What Does Pansexual Mean? LGBTQ+ Experts Explain

As sexual fluidity becomes increasingly normalized in pop culture and mainstream media, more and more people are identifying as pansexual. According to a 2017 survey conducted by the Human Rights Campaign, 14% of respondents identified as pansexual, a number that has more than doubled since a similar survey ran in 2012.

People have defined pansexuality in a number of ways, but the most common answer is that pansexual people can feel sexual attraction to anyone regardless of their sex assigned at birth or their gender identity. The prefix pan- means "all," so pansexual people can be attracted to people of all genders. That includes attraction to someone who identifies as cisgender, transgender, bigender, nonbinary, or any other gender.

"As someone who identifies as pansexual, I define pansexuality as being attracted to people who are located anywhere along the spectrum of gender identity," says psychologist Akilah Sigler, LMHC.

This isn't to say pansexual people are attracted to everyone, but gender just isn't the defining factor in who they are and aren't attracted to. Some pansexual people say that they're attracted to people based on personality, with gender playing no role at all.

You are attracted to people of all genders, or you can develop attraction to people without knowing their pronouns or gender identity.

"This may mean that someone's gender is not a determining factor in desire to have sex with or date and possibly even that gender is irrelevant in terms of someone's attraction," Jesse Khan, LCSW-R, CST, licensed sex therapist and director at The Gender & Sexuality Therapy Center in NYC, tells mbg.

You might know you are queer in some way, but terms like "bisexual" don't feel like they define your sexuality.

"Historically, bisexuality is used to describe attraction to both the same and 'opposite' gender, [and] the way it has often been used is very binary," gender and sex therapist Rae McDaniel, LCPC, CST, tells mbg. "Many folks found that limiting and not inclusive of the vast spectrum of gender identities and expressions, so the term 'pansexuality' was born to talk about attractions to people of many different genders."

Ultimately, what matters most is that you feel comfortable with defining yourself as pansexual. If you like the label and resonate with it, then consider it yours.

Pansexual and bisexual are two different sexual orientations, although they can sometimes overlap. Typically, while people who identify as pansexual are attracted to people regardless of gender, people who identify as bisexual are attracted to two or more genders.

That said, people in the LGBTQ+ community often use these terms fluidly. Some bisexual people define their bisexuality as being attracted to the same gender and other genders, for example, while others who self-identify as bisexual are attracted to people of all genders. A person might be attracted to men and women, women and another gender, several different genders, or just about all genders—all of it is bisexuality.

Practically speaking, some pansexual people and bisexual people might be attracted to the exact same types of people. The main difference is that being pansexual is specifically attraction to all types of people, regardless of gender, whereas bisexuality is simply attraction to multiple genders (which may or may not include all genders).

Historically, there's been some confusion about the difference between pansexuality and bisexuality, and there's sometimes a bit of contention between these two communities. Some people worry that the rise of pansexuality is contributing bi-erasure, replacing bisexual identity with a new word that implies bisexuality is somehow inferior or less inclusive.

"There's the misconception that bisexual people are only attracted to cisgender people or may be inclusive of transgender individuals who fit in the binary, but that's not necessarily inherent in the definition," Khan explained. "There may be some bisexual people who that is true for, but there are also many bi people who that doesn't resonate for them."

"In addition to the actual definitions, a lot of times the differences and the importance of bisexuality and pansexuality is what it means to a specific person and why that word choice is most accurate or meaningful to them," Khan says.