Hey I saw ur post about being upset that ppl say that bi and pan are the same thing. How are they different? I never really understood why or what the official definitions are for these. Could u tell me?? Thanks!
there’s a lot of overlap, but it’s not really the same thing…..hence why there’s two terms. bi is technically “attraction to two or more genders” and pan is “attraction to people regardless of gender” — or at least that’s the most constant definition i’ve seen for both of them. feel free to correct me if i’m wrong on that.
as you can see there’s obviously overlap, and while some people feel comfortable identifying with both terms, some people feel like they fit with one and not the other. i, for instance, tried out the term bi when i was first accepting myself and it didn’t feel right at ALL and it actually made me continue to push down my sexuality. i didn’t think there was a word for an exact word-for-word definition for what i felt — and then i found out being pan was a thing, and it felt perfect, just like coming home! the term and definition fits me perfectly and that’s how i like it.
basically i think the most important thing is just to let bi and pan people identify how they wish and NOT to comment on the situation if you do not identify with one or both of those sexualities. if you need any more resources, you can check out my sideblog @panmoods, which pretty much focuses on pan pride and what it means to be pan!
