What’s the difference between bisexuality and pansexuality?

  • Identifying as pansexual means you form an attraction to people regardless of their gender.
  • Bisexual is a form of sexual attraction that attracts people from more than one gender.
  • It is up to the individual to decide if they are pansexual, bisexual, gay, or both.
  • Insider’s Health Reference library has more information.

From 2017 to 2020, the percentage of US adults that identified as LGBTQ increased from 4.5% to 5.6%.

LGBTQ is becoming more common as people are more open to exploring their sexuality and gender.

As the conversation expands, terminology like “pansexual” has popped up in recent years, leaving people wondering: “What exactly is the difference between bisexuality and pansexuality?”

Generally, pansexuality refers to forming sexual or romantic attractions regardless of gender whereas bisexuality refers to forming sexual and romantic attractions to more than one gender.

What is pansexual?

The definition of pansexuality, often shortened to “pan,” can be understood as an attraction to all genders across the gender spectrum. Pansexuals can still be attracted to one gender more often than the other, but they don’t limit their attraction based upon gender.

Put another way: “The pan in pansexual means ‘all.’ Your attraction and connection is not limited to or being defined by gender itself. Instead, you’re attracted to all genders, all individuals,” says Nick Alder, PhD, a non-binary psychologist who specializes in queer issues.

Not everyone who is pansexual describes their sexuality in the exact same way. In fact, a small 2018 study of people who identify as bisexual, pansexual, and queer found people who identified as pan explained their sexuality in different ways:

  • “​​I just like people. I’m more attracted to personalities rather than genders, but I’m still not 100% sure about labeling myself.”
  • “I like guys and dudes and androgynous people.”
  • “Interested in people over people’s bits. Gender is amongst the many variables that literally do not enter the equation of ‘to date or not to date.'”
  • “I’m mostly attracted to females or feminine/androgynous people.”

Additionally, since pansexuality does not take gender into account when considering attraction, trans, gender fluid, and nonbinary people may prefer to identify as pansexual to opt-out of gender-oriented conversations.

If a nonbinary person feels attracted to someone, they might consider themselves pansexual in order to affirm their gender identity. This does not mean that someone transgender or nonbinary cannot identify themselves as bisexual.

What does bisexual mean?

Bisexuality is a broad and inclusive term that describes physical attraction, romantic attraction, or sexual behavior that is not limited to one sex.

Bisexuality is often misunderstood to mean that you are attracted only to male- or female-bodied people. However, that’s not always the case.

“In the past, it was commonly defined as sexual attraction to both men and women; however, as people’s conceptualization of gender has broadened, many now define bisexuality in ways that aren’t rooted in a gender binary,” says Justin Lehmiller, a Kinsey Institute research fellow and host of the Sex and Psychology Podcast.

Lehmiller states that bisexuals may be attracted to transgender, nonbinary or other people beyond the cisgender spectrum.

“Gender is an internal sense of who you are and who you are as a person. Sexuality as an extension of gender could be related to who we are attracted to based on the sex we are assigned at birth or be related to gender expression,.” Alder says. For example, “someone who is nonbinary can also identify as bisexual because those are two different identities.”

What is the difference between pansexual and bisexual?

Alder states that there is no obvious difference between bisexuality or pansexuality. This all depends on individual preference and what you are most comfortable with labeling.

Alder says that ultimately, it is about understanding your identity and deciding what definition best describes you. Nothing is set in stone, but if you find yourself agreeing with phrases such as “I am attracted to a person not a gender” you could consider yourself pan. On the other hand, if you feel “I can be attracted to people of any gender” suits you, you could consider yourself bisexual.

It is also possible to identify as both. For example, a participant from the same 2018 study mentioned earlier described their sexuality as, “I am bi and queer and pansexual and fluid, all the time, all at once. For the sake of brevity, I usually say either bi or queer.”

Misconceptions about pansexuality and bisexuality

Despite aligning on many of the same issues, some people consider bisexuality to be transphobic due to the misunderstanding that bisexuality means being solely attracted to cisgender individuals.

“I’ve heard some pansexual people accuse bisexual persons of being transphobic because they view bisexuality as rooted in a gender binary,” says Lehmiller. “However, not everyone sees bisexuality this way. I think tensions tend to arise when people make assumptions about other people based on their sexual identity label without understanding what that label means to the individual.”

Attraction to all genders does not mean that every person is attracted to it, which is furthered by heterosexuals who assume queer people are attracted regardless of their sexual orientation.

Pansexuality doesn’t necessarily mean that you are attracted to all genders equally. The assumption both bisexuality and pansexuality may be attracted to anyone at all times is a misconception rooted in biphobia and homophobia.

Insider’s takeaway

Ultimately, labels are up to individual preferences. The LGBTQ+ community is there to support you in your journey, regardless of your preferences.

If you or someone you love is questioning their sexuality, and looking for someone to talk to, you can call the LGBT National Hotline at 1-888-843-4564 or find additional sources here.

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