I'm pan, and I think of it like this:
Pan means you're attracted to people regardless of their gender. Bi means you're attracted to more than one gender.
No hate though, if anyone else defines them differently. That's just how I see it.
this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2025
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Yea, pan here, too. That’s how I always understood it. Gets a bit more nuanced though, when you include omnisexuality.
Omnisexuality??? Ok, I accept that as Gen X I’m old. I grew up stating I was Bi because that’s the term we had at the time. Now I still say Bi, but clarify “or really Pan as the kids call it nowadays because I believe all the toys in toy box are fun to play with and I value the person (and personality) over plumbing”. Now what is Omni?
Omni people don’t like mixing Greek and Latin.
Or they really hate flutes
Generally, it’s described as:
Bi: attraction to more than one gender
Pan: attraction regardless of gender
Omni: attraction to all genders
The difference between pan and omni is small and they’re often used synonymously. Most people I know, that fall into this category, identify as either bi or pan. Omni is exceedingly rare but it’s also not that new. I remember it already being an established thing when I first read about it almost a decade ago.
Edit: formatting
So what would be attraction to a specific band of aesthetic characteristics independent of sex or gender be?
Depends on the band. There are words for only attracted to fem guys and women, or masc women and men, but i forget them. Im sure someones made a word for other bands too
Androsexuality and gynosexuality. Honestly I would like those even if I wasn't bi, much clearer than heterosexual/homosexual. Also they work better with nonbinary people
I cannot answer you that but there are certainly labels that describe specific cases of that.
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bisexual.py:
def is_sexually_attracted_to(self, other):
return other.gender in self.preferred_gender
pansexual.py:
def is_sexually_attracted_to(self, other):
# TODO: factors based on other traits TBI
return True
Close enough?
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(1 replies)
I think of it like this: bi is attraction to masc men and fem women.
Pan is attraction to all configurations of gender, genitals, and presentation.
Nah, people like twinks and femboys also more likely to call themselves bi.
yeah, this is how i've always seen it
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I never thought of that because I never tried to define it. I'm just happy you found something that makes you happy.
Debating identity definitions 😞
Accepting that identities are fluid definitions we made up 😎
Correct! "Whatever floats your boat as long as it's consensual, just be safe and have fun" should be the only thing we need.
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Easy: bisexual people are REALLY into cycling and pansexual people can't contain their lust for Andean flute music.
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I suspect in the long ago, there may have been some drama about bi implying only two, and people taking exception to that but we have since moved on after realizing it was a stupid argument. There were far more important things to argue about, like kink at pride.
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Is your stalac tight or full of might?
In my opinion they mean the same thing. I identify as bi because I like the flag more.
Same. Also, "bi" is only two letters and I'm lazy.
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It's so funny that the queer community debates this when we could really just ask the average non-queer person to clarify it for us, and you'll find out that it really just means that we're confused and actually we're just gay.
Hey now, that's not always true! Some of us are confused and just seeking attention.
Yeah, back in the day people really cared whether someone was octoroon or mulatto.
Today, many people are going to have to look up those terms.
They are going to find that Archer ringtone.
I know this might surprise you, but there is a small minority of the population that hasn't watched every episode of every show ever made.
For those poor souls, it might be nice to add a link so they know what in G$d's name you are talking about.
Does anyone else wonder how people like this survive in the real world? Like, they tilt themselves into a stroke over a reference to a song about asses in a cartoon when they could've just typed it into a search bar and giggled for 10 seconds like everyone else.
Also censorship is for fascists, let's knock that shit off
Does anyone else wonder how people like this survive in the real world? Like, they tilt themselves into a stroke over a silly comment on the internet.
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People should know their antiquated slurs. They're always fun to pepper in a conversation.
Hello my fellow quadroons
A mulatto
An albino
A mosquito
My libido
People are debating this because they are approaching this labels as descriptive point of view, instead of descriptive point of view.
Have you considered the descriptive point of view though?