a thread on bisexuality n pansexuality (as i understand it)

i may not be 100% certain what the difference is between bi n pan bc they’re similar n overlap, but there is one, otherwise the two terms wouldn’t exist

educate me if sumn i say here is wrong, but read the whole thing first pls

the broadest—n therefore most inclusive—definition of bisexuality i’ve come across is “attraction to 2 or more genders”. if u wanna get to the “bi” part, meaning “two”, i’ve always taken it to mean “attraction to ur gender n not ur gender”

some people claim bisexuality is “attraction to THE two genders, male n female”, which is erasure of nonbinary gender identities. if it was corrected to “attraction to two genders, male n female”, that would make it ONE type of bisexuality, but not a definition that includes all

so someone who identifies as bisexual could be attracted to men n women only, or men n women n nonbinary people, or women n other more feminine-oriented gender identities, etc. one bisexual person’s attraction might not be the same as another’s

pansexuality, definitionally, is “attraction to all genders” (“pan” meaning “all”). this is why it might be used interchangeably with bisexuality, because a type of bisexuality also includes all genders. it’s rly up to u to decide how u identify

personally, i identify as pansexual because someone’s gender identity has no role to play whatsoever in my attraction towards them. i have no preferences

this, however, is only ONE type of pansexuality. other pansexuals might have preferences toward one or more genders, but still be attracted to them all. i think if u have preferences, ur pansexual (or bisexual), but if u have limits, ur bisexual

anyway, u can identify however tf u want, provided u don’t disrespect people’s identities, esp nb/genderqueer people!! that was the whole point of this thread