bi vs pan

Oh No this is a can of worms .
i'm still trying to understand it myself but I think bi for some people is like liking only male and female
pansexual likes male , female , transgender for example crossdressers drag ,queens and transsexuals
but I have met some bi people that like transsexuals so I don't know anymore .

 

I think there aren't any differences between bi and pan.

 

My understanding of Bi and Pan is this:
Bi - means two, referring to the two main binary genders being Male and Female
Pan - means all, referring to all people, orientation or gender

So Bisexuals would only date people who are Male or Female, and probably transgender people as well, although this does not have to be included under the definition of Bisexual

And then Pansexuals would date everybody, whether they be straight, homosexual, binary, non binary, transsexual or not.

Again, just my understanding, don't mean to offend anyone as well XD
(C'mon there has to be a Pansexual on the site that can answer this for us...)

 

In my view they are interchangable. People tend to use the one that feels right for them.
Like how I use queer or pan! ^-^
Note: I tend to think queer is in the same category as bi or pan.

 

there is only a political difference between the two, not a biological one

 

there are some bisexual date straight people too remember some bisexual women date straight men and some bisexual women date lesbian women . same for bisexual men dating straight women and gay men .
There are some people that use pans because let's face it there are a lot of negative stereotypes concerning bisexuals

 

Just to chime in, a lot of bisexuals define their orientation as attraction to the same gender and other genders, not necessarily "men and women".

Also, you're right, transmen are men and transwomen are women - not a whole other gender. There are a lot of non-binary identities, though, like genderqueer, bigender, agender, etc. People who are pansexual sometimes say they are attracted to people regardless of their gender - or lack thereof.

The thing about identities is that people define them for themselves, as opposed to the other way around. Some people use the terms interchangeable, others don't. So, if you meet someone and they identify as pan- or bisexual, don't worry so much about the difference between the two. Just ask the person what that identity means to them.

 

I think this is a good point .

 

I think that pansexual is simply more inclusive of non-binary gender identities, whereas bisexual isn't necessarily EXCLUDING those non-binary gender identities, but rather fails to take them into account altogether, as it is defining itself off of the binary gender model.

 

I do not see a distinction and wish people would stop calling transgender a seperate gender.

 

This ^^^ Absolutely this. And also just to clarify, I am a pansexual person that doesn't think transgender is a different gender. Transmen are men and transwomen are women.

 

I agree that it is a bit disgusting when people use pansexuality to refer to attraction to specifically binary identified transgender people, but I do think that pansexuality is useful for describing attraction to non-binary gender identities.

 

I am not bisexual, I will never be bisexual. I tried to identify as bisexual, how wrong it felt made me try to kill myself on 4 different occasions, I still have scars on my wrist from those days. I know I am pansexual the same way a transgender person knows they are trans, It's like telling a transman why doesn't he stay a lesbian, I mean you can date the same people right? Don't tell me its a political decision.

Bisexuality (and this is coming from the knowledge I have of my 25 different bisexual friends) Dating males, females and anything in between.

Pansexuality ( this is coming from myself and comparing it to my other pan friends) dating someone in the absence of gender, this can be also referred to as gender blind.

I am seriously getting sick of hearing this, I mean how long does it take you to look at an old thread or to look on wikipedia.

sorry if I offend anyone just some of the other responses offended me

 

I don't use the term pansexual out in the real world. I identify as bisexual. I use it here as a short-hand method to get the point across: I'm capable of being sexually and emotionally attracted to a person regardless of [x]. It doesn't matter to me if the person is a woman who identifies as male or a man who is a post-op transsexual. Emotionally, the only factors I take into account are a person's personality. Physically, I find just about anyone is appealing if they're my type.

I've researched the term. It seems to fit my sexuality, so I use it.

 

I've posted about this topic before, but I feel like giving my two cents.

As a bisexual, I've always distinguished the two with a need for a gender. Basically, pansexuality is a "No gender? No problem!" kind of deal. Bisexuals, on the other hand, need to be able to distinguish between "he" or "she" (at least, I do, maybe not all bisexuals need this). So dating someone who identifies as having no gender might be a problem and cause some confusion. Not like there's anything wrong with not having a gender; I say if you don't have a gender, more power to you.

I know a lot of people think bisexuality means an attraction to only men and women, and no one else in the middle of the gender binary. This might be true for some, but not all. Personally, I know most of my bisexual friends like girly girls and manly guys. I prefer kinda masculine girls who can be fancy when they want, and don't really like manly men (facial hair is a big no no for me, and huge muscles don't sell me either). It all just depends on the person. But when it comes to being bi or pan though, I think it's just having to know the gender that separates the two.

 

Hope what I said in this thread did not offend. :icon_sad:

 

And I as a pansexual say that this is probably the single best definition I have ever heard. This is pretty much exactly how I see it. Well done! :eusa_clap

 

Bisexuality is defined at the attraction to people who are the same gender as you and different gender(s) than you, while pansexuality is defined as the attraction to people of any gender. So they could be the same thing, but it varies from person to person.
I think maybe some bisexual people and some pansexual people experience attraction in a different way? Like, they're still attracted to someone, but I guess it feels different.

I could easily be attracted to someone of any gender identity (or even someone who identifies as genderless), but I personally feel most comfortable labelling myself as bisexual, and labelling myself as pansexual just doesn't feel "right", I guess?
And for some people it's the opposite.
So best to just call people the word they use for themselves.

If any of that made sense--I'm not great at words.

And not all trans* people identify as male or female, so there are more than those two genders.

 

I certainly understand your concerns, and I can understand how what Spatula said triggered you. Let me now try to defuse this. His remark comes from a place of frustration around our feeling as bisexuals that pansexuals have often tried to position us as transphobic and their own sexualities as inherently more inclusive (which is to say, we are exclusive). So we're hurt by that, and that's what motivates comments like that.

I'm sorry that you felt erased, or if you didn't feel erased, I'm sorry that you felt attacked preemptively.

I would just like to wade into this conversation with the view that I think we should just let everyone define their identities. That's all that needs to happen. Bisexuals and pansexuals could end the "bi-pan wars" easily if they stopped slinging mud at each other over transphobia and erasure.

For my part, I identify as bisexual for a linguistic reason. Although I am attracted to nonbinary people, and my sexuality could thereby be described as pansexuality, I choose not to identify that way because it's basically a recently coined word and not in the general usage. People don't really know what pansexuality means, so most of the time, if I'm using the word, I'm not really communicating and getting my point across. But if I say I'm bisexual, people know what I'm talking about. And that's important to me. While I love to be a pioneer in a few things, steering the boat on the English language is not one of them.