Hi! I'm running a server for a nonprofit that helps trans youth and working on explaining sexualities and gender identities through research and I thought I'd ask a bi person/someone who seems to strive for bi advocacy about how to define bisexuality and what the difference is between bisexuality and pansexuality. I totally understand if you can't answer this by the way, just thought I'd ask ^^ I also apologize for the spam, I'm reblogging stuff I need to research later
Good to meet you! This will be a long post, please be prepared!
What is the Difference Between Bisexuality and Pansexuality?
First, we need to talk about Bisexuality and it’s history.
Bisexuality is an identity that is rooted in reclamation. Bisexuality was coined by the same man who coined homosexuality and sadism in Psychopathia Sexualis, by which bisexuality was described as a sexual deviancy and dysfunction. Someone “suffering from bisexual tendencies” was a person who was intimate with both men and women, those genders being what the standard was in 1886.
Bisexual has also referred to androgynous and intersex characteristics, as well as a way to describe co-ed spaces. In fact, even today on the Purdue OWL page for Queer Theory, Bisexual’s definition is that of androgyny instead of an identity.
Bisexuality, then, has had over 100 years of definitions and meanings and connotations. As early as the 1950s, bisexual was reclaimed for use as an identity (up until this point, Ambisexual was often used, though there were references to bisexuality as well). That’s also over 70 years of erasure, misunderstanding, and biphobia. Historically, bisexuals have been at the forefront of the gay rights movements, but were often banned from joining groups. Even at the peak of bisexual activism in the 1970s, bisexuals struggled to find acceptance and visibility.
Since the 1970s, and even in Alfred Kinsey’s famous 1948/1953 studies that developed the Kinsey Scale, bisexuality has been described as either not having a preference in one gender or as an attraction to all genders. And of course, bisexual activists have also defined it as such.
We are in a day and age in which non-binary people have more visibility than ever. It has introduced to us the concepts of nombinary sexual identities, which range from non-binary exclusive terms like trixic, to non-binary lesbians. It depends on the individual, and their alignment (or lack thereof) to decide where they fall, of course. But the existence of non-binary people makes room in pre-existing identities for additional definitions.
Bisexual has never really meant “two genders” or “men and women”. Like non-binary, bisexual describes tens of thousands of experiences and attractions. It describes preferences, and it simultaneously describes lack of preferences. Many activists will tell you that bisexuality isn’t binary, which refers both to it not being a system of “two” and also not being “men and women”. So even if you define bisexuality as “attraction to any two genders” you will be speaking over bisexuals of years past, and present.
I am bisexual, and non-binary. I’m attracted to all genders, and so are most bisexuals.
Bisexuality refers to being attracted to all or (most) genders, in my opinion. I often say it exactly like that to others. Because I do meet bisexuals who have fallen under the “most genders”. Don’t use “two” in your definition at all (even for “two or more”), or “more than one”. Especially because non-binary lesbians and gay and straight non-binary people exist!
Now, on to pansexuality! This is also a shortened version because tumblr still limits lines on posts and I don’t wanna push it.
Pansexual is also a reclaimed term. It’s been through a lot as well. Pansexual had many meanings, including a state of genderlessness (as in, no assigned sex) as referred to in The Dialectic of Sex: The Case For Feminist Revolution by Shulamith Firestone. It was also used to refer to androgyny, mostly with regards to David Bowie and Mick Jagger (this is best noted in this Atlantic article for Mick). Pansexuality has also been defined as a sort of unhinged promiscuousness, as well as “the eroticization of all social relations”. The term “pansexual pervert” comes up in many, many writing pieces predating 1990 which is just terrible.
One of the earliest “other” versions of pansexual to be used was by Alice Cooper in a 1974 interview. To him, pansexual was being down for anything with anyone, across age, race, and gender (x).
In 2005, a GLBT ally guide was printed defining Pansexuality as a “term of choice for people who do not self-identify as bisexual, finding themselves attracted to people across a spectrum of genders”. Interestingly, bisexual was defined as an attraction to “both” males and females. You’ll notice that the definitions for gay men and lesbians only use “men” or “women” and don’t use biological terms. The glossary begins at page 63 (x). One could argue that this is because of an intersexist belief that regardless of your gender, you’re either male or female, hence bisexuality being described those terms as well as “both”, which implies there are only two of something.
Pansexuality has had a more recent start. And many will say that it was born from a misinterpretation of bisexuality. It has gone through some particularly uncomfortable iterations, including the definition of “attraction to men, women, and trans people”, to “caring more about personality than gender”. Both of these imply that lesbians, gay people, and bisexuals, and straight people, are incapable of loving or being trans/non-binary people as well as caring about more than gender.
I am not the best person to speak on Pansexuality because I do hold the belief that it often encourages people to treat bisexuality as a cis/regressive/binarist label from my own personal experiences as well as the communities online. I won’t speak on that here from now on though. Below is an infographic I found while doing some research for this ask. It’s blatant misinformation (again, with the bi means two thing and not knowing bisexual history). Please don’t do this or show these types of things. This is the exact wrong thing to say!
Anyways, back to the discussion.
So how are they different?
Pansexuality is more often nowadays described as an attraction to all genders. Bisexuality is also an attraction to all genders.
Well, you might think, “That infographic says the difference is that bisexuals have a gender preference”.
Please keep in mind that preferences of any kind do NOT make or break a sexuality. Liking green eyes doesn’t make you a verdeoculosexual, nor does liking tall people make you an acrosexual.
To say that a person is only bisexual because they have a preference for a gender is essentially recycling “bisexuals pick a side” biphobia. The same with “not caring” about gender. It implies everyone else is picky and debase others to their body parts.
The truth is, they aren’t different fundamentally. Bisexuality is an older label. It has more interpretations, including transphobic ones (like “cis men and women”). Pansexuality as a label is fairly new but is growing in use. It has many interpretations, some of which are harmful to other groups in the LGBT community.
Both really need historical context when teaching about them. Especially bisexuality! Obviously if you’re working with minors, only some things need to be mentioned. All in all, education about their histories is what will help people decide what’s right for them, and ensure they won’t mistreat others or treat others rudely because of misconceptions.
