Pansexual Visibility Day
Happy Pansexual Visibility Day! It’s a little bit odd for me, a straight ally, to be the one writing this, but it’s a topic I’ve had the opportunity to educate myself on over the past several years, being the proud dad of a pansexual daughter and having some awesome pansexual friends and coworkers. As a Gen-X-er, I’ve lived through a lot of transition, from growing up in a period where people casually used slang for homosexuality as an insult to seeing strong steps towards equality.
When my daughter identified herself as pansexual I had to do some learning. I’d heard some celebrities such as Miley Cyrus and Shailene Woodley identifying themselves as pansexual and I had had a hard time understanding what the difference is between being bisexual and pansexual.
The best definition of pansexuality I’ve heard is a pansexual can be potentially attracted to individuals regardless of their gender identity.
That sounds a lot like bisexuality, and there are people who are comfortable using both terms — or identifying as members of both communities. The LGBT Foundation discusses how there is indeed potential for overlap, stating “being bisexual means being attracted to more than one gender while being pansexual means being attracted to people regardless of gender”.
You may be wondering why we have two terms when they have such similar definitions. The short explanation is that language evolves organically, and sometimes that’s a little messy! Sexuality and identity are also very personal — no one person’s experience is ever going to be exactly like anyone else’s, and people will choose the label or labels that feel best to them.
So please join me in recognizing the pansexual individuals in your life and in society.
[Special thanks to my coworker @sheilamporter for her assistance and contributions to this article.]
