When someone says they identify as pansexual, what does that mean? This article will teach you pansexual’s meaning and how to use it in a sentence!
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Kevin
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January 15, 2022
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Common Questions
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If you’ve heard the word pansexual and wondered what it means, today is your lucky day! We’re explaining the meaning of the word pansexual, its origins, and how to use it in your daily conversations!
What Does the Word Pansexual Mean?
According to WebMD, the word pansexual refers to a person who is romantically, emotionally, and sexually attracted to people regardless of their gender or lack of gender. People who consider themselves pansexual are attracted to people regardless of where they are on the gender spectrum.
Gender is unrelated to sexuality. A trans person can be pansexual, as can a nonbinary or cisgender person. These are two different categories. Romantic attraction and sexual attraction are unrelated to gender identity, which is a common misconception.
Many celebrities are pansexual, including Janelle Monae, Jazz Jennings, Bella Thorne, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, Jojo Siwa, and more. Even the Marvel superhero Deadpool is said to be pansexual.
Often, pansexual people are stereotyped as being attracted to everyone. However, this is not the case. Just as all straight people are not attracted to all people of the opposite gender, pansexuals are not attracted to every person.
What Are Synonyms for the Word Pansexual?
There are a few words that people use interchangeably with the word pansexual. However, these terms aren’t always synonymous. When in doubt, refer to people using the labels they have explicitly stated are accurate.
Bisexual
First, there is the term bisexual which means attracted to two or more genders. Someone who is bisexual might feel that they have the same sexuality as someone who is pansexual. However, they might also feel that they are attracted to different genders in different ways, and do not experience the same type of attraction regardless of gender.
Bisexual people do not necessarily experience sexual attraction or romantic attraction to all genders, but they can.
Omninsexual
There is also the term omnisexual, which is similar to pansexuality as well but not the same. The prefixes pan and omni both mean all, so both words mean attracted to all genders.
Sometimes, people who consider themselves omnisexual say that while they are attracted to all genders, gender is still factored into their attraction.
Polysexual
Finally, we have polysexuality, which is the attraction to people of many but not all genders.
There are flags for all of these identities just like the gay, lesbian, and trans flags. Try looking up these different sexualities and their flags to gain a better understanding of them!
When Should I Use the Term Pansexual or Its Related Terms?
You can always ask someone how they identify and what that label means to them before making assumptions.
Someone might be bisexual but attracted to all genders, and someone might identify as polysexual but only be attracted to men and nonbinary people, for example. There is never harm in asking someone if it is out of respect.
Additionally, there may be people who do not identify as bi or pan but choose not to have labels for their sexual identity though they are attracted to many genders.
What Are Other Terms You Might Hear Within the Lgbtq Community?
Every community has its own subset of terminology, and the LGBTQ community is no exception. While it might seem overwhelming to learn all of these new words at once, these glossary terms from New York Times and LGBTQIA Health Education can help you learn numerous new words:
- Ally
- Pansexual
- Genderqueer
- Biphobia
- Pangender
- Bisexual
- Assigned sex at birth
- Agender
- Trans man/transgender man/female-to-male (FTM)
- Transphobia
- Binding
- Bottom surgery
- Gay
- Transition
- Gender identity
- Questioning
- Asexual
- Heteronormativity
- Cisgender
- Transfeminine
- Tucking
- Cross-sex hormone therapy
- Gender role
- Gender dysphoria
- QPOC
- Coming out
- Sexual orientation
- Gender fluid
- Heterosexual
- Men who have sex with men/women who have sex with women (MSM/WSW)
- Disorders of Sex Development
- Trans woman/transgender woman/male-to-female (MTF)
- Lesbian
- Queer
- Gender binary
- Transsexual
- Polyamorous
- Transgender
- Minority stress
- Homophobia
- Same-gender loving (SGL)
- Transmasculine
- Aromantic
- Outing
- Gender non-conforming
- Homosexuality
- Same-sex attraction (SSA)
- Social stigma
- Straight
- Gender affirming surgery (GAS)
- Top surgery
- Intersectionality
- Bigender
- Intersex
- Structural stigma
- Drag
- Two-Spirit
How Can the Word Pansexual Be Used in a Sentence?
The word pansexual can be used in numerous circumstances to describe a person’s sexuality. Do not refer to someone else as pansexual unless they have let you know that that is their sexuality or their preferred label.
Below are a few different examples of using the term pansexual in a sentence.
In this first example, two people are meeting at an LGBT+ group on campus for the first time:
Person 1: Nice to meet you, I’m Jack!
Person 2: Hi Jack, I’m Drew. I identify as nonbinary and pansexual. How about you?
Person 1: Hi Drew! I’m a trans guy. Nice to meet you.
Here, Jack and Drew decide to openly share their gender identities and sexualities with each other at the mixer. In this next example, someone tells their friend something important about themselves”
Person 1: Hannah, can I tell you something?
Person 2: Sure, what’s up?
Person 1: I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and I think I’m pansexual.
Person 2: That’s great! Thank you for feeling comfortable enough to tell me. I’m proud of you!
Conclusion
Overall, the word pansexual refers to a person who can experience sexual attraction and romantic attraction to people regardless of gender. While this does not mean that they are attracted to all people, they can have the capacity to do so.
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