A quick thread on pansexuality for #PrideMonth

Pan is attraction to people of all gender identities/lack thereof. It can mean, more specifically, attraction not determined by gender identity/lack thereof. It doesn't other or invalidate trans people or imply bi is binary. It does not mean "hearts not parts" or "gender-blind".

Pan is not, and was not created to be a bi replacement or upgrade. It originally served as a sort of safe space for trans and non-binary people, in response to the real transphobia in the bi community at the time. Trans and non-binary people who were there for it have said this.

Another response to that transphobia was to change the narrative in the bi community. That transphobia being largely corrected does not then render pan unnecessary, as it has its own history and importance to people that can't be thrown away or dismissed.

Freud did not create pansexuality. His concept, pansexualism, is not the same as pansexuality. It wasn't even a sexuality. It was a theory about human behavior. Stop associating pansexuality with him or using him to invalidate pansexuality.

How individual pan people explain their attraction varies. Offensive or ignorant explanations do not represent the entire pan community or identity as a whole. Making generalizations about an entire community and identity based on the words of a few is not fair or okay.

The validity of pansexuality is not up for debate. It's real and it's valid and it does not harm or affect anyone. Accept that pansexuality is not and was never the horrible, offensive, bigoted identity you so badly want it to be and just let pan people live.