Not to be confused with getlaidmites and getlaidtights. :)
Basic answer: Bi likes two and maybe more, where Pan explicitly likes any, which you use just show’s your starting point.
Real answer: Those who resonate with using Bi as a label likely started or wants to start on a common level of understanding of LGBT, whereas people who resonate with Pan start deep into LGBT discourse.
True answer: It’s which flag you like better.
I spent a while trying to find a simple answer to this. I think it’s most easily interpreted as:
Bi: Implies you like both of the genders. No real preference.
Pan: implies you recognize there is a range of masculinity and femininity, and of course cis and trans, and thus you are attracted to a range of genders. Not explicitly feminine or masculine, but likes anyone on the spectrum of genders.
bisexuality isn’t inherently transphobic!
not saying you’re necessarily implying that, but it’s a general stereotype which, while it can be true on an individual level, certainly isn’t when taken as a whole
here’s the bisexual manifesto, also, since it goes hard: https://bitheway.carrd.co/#manifesto
Oooh I had not seen that. With this in mind, I have to just assume that pan came about not knowing that bi had already by definition not limited to the two typical genders.
I had not thought bi to be transphobic, nor that bisexuals actually fit into interest in just two separate genders. I just thought it was perhaps an outdated term that sounds that way. Thank you for the clarification!
There really needs to be more discussion on this stuff. I only recently discovered the terms gynosexual and androsexual. Those could have been super useful when I was younger.
One is sexually attracted to bicycles and the other one is in to cookware. I can’t remember which is which.
Bisexuals are attracted to cookware (think “biscuits”), and pansexuals are attracted to bicycles (think “panniers”).
Is that why the gay girl in my circle of friends keeps announcing that she got a new toaster oven?
No, she’s just trying to flirt with one of you.
Pansexual is explicitly inclusive of gender having more than two options. A bisexual person might be attracted to both men and women but may not be interested in genderqueer, third gender, intersex, or other “other” category people.
bisexuality isn’t inherently transphobic!
it’s a general stereotype which, while it can be true on an individual level, certainly isn’t when taken as a whole
here’s the bisexual manifesto, also, since it goes hard: https://bitheway.carrd.co/#manifesto
Bi means someone finds male and female genders attractive (masculine or feminine). They probably aren’t attracted to androgyny or less “traditional” genders.
Pan means gender doesn’t matter. Enbies, trans people, and anyone else could be attractive.
In other words, Pan is Bi++
If we aren’t splitting hairs, they are mostly synonymous, but “pan” is more precise for folks that open to partners regardless of their gender.
Idk but I feel like a lot of the distinction is really trans-exclusionary. I so frequently see it defined as bisexuals date “biological men and women”, whatever that means, whereas pansexuals also date trans men and women. My issue is that I just see trans men as men and trans women as women, so why should I need an extra descriptor for my love. It feels like it’s othering them, as though bisexuals shouldn’t love trans folk by default, and that feels like total bullshit to me.
sobbing by how common this take is
bisexuality isn’t inherently transphobic!
it’s a general stereotype which, while it can be true on an individual level, certainly isn’t when taken as a whole
here’s the bisexual manifesto, also, since it goes hard: https://bitheway.carrd.co/#manifesto
regardless of where we fall in the bi vs pan argument, i think it’s really important we don’t let reactionaries define bisexuality for us!
David: “I do drink red wine, but I also drink white wine and I’ve been known to sample the occasional rose and a couple summers back I tried a merlot that used to be a chardonnay which got a bit complicated.”
It’s easy, bi means two and pan means all.
Yeah, but I’ve also never met. Bisexual person who had an issue with dating more than two genders, save for a few people who just have issues with nonbinary people. And I don’t think being a bigot is its own sexuality.
And rail means rail
I suspect in the long ago, there may have been some drama about bi implying only two, and people taking exception to that but we have since moved on after realizing it was a stupid argument. There were far more important things to argue about, like kink at pride.
Yeah, I’m bisexual because I need either a penis or a vagina for sex. I’ve run into others saying that this makes me transphobic, but as an AFAB agender person, I find it deeply disturbing that there’s “progressives” out there who’ll admit they can’t respect me as a person if they don’t want to fuck me.
Yeah you’d think the community would be a little more accepting of people who don’t fit a strict definition, or don’t present a certain way.
But it’s just as judgemental and gatekeepy as every other community. You have to present a certain way or say you’re a certain thing to fit in. It’s very depressing and has made me even more cynical.
Honestly, I find most of the judgemental and gatekeepy tends to come from a handful of people who never grew up. Trauma tends to create a sort of arrested development, and people can mentally get ‘stuck’ at the maturity they were when it happened. Gatekeeping is a form of cope, where they function under the belief that if their criteria is narrow enough, they’ll be safe.
It’s the idea that if you can make a group where everybody is exactly like you, you’ll all get along. It’s flawed logic, because there are always parts of you that you don’t like, and it’s even more aggravating when you see your flaws in others, but it makes sense to me.
Easy: bisexual people are REALLY into cycling and pansexual people can’t contain their lust for Andean flute music.
From my experience this is honestly as good as any other definition in this thread.
lmao I was asking myself this but just hesitated to look it up
In my opinion they mean the same thing. I identify as bi because I like the flag more.
Same. Also, “bi” is only two letters and I’m lazy.
Debating identity definitions 😞
Accepting that identities are fluid definitions we made up 😎
Removed by mod
Correct! “Whatever floats your boat as long as it’s consensual, just be safe and have fun” should be the only thing we need.
Agreed.
But humans are humans, and a big part of our wiring is forming tribes and excluding people from those tribes. Thus the exponential proliferation of classifications.
I’m pan, and I think of it like this:
Pan means you’re attracted to people regardless of their gender. Bi means you’re attracted to more than one gender.
No hate though, if anyone else defines them differently. That’s just how I see it.
bisexual.py:def is_sexually_attracted_to(self, other): return other.gender in self.preferred_genderpansexual.py:def is_sexually_attracted_to(self, other): # TODO: factors based on other traits TBI return TrueClose enough?
Accurate.
I think of it like this: bi is attraction to masc men and fem women.
Pan is attraction to all configurations of gender, genitals, and presentation.
That definition of bisexuality would exclude 100% of the bisexual people I know, including myself. I don’t think it’s grounded in any sort of reality for bisexual people.
Nah, people like twinks and femboys also more likely to call themselves bi.
yeah, this is how i’ve always seen it
Yea, pan here, too. That’s how I always understood it. Gets a bit more nuanced though, when you include omnisexuality.
Omnisexuality??? Ok, I accept that as Gen X I’m old. I grew up stating I was Bi because that’s the term we had at the time. Now I still say Bi, but clarify “or really Pan as the kids call it nowadays because I believe all the toys in toy box are fun to play with and I value the person (and personality) over plumbing”. Now what is Omni?
Omni people don’t like mixing Greek and Latin.
Or they really hate flutes
Generally, it’s described as:
Bi: attraction to more than one gender
Pan: attraction regardless of gender
Omni: attraction to all gendersThe difference between pan and omni is small and they’re often used synonymously. Most people I know, that fall into this category, identify as either bi or pan. Omni is exceedingly rare but it’s also not that new. I remember it already being an established thing when I first read about it almost a decade ago.
Edit: formatting
That seems to be making a distinction just to make a distinction. Pan and omni mean the same thing: all. It just sounds like someone wanted to feel more special than the people calling themselves pan so created a new word that means the exact same thing.
If you’re attracted to someone regardless of gender then you’re attracted to all genders. Attraction doesn’t mean you always like them, it means you have a lustful desire to them. Both pan and poly can feel that for anyone, but neither feels it for everyone obviously. Unless I’m getting something wrong here, they’re the same thing with the meaning you gave and the words even mean the same thing.
So what would be attraction to a specific band of aesthetic characteristics independent of sex or gender be?
Depends on the band. There are words for only attracted to fem guys and women, or masc women and men, but i forget them. Im sure someones made a word for other bands too
Androsexuality and gynosexuality. Honestly I would like those even if I wasn’t bi, much clearer than heterosexual/homosexual. Also they work better with nonbinary people
I cannot answer you that but there are certainly labels that describe specific cases of that.
I never thought of that because I never tried to define it. I’m just happy you found something that makes you happy.
How about pansexuals who just say bisexual because there is better chance that people will actually know what you’re talking about
(Just in casual conversation with strangers, obviously.)
I think at this point I’ve seen far more people who identify as pansexual than bisexual.
I honestly think this is the most common scenario. Both people who self-describe as bi and pan will have varying preferences, and I think it’s typically more about audience and communication than any universally definable difference.
This is similar to how a binary bi or pan person who tends to date people of the same sex or gender might self-describe as gay; they’re not creating a binding contract when they do so, rather they’re providing an easily-digestible description of their sexual or romantic character to others.
Hi, that’s me.
Although even “pansexual” is a shortcut. I think my actual sexuality needs hyperbolic geometry to explain.
Ah, a Lobachevskysexual.
literally me
yes
