Bi- VS. Pan-

[Fawkes]

This may be in the wrong section, so feel free to move it. Sexology is something that interests me and I have been trying to find the difference between pansexuality and bisexuality. They seem to be really similar and I can't really find any definitions that really set them apart from each other. Anyone know?

Edit: yeah, this should be in Science and Environment because it has to do with Psychology, could someone please move it?

[ZeroPain]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pansexuality

I'm pansexual but tend not to identify myself as it because few people know about it.

[Fawkes]

I'm still kind of confused about how it is a totally different from bisexuality. Seeing as people are only one sex or the other (except hermaphrodites), wouldn't pansexuals also be bisexuals?

[Janus]

Gender isn't a factor in pansexual attraction. That's the only difference that separates it from bisexuality .

[Fawkes]

So, a bisexual person who doesn't care about gender is pan?

[Janus]

So, a bisexual person who doesn't care about gender is pan?
Scratch the bisexual part and you would be right.

[Fawkes]

Well, they still would technically be bisexual right?

[ZeroPain]

Well, they still would technically be bisexual right?


As much as a bisexual is also "gay"...

[Fawkes]

But they are sexually attracted to both sexes, so wouldn't that make them bi?

[Pirate Utopian]

pan means all so their all-sexuals

[Revalation]

i dont see the diffrence their are only two sexs so to like either makes you bi but bis dont like a person because of their sex do they?

[Fawkes]

What other sexes are there though other than male and female?

[Revalation]

Originally posted by [email protected] 06, 2007 08:53 pm
What other sexes are there though other than male and female?
none that i've heard of

[ichneumon]

MTF and FTM, for two

[Fawkes]

Are you talking about transsexuals? Because if you are, they still are one sex or the other.

[Janus]

Well, they still would technically be bisexual right?
No.


But they are sexually attracted to both sexes, so wouldn't that make them bi?
First of all, there is a difference between gender and sex. The former is more of a social construct while the latter is a scientific designation. Bisexual implies that that a person must love both genders, the term pansexual was coined to describe those who live all gender possibilities including trasgender and intersex people.


What other sexes are there though other than male and female?
There are 2 but there are more than 2 genders.

[Fawkes]

But I'm asking the question from a sexual standpoint, in which case Bis and Pans are the same, right?

[which doctor]

No, they are not the same.

[Fawkes]

From a sexual standpoint, how would they be different?

[Janus]

But I'm asking the question from a sexual standpoint, in which case Bis and Pans are the same, right?
Yes, but the point is that pansexuality transcends that type of classification.

[Fawkes]

So a bisexual person attracted to people of all genders is a pansexual?
(Sorry about the constant questions).

[TC]

Originally posted by [email protected] 06, 2007 02:45 am
This may be in the wrong section, so feel free to move it. Sexology is something that interests me and I have been trying to find the difference between pansexuality and bisexuality. They seem to be really similar and I can't really find any definitions that really set them apart from each other. Anyone know?

Edit: yeah, this should be in Science and Environment because it has to do with Psychology, could someone please move it?
It would be a mistake to assume that simply because some people have coined a term that they find useful in describing their sexual preferences and activities or even simply their theoretical speculation on human sexuality ("everyone is a bit bi so i must be bi" for instance) does not mean that those identity groups actually have any biological distinctness the way that homosexuality appears to.

People here seem to think that the biological basis of homosexual implies the biological basis of all other sexual identity groups, this is simply an unsupported assumption. I think we can comfortably assume that, for instance no-sex-till-marriage-christiansexuals are a sexual minority that exist as a purely social and political construct.

[Fawkes]

Well, I'm not implying that pansexuals and bisexuals are biologically different, I was just wondering how they are different as defined by society.

[Janus]

So a bisexual person attracted to people of all genders is a pansexual?
Yes, but then you can't describe the person as bisexual. Pansexual was coined to differentiate those who are attracted to anyone regardless of gender or sex while bisexuality was coined earlier to simply describe those who were attracted to the two dominant genders. Obviously, pansexuality came out a bit after and yes they are both extremely similar in that a pansexual person may see him or herself as a bisexual.

[Fawkes]

Alright, I get it now. Thanks :).

[Janus]

Finally, the circular discussion has come to an end. :P

[Fawkes]

Pansexual was coined to differentiate those who are attracted to anyone regardless of gender or sex while bisexuality was coined earlier to simply describe those who were attracted to the two dominant genders. Obviously, pansexuality came out a bit after and yes they are both extremely similar in that a pansexual person may see him or herself as a bisexual.
If that had been the first post, this would've been a one response thread.

[Janus]

If that had been the first post, this would've been a one response thread.
Yeah, well, we aren't all inclined to give the most detailed answers. It also took me a bit of research to dig some of this up. There's really not a lot of material on pansexuality out there; I suppose it's a newer word and not as generally accepted yet in terms of the word itself.

[Fawkes]

Yeah, that's why I was unable to find a satisfactory definition of it that shows how it is different from bisexuality.