What’s the difference between Bi & Pan

What’s the difference between Bisexual and pansexual and if a person identifies as Any of them can you also be Asexual

Reply 1

Chat Forum Helper, Life & Style Forum Helper

As far as I understand it...

Bi people are sexually attracted to males and females
Pan people are sexually attracted to absolutely anybody... males, females, trans, non-binary...

And no, as asexual people are not sexually attracted to anybody, it stands to reason that a bi or pan person cannot be asexual.

Reply 2

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Depends on who you ask, many consider the two interchangeable, others as above hold that "bi" means people only attracted to those on the gender binary (and sometimes more narrowly, only cis people on the gender binary) while "pan" means those attracted to non-binary and trans people as well. But plenty identify as bi but are also attracted to non-binary or trans individuals.

Reply 3

Anonymous #1

Original post

by PinkMobilePhone

As far as I understand it...
Bi people are sexually attracted to males and females
Pan people are sexually attracted to absolutely anybody... males, females, trans, non-binary...
And no, as asexual people are not sexually attracted to anybody, it stands to reason that a bi or pan person cannot be asexual.

Hi so I’ve been doing research and a lot of pan and bi asexuals people can be attracted and date. You can be attracted to someone. Just not sexual attracted to them or want to have s3x or think about it etc.

Reply 4

Sol423

Original post

by Anonymous

What’s the difference between Bisexual and pansexual and if a person identifies as Any of them can you also be Asexual

It depends on who you ask, but the general idea is this:

'Bisexuality' is a spectrum that contains any sexuality attracted to all genders. Generally, someone who calls themselves bisexual is attracted to all genders, with or without preferences.

Pansexuality falls under the bisexual umbrella. Someone who is pansexual is, by proxy, bisexual, but they prefer to call themselves pansexual. This is because they are 'gender-blind' in that gender doesn't affect their attraction to people, and so they don't have any preference.

The suffix '-sexual' inherently means sexual attraction, although people don't tend to use it that way. It's for this reason that asexual people CANNOT be bisexual or pansexual, but they CAN be biromantic or panromantic. (the suffix '-romatic' means romantic attraction only.)

However, most people... generally don't care. People just tend to use the label that they prefer, so each bisexual/pansexual person has a different veiw on what that word means. It's always good to just ask.

TL;DR: Bisexual means attraction to all genders with or without preference. Pansexual means attraction to all genders, without preference.

Reply 5

PinkMobilePhone

Chat Forum Helper, Life & Style Forum Helper

Original post

by Anonymous

Bisexual
Pansexual

The clue is in the name there.

Reply 6

Anonymous #1

Original post

by PinkMobilePhone

Bisexual
Pansexual
The clue is in the name there.

So heads up Asexual literally has A(sexual) in its Name TOO!

What Asexual is- Asexuality (often shortened to ace) is a sexual orientation where a person experiences little to no sexual attraction to others. It's a spectrum, meaning asexual people can also experience other types of attraction, such as emotional, romantic, aesthetic, or sensual, in varying degrees

Therefore a person can be Bi, Pan, lesbian etc and Asexual as they can experience other types of Attraction

Reply 7

PinkMobilePhone

Chat Forum Helper, Life & Style Forum Helper

Original post

by Anonymous

yes the word sexual is in the word Asexual because the "A" there is literally indicating that we're talking about being NOT sexually attracted to anyone.

Pan sexual = sexually attracted to all (pan coming from the Greek meaning "all" as in "pan hellenic" meaning "All Greek")

Bi sexual = sexually attracted to two, i.e. males and females (bi coming from the word for "two" as in "bicycle" [a cycle with 2 wheels] or "bifocal" [as in glasses with 2 prescriptions - both long and short sighted] etc)

A sexual = not sexually attracted to anybody ("A" meaning "without" or "lacking".)

So no, you cannot be pansexual AND asexual, nor can you be bisexual AND asexual, because that is a complete contradiction of terms.

Reply 8

Kathy89

Original post

by PinkMobilePhone

As far as I understand it...
Bi people are sexually attracted to males and females
Pan people are sexually attracted to absolutely anybody... males, females, trans, non-binary...
And no, as asexual people are not sexually attracted to anybody, it stands to reason that a bi or pan person cannot be asexual.

The first two are correct, about asexual is a bit more complicated. Truely asexual people are very rare to find so often people identify as asexual when they have very low sexual drive and do not require sexual life to be healthy so basically those people can be both asexual and bisexual. However, truely asexual people are those who not only have low or no sexual drive but also have no sexual attraction whatsoever, therefore cannot be bi or pan ....

The common definition is not the dictionary one. I tend to agree with you, but this is not what is common though.

Reply 9

Kathy89

Original post

by Anonymous

So heads up Asexual literally has A(sexual) in its Name TOO!
What Asexual is- Asexuality (often shortened to ace) is a sexual orientation where a person experiences little to no sexual attraction to others. It's a spectrum, meaning asexual people can also experience other types of attraction, such as emotional, romantic, aesthetic, or sensual, in varying degrees
Therefore a person can be Bi, Pan, lesbian etc and Asexual as they can experience other types of Attraction

I don't agree with the definition of asexuality as you describe it but it is the common one (not the right one though). They often refer to a sex drive and not sexual attraction.

I have a low sex drive and was thinking about identifying as asexual and was digging into it... I do have an attraction, even crushes, but not the urgency to have sex right now. Most of the people who identify themselves as asexuals are exactly that way, it is not correct but common. There should be another definition for that but it would have to be specified by a sexual attraction. I am a low sex-drive bisexual... so you can drop the first part as is is not talking about attraction, leaving just the bisexual part. So it's useless for sexuality identification.

Reply 10

Old Skool Freak

Original post

by Anonymous

What’s the difference between Bisexual and pansexual and if a person identifies as Any of them can you also be Asexual

A little late to this discussion, but thought I'd add my 2p's worth:-

As others have said, Bi-sexual person is exclusively attracted to naturally biological (cis) women or men. Pansexual is more complicated... from what I know, a pansexual person can be attracted to literally any type of human being, and their physical make-up is almost inconsequential. Therefore, as well as trans, non-binary people, this can (in theory) also include hermaphrodites (people who have both sets of sexual organs). However, that's not to say that they'd go with literally anyone with a pulse... all the other elements of attraction need to be present, and if anything, it places a greater emphasis on other non-physical elements such as personality, character etc.

Original post

by Sol423

It depends on who you ask, but the general idea is this:
'Bisexuality' is a spectrum that contains any sexuality attracted to all genders. Generally, someone who calls themselves bisexual is attracted to all genders, with or without preferences.
Pansexuality falls under the bisexual umbrella. Someone who is pansexual is, by proxy, bisexual, but they prefer to call themselves pansexual. This is because they are 'gender-blind' in that gender doesn't affect their attraction to people, and so they don't have any preference.
The suffix '-sexual' inherently means sexual attraction, although people don't tend to use it that way. It's for this reason that asexual people CANNOT be bisexual or pansexual, but they CAN be biromantic or panromantic. (the suffix '-romatic' means romantic attraction only.)
However, most people... generally don't care. People just tend to use the label that they prefer, so each bisexual/pansexual person has a different veiw on what that word means. It's always good to just ask.
TL;DR: Bisexual means attraction to all genders with or without preference. Pansexual means attraction to all genders, without preference.

I'd disagree with your definition about bisexuality, I've known quite a few bisexual girls, who have said they wouldn't consider dating trans men or women... having said that, you do raise an interesting point. Just to throw another spanner in the works, there's also polysexual which is in between bisexual and pansexual... where polysexuals will have their own specific exclusions (e.g. someone who would refuse to date a hermaphrodite or would, say date a trans man but not a trans woman. I would say there's a spectrum with bisexual people at one end, and pansexual at the other end... and everyone in between is a polysexual. In much the same way like on the Gay-straight spectrum, you have different levels of bisexual (e.g. bi-curious) in between the two extremes.

I'd prefer not to comment on asexuality.

Reply 11

hjhi86

Original post

by Anonymous

What’s the difference between Bisexual and pansexual and if a person identifies as Any of them can you also be Asexual

Hi, as someone who has extensively studied sociology I can help you with some simple modern day definitions of those terms that apply beyond concepts like transmedicalism and trans exclusionary labels.

So, the m-spec umbrella (multiple-attraction spectrum), include:

Bisexual: means sexual attraction to more than one gender (not exclusive to which genders , not limiting to some)
Bisexual people can have preferences. Bisexual people most of the time acknowledge the existence of someone's gender in their attraction. This term has been changing a lot since its conception but its the og m-spec term historically. A big thank you to trans-bi women for our rights. :wink:

Pansexual: means sexual attraction regardless of gender - gender non-conforming sexuality, gender is irrelevant and depending on the definitions of some people some acknowledge gender in terms of attraction, meaning their pansexuality encompasses all gender and others do not at all. Most popular definition and usage of pansexuality is the latter.

Polysexual: means sexual attraction to more than one gender, but not all (some form of gender expression is excluded)

Omnisexual: means sexual attraction to all or regardless of gender but acknowledging the existence of gender in attraction.

Now the spectrum of sexuality doesn't overlap with the spectrums of asexuality and aromanticism, these are different spectrums and we all participate in them. So yes you can definetely be asexual and bisexual etc, or asexual and panromantic. It all depends on how you feel most comfortable with yourself and if you want to identify within the asexual spectrum in general or more specifically, e.g demisexual. If you feel that a spectrum or a definition unlocks a part of yourself, definitely stay with it as long as you need or forever. Those terms are ways for us to navigate our sense of self in very socially constructed societies, so be you and maybe delve a little in your feelings and queer definitions. Most importantly be proud of yourself, never be afraid to explore you identity and remember people can be more than one thing as so is you. Do not accept any invalidation from people who don't appreciate depth. Cheers :wink:

(edited 4 weeks ago)