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What is the difference between pansexuality, polysexuality and bisexuality?

201 Answers
Last Updated: 11/08/2021 at 11:55am
What is the difference between pansexuality, polysexuality and bisexuality?
★ This question about LGBTQ+ Issues was starred by a moderator on 5/12/2016.
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Top Rated Answers
SatanIsCallingMe
January 30th, 2016 2:38am
Pansexuality: Attraction to all genders Polysexuality: attraction to more than 2 genders Bisexuality:Attraction to males and females
blanket7
January 30th, 2016 6:04pm
Pansexuality means that you are attracted to any gender of person, male, female, agender, trans, anyone. Polysexual means you can be attracted to multiple genders, so it can be any sort of combination, male and trans for example. Bisexual (what I identify as) means you are attracted to both male and females. I hope that helps!
calmNutella72
February 4th, 2016 5:17am
Pansexuality is when you're attracted to ALL genders. Polysexuality is when you're attracted to SOME genders but not all. And bisexuality is when you're attracted to TWO genders, like male and female, though it could vary.
katreflects
February 4th, 2016 6:48am
Pa sexuality refers to the tendency to be attracted to individuals regardless of gender expression; individuals of either sex, neither sex, or both sexes. Polysexuality refers to the tendency to prefer open relationship encounters outside the confines of monogamy. Bisexuals may be attracted to either sex according to traditional gender binary rules.
Yourfairygodbro
February 11th, 2016 5:26am
-Pansexuality is sexual attraction regardless of gender, it's attraction to any gender. Often, pansexuals are also panromantic which means that they can fall in love with a person regardless of gender too. -Polysexuality is the ability to be comfortable to be in a sexual relationship with more than one person. -Bisexuality is sexual attraction to some genders. -You can be Pan or Bisexual without being polysexual. -You can be polysexual even if you're strait. -Polysexuality isn't always cheating, when healthy, all partners involved know what's happening.
EllaLoves
February 11th, 2016 7:52pm
Pansexual: open to loving who we love, man, woman, gay, straight, trans anyone on the spectrum of human being so long as it is two consenting adults. Poly: In a relationship or out of one you are free to love more than one person or be with more than one person at a time. Bisexuality: you are attracted to both genders.
TheGreyFixer
February 12th, 2016 10:07am
Pansexuality is being interested in any and all genders (though of course you can still have preferences). Bisexuality is being interested in only two genders- the argument currently is whether that's just male and female, cis-male and cis-female or any two genders (e.g. gender-fluid and androgyne). Polysexuality (which I had to look up, because I was still slightly confused myself) just means you're attracted to more than one gender. Which is actually simple enough, when you think about it.
Angelynn
May 23rd, 2016 1:39am
Bisexuality is when one person is attracted to two genders. Pansexual is when a person is attracted to all genders, and polysexuality is when someone is attracted to some genders. For example, A polysexual person could be attracted to males, asexuals,and gender-noncomforming people but lack attraction to females along with other genders.
strawberryblonde4315
June 7th, 2016 3:43pm
Pansexuality is when someone is attracted to all genders. Polysexuality is when you are attached to only some of all the genders. Bisexuality is when you are attached to only two genders, typically male and female.
JudgeMeNot
June 8th, 2016 5:50am
Pansexuality mean having no regulations when it comes to gender. Poly sexuality means no regulations between number of partners at one time. Bisexuality is having sexual preference for both male and females.
MatthewTheMagical
June 8th, 2016 10:56am
I don't really see too much of a difference. I think that there's 2 genders, and 2 genders only. But people have different ways of expressing them selves. No offense!
EffortlessFreedom
June 9th, 2016 2:31pm
Bisexuality comes from the prefix bi (two) and indicates and interest in two genders (usually male and female) not necessarily equally (it's possuble to have a preference for men but still be sexually attracted to women or vice versa) Pansexuality comes from the prefix pan (all) and indicates an interest in all, or regardless of gender. This includes (but is not limited to) men, woman, people of fluid or no gender et cetera. Polysexual, coming from the prefix poly (multiple) is the most complex here, it appreciates gender as more than male and female but is only interested in some genders (this depends on the person) They may only be interested in women and feminine presenting people but not males for example. Your best bet is to always, politely ask the person whose sexuality it is!
JaketheTransguyFTM
June 9th, 2016 5:48pm
Pansexulaity means that you like everybody, regardless of gender and sex. Polysexuality means that you like numerous genders and sexes. Bisexuality means you like females and males.
Enigmatica
September 6th, 2016 11:29am
Polysexuality is the attraction of multiple genders, bisexuality is attraction of the female sex and male sex while pansexuality is the attraction of ALL sexual identities (such as transgender, gender neutral, female, male and so on)
curiosityofnature
February 20th, 2017 9:50pm
"pan" = all "poly" = many "bi" = two ...In this case, referring to the genders someone is (sexually) attracted to. So, pansexuals are into all genders (this emphasises that there are more than two), polysexuals are into many genders (i.e. more than one, but possibly not all - this could, for example, mean attraction to women and non-binary persons, but not men). And now things get interesting, because the exact definition of bisexuality is quite debated. To me personally, the term reeks of gender BInary (the idea that there are only two genders even though that doesn't reflect everyone's reality and indigenous peoples have recognised more genders for ages). Some people claim that bisexuality does include all genders and is the same as pansexual, nevermind the literal meaning of the term.
EmpatheticFANDRAGON
May 22nd, 2017 3:14am
Pansexuality-I don't care what gender they are! Male, female, neither, both. I don't care! Polysexuality-I like multiple people at the same time! Bisexuality-Male or female. I swing for both.
bigSoul58
October 10th, 2017 4:13pm
Easy, Bi= attracted to girls and boys, Pans and poly=attracted to boy, girls, trans, non binary, gender neutrality, different race, it doesn't matter what you look like it's the personalty that counts.
Anonymous
August 13th, 2018 6:53am
pansexual means you are attracted to basically whatever, guy, girl, somewhere in between, whatever. Bisexual means your attracted to two or more genders (not necessarily boy and girl, sometimes it can be boys and agender people, or something like that). polysexual means your attracted to multiple people too, but i believe its specifically including people who are intersex or identify as multiple genders Basically these terms are all very similar, they do mean different things, but it can sometimes come down to a personal preference of what you identify as
SympatheticPrune2001
December 1st, 2018 4:47am
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. 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!
MrMistoffelees
May 4th, 2019 10:33pm
This can be a confusing topic at first. Pansexuality, how I identify, is when gender isn't a defining characteristic of whether or not you are attracted to someone. Bisexuality is when you like two genders or groups of genders, hence "bi", meaning "two". Some people describe the two groups as their own gender, and everything else, which would technically mean pansexual because they like all genders, but they prefer to identify as bisexual. Lastly, polysexual is in between bisexuality and pansexuality. It is when you like more that two genders or two groups of genders (bisexuality), but you don't like every gender (pansexuality).
LovleyNatural137
July 11th, 2019 9:54pm
All of them are under the same umbrella. Pansexual is being attracted to all genders, Bisexual is traditionally being attracted to two genders, and polysexual is being attracted to two or more. But of course, each one can be manipulated to suit you. In my case, I was taught that Pansexual is not having a preference, but then bisexual is having a preference between genders. But of course, you don't need to go off. Many people have their own idea of what these sexualities mean. You just need to find one that you identify as, or you don't need a label it's all up to you.