Pansexual Awareness: Newsletter August 2019

Last year, “pansexual” briefly became the online dictionary Merriam-Webster’s most searched word of the day after the singer Janelle Monáe defined herself as pansexual.  Pansexuality as a concept goes back to the time of Dr. Sigmund Freud, but has achieved new currency with celebrities like Monáe. At Stonewall Japan, we continue with our commitment to bring awareness to and foster understanding and respect for identities in our LGBTQIA+ community.  And so, for this month we will focus on “Pansexuality.”

Understanding Pansexuality

Pansexuality vs. Bisexuality

• Bisexual means being attracted to the gender the same as your own, and to other genders – it can be attraction to two or more genders. 
• Pansexual, however, means attracted to (or has the ability to be attracted to), people of ALL genders, binary or not, or to be attracted to notwithstanding gender.

So how are they different? Although definitions can overlap, “pansexual” and “bisexual” mean two different things. Bisexuality is defined as the attraction to at least two (sometimes more) genders – not limited to just cis men and women. The prefix “pan” originates from Greek, meaning “all” or “every”. Pansexual people are attracted to people, regardless of their gender, sex or presentation. or example, while a bisexual cis woman may be attracted to cis men and women, a pansexual person could be attracted to cis people, trans people, demigender people, and genderfluid people. SomePansexual individuals can sometimes think that they aret bisexual but through self-exploration they realize that their sexual orientation is broader.

Pansexuality as under the broader Bisexual umbrella: Pansexuality is sometimes thought of as an identity distinct from bisexuality and sometimes as being under a broader bisexual umbrella. From that latter viewpoint, bisexuality contains all people who are attracted to people of more than one gender or to both people of their same gender and different genders. The following image illustrates that viewpoint (source: Shiri Esner, www.bidyke.tumblr.com)

Famous Pansexual Personalities

Recognizing Pansexual Identities – Once and for all

Not recognizing that pansexuality as an orientation makes it harder for people to live their most authentic lives. Pansexuals are more inclined to remain in the dark about their sexuality for fear that their attraction to other people isn’t valid or that they simply won’t be accepted.Which is why we need to understand it well.

• Pansexuals are not just bisexuals going through a phase. Many mistakenly think pansexuality is nothing more than a transitional phase ― or that pansexuals simply don’t know what they want. They assume pansexuals are testing the waters and finding out if they’re actually just gay or straight or bisexual. Some look at the romantic histories of pan-folk and make assumptions. We can be mindful of these mistakes and become better allies.
• Pansexuals can be monogamous too, just like anybody else. Much like bisexuality, it’s a common misconception that pansexual folks are incapable of being faithful or participating in monogamous relationships. That’s totally false. They are just as capable of being monogamous as straight couples, gay couples and queer couples in general.
• Pansexuals identify and respect gender. While pansexuality is attraction to all genders, or attraction regardless of gender, it doesn’t mean that a pansexual person doesn’t care about their partner’s gender. Gender is an important part of people’s lives, whether they’re cisgender or transgender or non-binary or agender. Gender is something to respect and acknowledge, not to ignore and dismiss.