Pansexual - meaning and definition
Alsopanpansexuality
Definition
Describes a person whose attraction is not limited by gender, who may be attracted to people of any gender identity.
At a glance
- Means attraction that is not limited by gender.
- Pansexual people often say personality or connection matters more than gender.
- Overlaps a lot with bisexual, and both are part of the bi+ family.
- Does not mean being attracted to everyone.
- Often shortened to pan.
In detail
Pansexual comes from the Greek "pan", meaning all. Pansexual people often describe gender as not being a deciding factor in whom they are attracted to; they may be drawn to someone's personality or connection first.
There is a lot of overlap between pansexual and bisexual, and people pick the label that feels right to them. Neither word implies being attracted to everyone.
In a sentence
- I'm pan, so the gender of the person I'm dating has never been the main thing for me.
- She described herself as pansexual on her profile to make clear she's open to people of any gender.
Where the word comes from
From Greek pan, meaning all. The word was used in other senses earlier in the twentieth century, and its current meaning as an orientation became widely known from the 1990s and 2000s.
Not to be confused with
- Polysexual
Polysexual means attraction to many, but not necessarily all, genders.
Common questions
Does pansexual mean attracted to everyone?
No. Pansexual people are attracted to particular people like anyone else. The word means gender does not limit who they might be attracted to.
Is pansexual the same as bisexual?
They overlap, and some people use both. Pansexual often stresses that gender is not a deciding factor, while bisexual means attraction to more than one gender. Each person picks the label that fits.