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Pansexual vs bisexual
Can someone explain to me the difference between "pansexual" and "bisexual"? I understand that pansexual is supposed to be like, it's about the mind and not the body, but it also means you're attracted to both sexes... which is bisexuality... I don't know, I'm just a little confused. Thanks! :)
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This is rather a short answer but it is the best answer I have for your question.
The best definition for "Pansexual"I found is: "loving a person for WHO they are and not what they are."
bisexuality means you participate in sex with both male and female partners and does not mean you are gay or lesbian.
Personally I don't like labels. I believe the world would be a better place if we didn't stick labels on everything. If we could learn to love and like everyone for just who they are we could finally have peace in the world.
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Not quite.
Pansexual generally means that sex or gender doesn’t limit your attraction, and that you experience sexual attraction to people across the gender spectrum. It's a more inclusive term than bisexuality because it includes people who don't fall into the male or female categories, but who understand their own identity as falling into the gray areas like transsexuals, transgendered and intersex. Often, pansexualism is combined with idea of gender-blindness, which is the claim that gender is irrelevant to a person’s sexual attraction.
Bisexuality means you are attracted to ‘both’ sexes or genders (The 'Bi' meaning Two.) Which makes it binary - an assumption that there are only two, distinct genders or sexes to be attracted too.
Frankly, I dislike both labels.
Bisexuality defines gender as either male or female, and cuts out all the middle ground. Pansexuality - although this is not technically what it means - has a bad of habit of trying to pretend gender is completely irreverent, which is no respectful of everyone for whom gender is an intrinsic part of who they are, especially those who have struggled to discover and express their gender identity.
Really, I think when ‘spirit’ and ‘soul’ come into it, it gets a bit silly. No one falls in love with someone, or likes someone JUST because of their gender! Who they are is ALWAYS the biggest factor: their personality and character and values. When we are talking about sexuality we are not just taking about some specific, actual person’s character or personality who you might fall in love with or want a relationship with – we’re talking about who falls into the group of people you might potentially be attracted too. If you find yourself interested in men and woman (however you choose to define that binary and NOT people who fall outside of those two categories) than bisexual is a good label. If you are attracted to men, woman and others who fall outside those two categories, than pansexual is more accurate. If you are having trouble figuring this out, ask yourself what you think about when you masturbate. That’s generally a good clue.
Also, you don't have to figure it out. Anything you do figure out, is likely to change over the course of your life anyways.
What it comes down to is this:
Labels suck.
They are necessary to a degree to help us understand each other, but you also need to able to throw them out the window and simply accept who you are and what you feel, and the honest truths others tell you about what they feel and experience.
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