Via secretladyspider on Instagram:
Yesterday was #bivisibilityday. Bi visibility day is a day about recognizing and uplifting biromantics and bisexuals, and also about uplifting all people with m-spec attraction.
Bi means “two or more gender attraction” or can mean “all genders”, depending on whose using it- I’ve seen bi people tell me they aren’t attracted to all genders, others tell me it’s all and they like the word bi best for them.
Pan means all genders or regardless of gender. This means it has overlap with bi, but also that the two are not quite the same.
Polysexual means attraction to many genders, and omni means many or all as well.
All of these words have overlap, but not everyone uses them interchangeably. Not everyone likes “bi+” for this reason. Some feel it includes them. Some don’t feel like it really does.
Some bi people also use the word pan and some pan people also use the word bi, but this isn’t true of every bi or pan person.
I will be putting a link in my bio from Healthline about why and how they’re actually slightly different.
In my own case, I am panromantic, but I don’t connect personally very much with bi. I won’t necessarily correct you if you call me bi, but that’s really because more often than not I’m afraid someone will tell me “oh you’re just bi”, which has happened. I’m not bi. I’m pan. I don’t use these terms interchangeably because that’s not right for me personally.
That said, please respect bi people, m-specs who feel that bi+ includes them, and also respect people who don’t use both terms or who don’t use them interchangeably, because not all of us do.
These are similar and overlapping communities. And that’s a good thing! But respect where people tell you they lie across these terms, and don’t forget poly & omni. The debate is mostly between pan and bi, but don’t forget that they are also with us in this m-spec community, and that they may or may not use these terms interchangeably, too.
Image description: A picture of Elle in a grey T-shirt, the top of her head cut off. She’s looking off to the left upper part of the frame. Her hair is down and auburn.
Is being Bisexual the Same as Being Pansexual? And 14 other questions