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What is the difference between pansexual and bisexual?

50 Answers
Last Updated: 06/19/2022 at 3:25pm
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Top Rated Answers
BriDreaming
May 23rd, 2016 5:55pm
It depends on personal definition. My definition of the two might be different than someone else's, and both of ours different than a third person's and so on. The general difference is that pansexual is a subtype of bisexuality. Some people use the terms interchangeably. Generally, bisexual is defined as being attracted to both men and women, but they can also be attracted to nonbinary/genderfluid/agender people, where as pan is attraction to all genders.
Anonymous
July 4th, 2017 9:36pm
Pansexual is liking all genders and falling for people based on personality while bisexual means liking boys and girls.
SympatheticPrune2001
December 1st, 2018 4:46am
Bisexuality is the attraction to two genders, mostly, although some people who are attracted to more than two genders identify as bisexual. For example, a bisexual person may be attracted to males and females but not to nonbinary people, or they may be attracted to males and bigender people, but not to other nonbinary people or females. Pansexuality is the attraction to people regardless of gender. A pansexual person may be gender-blind, or they may recognise gender, but be attracted to all of them (as I am). Some people who would be defined as pansexual May identify as bisexual instead. So a pansexual person will be attracted to males, females, and nonbinary people. I’ll just throw polysexuality in here. Polysexuality is the attraction to more than two genders, but not all. Some people who would technically be defined as polysexual identify as bisexual instead. For example, a polysexual person may be attracted to males, females and pangender people, but not to other nonbinary people. Hope this helped!
Jacobbjackson
May 29th, 2018 5:41pm
Yes, bi sexual is where you like both genders (male and female) while pan sexual you like all genders (gender fluid, transgender, male, female, etc;) Since I am pansexual and most of my friends don’t get what it is I say that it is basically where you don’t care what’s under ones clothes.
NinaBee
June 14th, 2022 4:39am
This is a really good question! There's a huge overlap, but the nuance is in the name. Pan means "all". Bi means "two". Therefore, pansexual means attraction to any and all genders, and if I understand correctly, gender/sex plays no role in the attraction. Bisexual means attraction to two or more genders, and I believe gender/sex does play a role in attraction. Honestly though, you can go with any label and be just as valid, and even change back and forth until you settle with something you like! This is just an overview, so feel free to do more research as needed, and keep asking questions!
PhilosophicalFangirl0328
August 11th, 2020 10:15pm
Pansexual means someone is romantically and/or sexually attracted to all genders, and in some cases that can even mean a romantic and/or sexual attraction without attribution to gender. Bisexual means a romantic and/or sexual attraction to two or more genders, though the term is most often seen applied to an attraction of two genders. Though both terms can have similar meanings, the distinction between them can mean the difference to whomever is using the term. I've found it's best to research many examples of personal accounts of both pansexual and bisexual people who have their own definition of the term to better understand the nuances of their distinction.
Anonymous
September 21st, 2020 9:07am
Bisexual is an sexual orientation when an individual is attracted towards both the sex. A person is said to be Bisexual if she/he is attracted to both men and women. Bisexuals' are sexually attracted not exclusively to people of one particular gender; attracted to both men and women. Whereas Pansexual is an sexual orientation when an individual is attracted towards any gender, whether gay's, transsexuals' , bisexuals etc . A person is said to be pansexual when she/he is attracted towards anyone irrespective to gender or sexual orientation . Pansexuals' aren't limited in sexual choice with regard to biological sex, gender, or gender identity.
Anonymous
June 19th, 2022 3:25pm
I know from experience that being pan and bi may seem similar, but are 2 different things. Being bisexual means that you like girls and guys, no one with any other pronouns. It is mainly she/her and he/him pronouns. You may fall outside of these boundaries, though. Being pansexual means that you like anyone, no matter what pronouns.This means they could have anything from the following: -She/her or she/they -He/him or he/they -Xe/xem -They/them -Asexual or have no pronouns The troubling part of finding out if you are bi or pan is knowing who you feel attracted to. Mainly, you find this after figuring out that you are into someone. Best of luck to you!
UnderstandingMadi98
October 27th, 2020 9:16pm
These two terms can be confusing to understand as they are closely related. An individual who identifies as bisexual is interested in more than one gender but isn't limited to just male and female. An individual who is pansexual is similar to bisexual in the sense they are interested to all gender and gender identities. The main difference is whether the individual is open to all or a more than one gender. Another example to help define the difference could be using colors. An individual may only like a certain set of or most of the colors (bisexual), whereas another individual may like all the colors (pansexual).
Anonymous
May 8th, 2018 1:08am
Pansexual is when you are attracted to anyone, as long as you find them attractive, of course. They could be straight, bisexual, trans, non-binary, etc. Bisexual is when you are attracted to both males and females.
recoveringlistener
February 13th, 2018 4:11pm
Great question, it can be hard to understand all the terminology. Bisexual is a sexual attraction to two genders (usually used when referring to men and women). Pansexual is a sexual attraction to all genders (men, women, and all genders outside the binary or in between etc). If you want to get really specific, you can be biromantic or panromantic which is the same except romantic attraction instead of sexual.
madisontalks
February 13th, 2018 4:42am
Often, pansexual people reject the gender binary and are open to dating all genders. Bisexual people, while not limited, tend to identify more with gender as a limited two party system.
Anonymous
August 7th, 2017 2:29am
Bisexual, by definition, is the attraction towards two specified genders. A lot of people also use bisexual to define being attracted to two or more specific genders, though it's meaning is really two genders ("bi" means two). Usually, these two genders are male and female. Pansexual is the attraction to all genders. Generally, this means that somebody who is pansexual can be attracted to anybody despite their gender. As in there is no specific gender or genders that they are attracted to.
joyfulbeauty77
July 11th, 2017 7:32pm
Pansexual is the attraction to anyone, regardless of gender, and bisexual is attraction to male and females :)
MerryShibe
May 30th, 2016 7:21pm
Pansexual is the possible sexual attraction to a person of any gender, while bisexual is the possible sexual attraction to a person of two or more genders.
LuluGrace
September 17th, 2015 8:46pm
Bisexuals are attracted to boys and girls, or a specific set of two genders. Pansexuals are attracted to boys, girls, transgender, agender, all genders. (: It's kind of like being "gender blind", and just being attracted to the person themselves.
JayBird8000
September 15th, 2015 3:26am
Bi is a word meaning two. Pan is a word meaning all. Bi people like boys and girls, or a specific set of two genders. Pan people may like people without taking gender into consideration, or something of the like. Everyone's preferences are different.
Thizbee
June 14th, 2015 5:28pm
When I was a teenager through young adult, I identified as straight (although "bi-curious" may have been more accurate, as I found other women attractive, I just didn't want to have sex with them). When I was in my 30s, I identified as "bi" as I found I now had a desire to date women too. In my early 40's I began dating a young man who had klinesfelter syndrome (xxy chromosomes). This meant he had parts of both...he was neither "male" nor "female," but a varient of both. That meant "bisexual" no longer applied to me and thats when I began to identify as pansexual. *In my experience* being pansexual isn't just what you find attractive (if that was the case, you could lable me "sapiosexual" as I am most attracted to intellegence), its been more about the understanding that gender is not "either/or" but rather a spectrum. Binary only works in math.
AriAri
June 7th, 2015 2:03pm
So bisexual, refers to two genders. In our society when we think of two genders we think of simply male or female. Bisexuals are attracted to two genders. Pansexuals can be attracted to anyone regardless of sex or gender identity (although pansexual and bisexuals can still have sexual preferences like everybody else). Ppansexuality includes those who are intersex and those who identify outside the gender binary.
Anonymous
April 25th, 2015 12:37am
Pansexual likes people's personalities, they don't care about physical appearance. Bisexual likes women and man, but cares about the physical appearance.