What Is Pansexual?

Pansexuality is a term that refers to people who are attracted to others no matter the other person’s gender identity. That includes men, women, and anyone who falls outside of the gender binary. Pansexuality is not just limited to sexual attraction but can also involve a romantic and/or emotional attraction.1

The Difference Between Pansexuality and Bisexuality

Pansexuality and bisexuality are sometimes used interchangeably, but others define pansexuality as part of the spectrum of bisexuality.

A bisexual person is attracted to two or more genders. This could be a combination of men and women, women and nonbinary individuals, men and agender individuals, and so on. Meanwhile, a pansexual person is generally attracted to individuals from any gender or regardless of gender.

According to the Trevor Project, LGBTQ+ youths have many terms to describe the nuances of their sexual orientation.2 Other labels that describe multi-gender attraction include:

• Omnisexual: Attraction to all genders. Some people use this term instead of pansexual to emphasize that gender is an important element of attraction for them.
• Heteroflexible: Another way to say "mostly straight." People use this term when they experience mostly heterosexual attraction with occasional "exceptions."
• Homoflexible: Another way to say "generally gay." The term describes individuals who are generally attracted to people of the same gender but sometimes experience attraction to people of other genders.
• Abrosexual/Sexually fluid: Attraction that is fluid. People use these terms to describe when the genders they find attractive are constantly changing.

The History of the Term "Pansexual”

According to Google Trends, "pansexual" did not become a common search term until the mid-2010s, which also coincides with the increase in the usage of terms such as "nonbinary" and "agender".

“While the term itself did not become popularized until recently, the roots of pansexuality have origins in the field of psychology that far predate its popularity, " says Dr. Sera Lavelle, clinical psychologist at NY Health Hypnosis & Integrative Therapy. "Sigmund Freud, for instance, believed that all infants are born with ‘unfocused libidinal drives.' "

In other words, Dr. Lavelle explains, Freud believed that infants’ sexual drives could be directed not only to both men and women, but also inanimate objects. He posited that it was through the different stages of psychosexual development that children learn to direct those desires towards the opposite sex.3

“One of the most notable theories of sexuality comes from Dr. Albert Kinsey, most known for the ‘Kinsey Scale.’ Kinsey believed that most people reside on a continuum in terms of sexual attraction,” explains Dr. Lavelle.

This scale ranges from zero being exclusively heterosexual to six being exclusively homosexual. Kinsey's original data suggested that many people fall somewhere in the middle of that scale.4

Source: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-pansexual-5075602