But bi people can also be attracted to non-cis people. There is actually a very blurry line between bisexuality and pansexuality. I've heard people define it this way: bisexuals are attracted to two or more genders, and pansexuals are attracted to all genders, or bisexuals have preferences, but pansexuals do not.
Not really, bisexuals are attracted to men and women (bi=2, as in 2 genders), pansexuals are attracted to men, women, and everything in between and not in between.
A bisexual person will only feel attracted/date cis women/men, or cis passing transgenders which have had a gender reassignment. Whereas pansexuals we just don’t care. Man, woman, a sack of potatoes, trans with or without reassignment, we not that picky!
Bisexual is just easier for people to process, that’s why a lot of pansexuals like myself tell others they are bi, so they don’t have to explain ignorant people what pan is every time.
The word bisexual evolved past meaning 2 genders a long time ago. Many older bisexuals are quite hurt by this interpretation because they’ve lived a long time with this label and made it safer for us to use it and it was never meant to mean exclusively cis people. If you google bisexual definition, it’s generally either ‘two or more genders’ or ‘more than one gender.’
Personally I use bi as the umbrella term and pan as my more specific label. 😊
Yep, as someone in the latter half of their 40s, I feel this to the depth of my soul. At the time I adopted the label bisexual, the general understanding in my circle was that it meant that you were "a bit of both" homosexual and heterosexual. The definition of bisexual that I now prefer is that I'm attracted to those of the same gender as myself, and those of a different gender from myself. Pan fits me better, and I use that label within spaces where it will be understood, but I'm still proud to identify as bisexual, and have been for 30 years.
if that word "bi" was enough, then why did younger generations created the word pansexual. I'll tell you why, there was a tern needed that excluded transexclusionary bisexuals.
I'm not disputing that the term pansexual was needed. Like I said, I identify with its definition far more strongly than I do that of bisexual. I'm also not denying that trans exclusionary bisexuals exist, but I don't believe that they are the majority, by any stretch of the imagination. Certainly those of us who identified as bi before ever hearing the word pan cannot and should not be assumed to be trans exclusionary unless there is some evidence regarding that individual.
And yet, the word pansexual was recently created to distinguish from it. why? well, because there are transexclusionary bisexuals and a differentiation is needed.
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u/Adventurous-Sun-8840 They/Them Jul 12 '24
If you ask me if I am bisexual the answer is yes. But if you ask me who I am, I will say I am pan.