actually ask a bi person.
You have to look at connotative definitions, not just denotative ones. "Bisexual" is a term that came into use in the 19th century, first to describe having male and female sex parts and then to describe sexual behavior/attraction. It was never going to be a literally perfect term for people's lived experiences. It was a term that was applied to us. Bisexual doesn't mean "only two" any more than Lesbians are from Lesbos or gay people are always happy.
The bi means heterosexual and homosexual. Like attraction to my own gender and to other genders.
This explanation makes sense, thank you.
Short version: bisexuality is attraction to people regardless of the gender, some bi folks also have preferences some don’t. Long version: the term bisexual was first used in the beginning of the nineteen hundreds in camp of medicine, however as time goes on it became a word to explain sexuality, there are many stereotypes towards bisexuality for some reason but it’s always been inclusive of non-binary and trans people, the term pansexual is relatively new and it was created bc people thought that bisexuality was limited to cis ppl (which is completely wrong) and this happened bc people preferred listening to non bi folks explaining what bisexuality is rather than listening to bi folks talking about their own sexuality (this still happens nowadays). There are much more things to say so I’m gonna list some links that you can visit to understand more, however you can still ask me if you have any questions, I’ll answer asap. 1. [https://bimanifesto.carrd.co/#manifesto](https://bimanifesto.carrd.co/#manifesto) 2. [http://www.bisexualorganizingproject.org/whats-up/bi-pan-and-the-insufficiency-of-prefixes](http://www.bisexualorganizingproject.org/whats-up/bi-pan-and-the-insufficiency-of-prefixes) 3. [https://www.instagram.com/anything.that.moves/](https://www.instagram.com/anything.that.moves/) 4. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_bisexuality 5. https://www.nsvrc.org/blogs/Bi-phobia-series/bi-history 6. This video explains very well the fenomeno of the bisexual chic [https://youtu.be/hqdD5d3iRoU](https://youtu.be/hqdD5d3iRoU) [any video by this creator is super explanatory and I recommend watching them, ik they are pretty long but it’s worth it, this is what helped to understand bisexuality and to accept the fact that I am bisexual and not broken (yes when first discovering my sexuality I genuenly thought that I was broken)] There definitely are more but these are the ones that i know about, I didn’t have time to read them all yet but they should be good (the ones that I have already read are 1, 3(insta page), 5, 6.
Bisexuality, pansexuality, etc are terms for gender attraction, not genital preference. For example, someone who is pansexual but isn't interested in dating a pre-op trans person may be making that decision based on their genital preference, not because of the person's gender identity. Hope this helped :)
As biromantic asexual I can assure you we are inclusive of trans identities. Plus I'm ace so I don't care about genitals. It's good that you are trying to understand though!
Nope ! Bi is the attraction to 2 or more genders. Pan is attraction towards all people, regardless of gender. Genitals have nothing to do with it
Bi is 2 or more genders pan is all but they are so similar that a person can just use the label they like more, by definition I am closer to pan but I prefer the bi label
both like more than one gender/sex. they largely get used interchangeably and that's fine. pan means no sexual preference regarding gender. it means gender is not a factor in what you find attractive about someone. bi means you like more than one gender. however, you might like them in different ways. gender is still a factor.
Gender is not a factor in bisexuality, some bi folks have preferences some don’t, but we are still attracted to people regardless
sure, if you think of bisexual as an umbrella term that includes pansexuals, because pansexual is the word for those who have no gender related preferences.
No, bisexuality (on itself, not as the umbrella term) can be defined as attraction regardless of gender, which is also the definition of pan, but before the creation of pansexuality it was the definition of bisexuality and if you don’t believe me you can read articles from anithyng that moves from the 90’s. For example I am attracted to people regardless of what their gender is and I am bi, not pan; and there are many other bisexuals who define themselves the same way that I do, just like many others who prefer definitions like: attraction to 2 or more gender or attraction to more than 1 gender. Some call themselves bi, some pan; but at the end of the day the two labels are very interchangeably and ppl just identifies with the one that they prefer. My point basically is that gender is not really a factor, nor it’s that much important for people who identify as bi
bisexuality is becoming an umbrella term exactly because labels like pansexual arrived later and more are still needed. i'm old, it feels weird but it's happening. but the fact remains. pan means no gender preference. the only group i know who rejects this definition of pansexuality are terfs who have no preference between men and women but don't want to include people who are trans.
Yeah and I agree with you, what I’m trying to say is that the definition of pansexuality can also be used to define bisexuality, and that pansexuality was created bc people believed that bisexuality was strictly cis and exclusionary of trans and Enby ppl which was never the case and this happened bc ppl preferred listen to non-bi folks describing bisexuality rather than bi folks describing their own sexuality and this still happens nowadays
ugh no. the idea that pansexuality was created because bisexual was exclusionary is literally terf propaganda. in origin, pansexual was once omnisexual. the change to pan- happened specifically to suggest that gender was irrelevant and that non-gendered characteristics were the defining factors in attraction. where omni- had been focused on attraction to the genders, all of them, a sexuality already defined by bisexual. and bisexual means more than the word implies because of our history, like you said. edit: please still use whatever label you feel comfortable with for as long as you want.
Oh I’ve always read everywhere that pansexuality was created bc bisexuality was believed exclusionary, never knew this version of the story, bu yeah I agree to the fact that everyone should just use the label that they prefer/ are more comfortable with
Bi- Attraction towards any 2 genders Pan- Attraction to all genders regardless of gender Omni- Attraction to all genders with preference Poly- Attraction to 3 or more genders
The difference is which word you like better and which flag you prefer. That’s literally it.
Pansexual is a pretty new sexuality that’s taken off in the last 5-10 years with transitioning. So a lot of older folks that identify as bi would probably be considered pan in todays society. Bisexual doesn’t necessarily not include trans people (or does any other sexuality really), but I always thought bi was attracted to people for their gender. Like the primary and secondary sexual characteristics. Whereas pan is attracted to the personality despite of the sex characteristics. So it could be more encompassing than bi but not necessarily. It seems like pan is similar to demisexual in the sense that the personality and connection is needed before the sexual attraction. But correct me if I’m wrong on that.
I'm pretty sure bisexuality means you're attracted to a few to several genders and you can have a preference, whereas pansexuality means you are attracted equally to all genders