The theory of gender relations is constantly evolving, new terms and concepts are emerging that did not exist before. The concept of "pansexual" was introduced in connection with the understanding that society is changing and is gradually recognizing that there are people who do not identify themselves as men or women.
Who are pansexuals?
Pansexuality, or omnisexuality (the second name of this orientation), is a sexual, romantic and emotional attraction to people regardless of their gender or gender identity. Pansexual can treat himself as a person without gender, arguing that gender and gender are not determining factors in his romantic or sexual attraction to other people. This is a rather complicated concept.
At its core, this kind of gender identity can be considered the sexual orientation of modern times. Both pansexual and bisexual are somewhat similar concepts, because they experience a type of sexual attraction, which is unnatural for heterosexuals. This orientation is not a sexual perversion, which is recognized by both psychiatrists and sexologists.
Differences between Pansexuals and Bisexuals
Some experts view pansexuality as a form of bisexuality to indicate alternative sexual orientation. Pansexuals are people who are open to relationships with people who do not identify themselves strictly as men or women (agenders, transgenders). Unlike bisexual, a pansexual does not look at the floor when choosing a sexual partner, his attraction is completely independent of the gender of the person.
For this reason, pansexuality rejects the theory of gender binarity (the existence of only two sexes). Often this term is considered as a broader concept than bisexuality. The extent to which the term “bisexual” is a broader concept than the term “pansexual” is discussed within the LGBT community, especially in bisexual communities.
Answering the question of how a pansexual differs from bi, we can say that a bisexual feels the difference between the sexes and identifies himself as a representative of one of the sexes, but he is attracted to both men and women.
Omnisexuals are looking for a partner based solely on personal qualities of character, common interests and emotions received from communication with him. Adherents of pansexuality separate themselves from bisexuals: they are attracted to the male and female at the same time, while pansexuals absolutely do not see the difference in the gender of the partner. This is the main difference between bisexual and pansexual.
Omnisexual Self-Feeling
Men, women, androgyns, intersexuals, homosexuals, transgender people, agenders - all these definitions of gender do not make any sense to a pansexual. Omnisexuality ignores the difference between genders, focusing only on intimacy, mutual understanding, respect. Sometimes pansexuals themselves do not understand their own gender or reject it, confusing themselves with bisexuals or considering it paraphilia, although it is neither one nor the other.
Public opinion
To understand who pansexuals are, it is necessary to proceed from the fact that the European community recognizes the existence of not only male and female sexes and their respective gender identities, but also other types of sexual orientation. For example, the United Kingdom fully recognized all the rights of gay people in 2005, including legal marriages. However, not every country recognizes the rights of homosexuals, bisexuals and transgender people. Their rights vary across countries from the full legalization of gay marriage and homosexual partnerships to prison sentences and the death penalty.
The rights of gay people
European legislation relating to these persons and their rights include: full recognition by the country of relations that go beyond traditional ones, the legal right to openly serve in army units, the right to adopt adopted children by same-sex parents. However, there are countries where measures are taken to deport these individuals and discriminatory laws are lobbied. In America and Europe, there is a program to stop hate crimes against gay people. For example, in many countries in East and Africa, individuals who are not part of the traditional concept of sexuality and gender can be sentenced to death.
Etymology of Terms
The prefix “pan” comes from the ancient Greek word “everything, everyone”, “omni” comes from the Latin word “everything”. The hybrid words "pansexualism" and "pansexual" were first witnessed in 1917 to refer to the idea that sexual instinct plays a paramount role in all human activity, as well as mental and physical. These terms are attributed to Sigmund Freud, since he attached great importance to sexual activity in the early stages of psychological research.
The literal vocabulary definition of bisexuality (based on the prefix of the Latin prefix "bi", which means "double, double") is a sexual or romantic attraction to both sexes (men and women) or to several genders (for example, transsexuals).
Pansexuality (based on the prefix "pan") is a sexual attraction to a person of any gender or gender. Using these definitions, pansexuality is defined differently, obviously including people who are intersex or any persons who are not part of the traditional binary system.
The essence of pansexuality
In simple terms, answering the question of what “pansexual” means, we can say that this is a person who, when choosing a sexual partner, does not look at his gender, his sexual desire and love are not tied to the gender of his second half.
Scientific research claims that pansexuals can be sexually attracted to bisexuals, cisgenders (a new concept for people with a traditional sexual orientation), transgender people, intersexuals, androgynous people, and that the term pansexualism is generally considered to be a broader term than bisexuality.
It is also believed that the term can literally be interpreted as "attraction to everything." People who identify as pansexuals, as a rule, do not suffer from other sexual deviations (paraphilia). Pansexuality does not include abnormalities such as bestiality, pedophilia, and necrophilia, by definition. It is emphasized that the term "pansexuality" describes only intimate relationships by mutual consent of adults. In fact, pansexuals are people who are “blind” to gender as such, they do not see the difference between the sexes. This is very important for understanding the nature of those who are pansexuals. Such gender blindness can be caused by many factors. The LGBT community has even created flag and symbols for pansexuals and bisexuals.