Pansexuality - Compared With Bisexuality and Other Sexual Identities

Compared With Bisexuality and Other Sexual Identities

A literal dictionary definition of bisexuality, due to the prefix bi-, is sexual or romantic attraction to two sexes (males and females), or to two genders (men and women). Pansexuality, however, composed with the prefix pan-, is the sexual attraction to people of all sexes or genders. Using these definitions, pansexuality is different in that it includes people who are intersex and/or fall outside the gender binary. Go Ask Alice! states that pansexuals can be attracted to cismen, ciswomen (meaning cisgender), "transmen, transwomen, intersex people, androgynous people, and everything else. It is generally considered a more inclusive term than bisexual". Volume 2 of Cavendish's Sex and Society, however, clarifies that "lthough the term's literal meaning can be interpreted as 'attracted to everything,' people who identify as pansexual do not include paraphilias, such as bestiality, pedophilia, and necrophilia, in their definition" and that they "stress that the term pansexuality describes only consensual adult sexual behaviors".

The definition of pansexuality encourages the belief that it is the only category that covers individuals who do not cleanly fit into the categories of male/man or female/woman. However, bisexual-identified people may object to the notion that bisexuality means sexual attraction to only two genders, arguing that since bisexual is not simply about attraction to two sexes and encompasses gender as well, it can include attraction to more than two genders. Gender is considered more complex, as it includes genetic, hormonal, social, and environmental factors, and there are gender identities that are wholly similar to each other. The term pansexuality is used interchangeably with bisexuality, and, similarly, people who identify as bisexual may "feel that gender, biological sex, and sexual orientation should not be a focal point in potential relationships". In one study analyzing sexual identities, described as alternative terms for bisexual or bi-self labels, "alf of all bisexual and bisexual-identified respondents also chose alternative self-labels such as queer, pansexual, polyfidelitous, ambisexual, polysexual, or personalized identities such as 'byke' or 'biphilic'".

Polysexuality is similar to pansexuality in definition, meaning "encompassing more than one sexuality," but not necessarily encompassing all sexualities. This is distinct from polyamory, which means more than one sexual attraction at the same time. "Polysexual and polyamorous are used by people who recognize that the term bisexual reifies the gender dichotomy that underlies the distinction between heterosexuality and homosexuality, implying that bisexuality is nothing more than a hybrid combination of these gender and sexual dichotomies."