{"id":19195,"date":"2019-08-23T13:02:35","date_gmt":"2019-08-23T20:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/datemixstaging.wpengine.com\/?p=19195"},"modified":"2021-05-31T08:38:39","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T15:38:39","slug":"pansexuality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/dating-advice\/pansexuality\/","title":{"rendered":"Pansexuality: What Is It?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019re dating in the modern era, then you probably want your dates to think you\u2019re woke. And one important way to do that is by showing you\u2019re in the know about the basics of sexual orientation, including pansexuality or \u201cpan\u201d for short.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pansexuality is one of those words where once you hear it, you\u2019ll start to hear it everywhere. And while the basic gist of its definition is straightforward\u2014some form of attraction to all sexes and gender identities\u2014its true meaning varies, depending on whom you ask. And with more and more celebrities coming out as pan\u2014including Miley Cyrus, Janelle Mon\u00e1e, Bella Thorne, and Brendon Urie, just to name a few\u2014even if your dates don\u2019t care, your friends will be impressed when you start dropping knowledge about this seemingly new sexual orientation topping the headlines.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparing Pansexuality to Bisexuality
\n<\/b>One of the easiest ways to understand pansexuality and its many variations is to compare it with its popular sibling, bisexuality.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now you may be thinking, \u201cI know what bisexuality is,\u201d (and maybe you do) but did you know that there are multiple ways to define bisexuality, too? The two most common definitions of being bi are 1) attraction to two genders and 2) attraction to more than one gender.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first definition is the more literal one. The prefix bi- literally means \u201ctwo,\u201d so, logically, it makes sense that some people would define bisexuality as an attraction to two genders\u2014male and female.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For people who follow this literal definition of bisexuality, the term pansexual is distinct because it\u2019s more inclusive. If you believe that bisexual refers to two and only two genders, then you also believe that the term excludes people who are genderqueer or non-binary, whereas pansexual\u2014with the prefix pan- or \u201call\u201d\u2014is decidedly inclusive of all people all along the gender spectrum. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But\u2026 that\u2019s not the whole story. English isn\u2019t always a literal language. And just like the word \u201cflammable\u201d and \u201cinflammable\u201d both mean \u201cthis thing can catch fire,\u201d some people follow that second definition of bisexuality and define it as having an attraction to more than one gender, which may sound an awful lot like pansexuality, which is why these folks tend to define pansexuality a little more narrowly and see it as someone who is, very specifically, attracted to all genders equally. Or, thought of another way, they say that pansexuals are attracted to the person, regardless of gender.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Pansexuals See It
\n<\/b>It\u2019s not just bisexuals who define pansexuality in these two distinct ways. Pansexuals themselves don\u2019t agree on the meaning of being pan and tend to use both definitions freely. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other thing to remember is that sexual orientation is not an either\/or. Many pansexuals identify as both pansexual and bisexual (and sometimes as \u201cqueer,\u201d too), or they\u2019ll pick one to highlight, depending on who they\u2019re talking to. Even if they don\u2019t understand all the nuance of bisexuality, most people are more familiar with the term, so many pansexuals will identify as bi when they don\u2019t feel like turning a dinner party into a gender studies class.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Can\u2019t This All Be More Simple?!?
\n<\/b>Wouldn\u2019t it be nice if everyone could agree on definitions for these terms? Yes, it would. But these words weren\u2019t gifted to us like the ten commandments with definitions written in stone (assuming you even believe that). Instead they\u2019ve evolved over time, and not over that much time, either. The word \u201cbisexual,\u201d in its modern use, has only been around since 1892 and \u201cpansexual\u201d was first used by Freud, albeit with a very different meaning, in 1917. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But instead of getting frustrated at the complexity, why not embrace it? If someone says they\u2019re a Steelers fan, that doesn\u2019t tell you the whole story, either. For example, do they go to games or prefer to watch at a bar with friends? Do they know every player\u2019s stats or just enough to win at trivia night? Sure, you can clarify by saying you\u2019re a casual fan or a die-hard fanatic, but even within those subgroups there\u2019s a lot of variation. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bottom line is if you\u2019re trying to use a single word to describe every nuance of a large group, it\u2019s going to be a futile exercise\u2014always. So if you\u2019re not getting worked up over ambiguity when it comes to sports fandom, then there\u2019s no need to get all hot and bothered about the ambiguity around pansexuality. (Unless, of course, you\u2019re getting hot and bothered in a good way.)<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with that, you\u2019re now a seasoned pro when it comes to understanding pansexuality. At the most basic level, it means a sexual orientation where someone is attracted to people all along the gender spectrum, but a more astute observer such as yourself will know that someone who identifies as pan can mean they\u2019re blind to gender or it can simply mean they\u2019re looking for a term that feels inclusive for all genders. Either way, when they explain their take, you\u2019ll now be ready to add yours.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More and more people are identifying as pansexual. Here’s what it means.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":188,"featured_media":19197,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[884],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dating-advice"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPansexuality: What Is It?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Understanding pansexuality ("pan" for short) is one way to show your date you're in the know about the basics of sexual orientation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/dating-advice\/pansexuality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" 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