Since celebrities like Miley Cyrus and Bella Thorne announced that they are pansexual, this sexual orientation has gained popularity. However, the concept of pansexuality remains poorly understood and is often confused with bisexuality, misperceived, or maligned or portrayed in a negative light. If you want to really know and understand what is pansexualitycontinue reading this Psychology-Online article.
Meaning of pansexuality
First of all, what does the concept pansexuality mean and what is the origin of the term? The pansexuality It emerged in the early 90s and the word derives from the Greek prefix “pan,” which means “everything.” It is a sexual orientation, framed within plurisexual orientations (with attraction to more than one sex/gender), which reflects those individuals who feel sexually, emotionally and spiritually capable of feeling attracted to anyone regardless of gender or sex.
People who identify as pansexual may experience attraction not only to cis women and men, but also to trans, intersex, or transgender people. In this way, pansexuality should be understood as a non-binary sexual orientation, since it recognizes the attraction to individuals who are outside the gender binary.
Does pansexuality exist?
Pansexuality represents a gray area that is not well understood in our culture, since it depends on opposite binomials (man-woman, hetero-homo) in the creation of meanings. For this reason, many people who identify as pansexual choose other identifying labels that are more widely known to society (such as gay, lesbian or bi). to avoid having to explain pansexuality in social situations. For this reason, some people believe that pansexuality does not exist.
Some people, after hearing the meaning of pansexuality, come to the conclusion that, in reality, this orientation does not exist because they believe that, deep down, for practical purposes, it is the same as bisexuality. However, as we explain in more detail in the next section, bisexuality and pansexuality are not the same. It also happens that sexual identities that deviate from the binary are often represented in literature or in the media as “confused”, as a transitional state between heterosexuality and homosexuality, or as the denial of the “true” sexual orientation. of one, contributing to the idea that in reality this type of orientation does not exist.
Other scholars argue that the term “pansexuality” is so broad that it defeats the purpose of a label. A very common mistake is to think that when someone is not heterosexual, he automatically feels attracted to all the subjects that are the object of her orientation. That is, thinking that all gays are attracted to all men, all lesbians are attracted to all women, or all bisexuals are attracted to everyone. With pansexuality it is no less, but Being pansexual does not mean that you have to like every human being. on Earth, and this does not invalidate the label.
And the last reflection: Denying pansexuality is denying, discriminating or undervaluing the entire spectrum of non-binary gender possibilities, queer people, trans people, and, of course, all those people who decide to identify as pansexual. Gender is a social construction and pansexuality is one more, equally valid for anyone who wants to accept it as a label for their orientation.
Difference between pansexuality and bisexuality
As already mentioned in the previous section, pansexuality and bisexuality have different meanings. Although both concepts are about plurisexual orientations, bisexuality and pansexuality are not the same. The bisexuality It is commonly defined as attraction to two genders/sexes, where gender/sex is conceptualized as binary. The pansexuality, in contrast, refers to attraction toward people regardless of their assigned sex, or gender expression. The term “pansexuality” implies a active rejection of the conception of gender or sex as binary.
Characteristics of pansexuality
Recent studies have found some common characteristics that pansexual people share, as opposed to bisexual people:
- They tend to be younger peoplepossibly because pansexuality continues to be an emerging concept that is gaining acceptance among millennials and Generation Z thanks to its broad and flexible definition that allows more freedom of choice and self-identification.
- They are more likely to be people of dissident genders: transgender, non-binary…
- They are more likely to experience higher levels of psychological stress than homosexual or bisexual people, since they are a minority, with a lower level of public visibility and access to resources, in addition to having to face a higher level of skepticism.
- They are persons more liberal and politically progressive. This is because pansexuality has a political component that rejects traditional notions of gender, so they would support less traditional parties.
Despite these characteristics, a single study cannot hope to fully define pansexuality, just as no definition can fully encompass each person’s unique idea of what pansexuality means to them, or the place it occupies in their life.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Belous, C.K. & Bauman, M.L. (2017). What’s in a Name? Exploring Pansexuality Online. Journal of Bisexuality, 17:1, 58-72, DOI: 10.1080/15299716.2016.1224212
- Greaves, L.M., Sibley, C.G., Fraser, G. & Barlow, F.K. (2019). Comparing Pansexual- and Bisexual-Identified Participants on Demographics, Psychological Wellbeing, and Political Ideology in a New Zealand National Sample. The Journal of Sex Research, 56:9, 1083-1090, DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2019.1568376
- Sprott, R.A. & Hadcock B.B. (2018). Bisexuality, pansexuality, queer identity, and kink identity. Sexual and relationship therapy, 33, 214-232.