What do Tess Holliday, Amber Heard, Bella Thorne, Asya Keith Dillon, Miley Cyrus and singer Kesha have in common besides their star status? Their sexual orientation! It turns out that all these girls are pansexuals.
Who are pansexuals?
The term pansexuality itself began to be used relatively recently, the last 5-6 years. Despite the fact that real pansexuals appeared much earlier, the general public has just begun to recognize and recognize this concept.
Contrary to some stereotypes and misconceptions, they say that such a phenomenon does not exist in nature and cannot exist, pansexuality is the most real sexual orientation. The prefix "Pan" in this term comes from the Greek word "all", that is, pansexuals are the so-called "allsexuals"
This means that pansexuals can be romantically and sexually attracted to anyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. People often tend to confuse gender identity, that is, belonging to a particular gender, with sexual orientation. However, using pansexuality as a label for your sexual orientation says nothing about your gender.
Pansexuality has nothing to do with gender, but rather belongs to the category of sexual orientation, so these pansexuals cannot be compared with transgender people or people of the third sex (yes, there are some).
They often call themselves "gender blind", thereby emphasizing that their sexual attraction to a particular person does not depend on his gender or a certain set of genitals. This will prescribe that a pansexual may be attracted to men, women, transgender people, nongenders, bigenders, as well as gender-fluid, gender-bizarre, or non-binary people.
Pansexuals VS Bisexuals
Sometimes you can hear that pansexuals are the same bisexuals, only in a trend. However, this is not at all the case, although at first glance it may seem that an equal sign can be put between pan- and bisexuals.
For pansexuals themselves, such a comparison is often very upsetting, because they feel like people of broader views who do not want to divide others according to gender when it comes to sexual attraction.
So the Anfan Terribl of the musical Olympus - Miley Cyrus, who came out in 2016 and openly declared her pansexuality, in her frank interview with Variety magazine said that she was always annoyed by the word “bisexual”. It seemed to drive her into the rigid framework of gender stereotypes, while, according to the singer, she sees in her sexual partners not a man or a woman, but a person.
Historically, bisexuality has been defined as romantic and sexual attraction to both men and women. At that time, society perceived a person's gender as something binary. That is, there were only 2 sexes: male and female, with which a person could identify himself. With the development of gender issues, the concept of bisexuality began to evolve, which now means romantic or sexual attraction to people of more than one sex. Whereas pansexuality is an attraction to someone, regardless of their gender.
The border between these two concepts is very thin, but it is fundamental for people of both orientations. Although, oddly enough, there are people who diplomatically hint that the truth is somewhere in between, and call themselves BiPansexuals.
Experts believe that cultural and demographic factors greatly influence sexual identity. Components such as age, race, and geographic location can play a decisive role in which term a person chooses for their sexual identity.
For example, Americans in their twenties are more likely to use the term “pansexual,” while Europeans born in the 1980s and earlier are more likely to identify as “bisexual”. Recently, however, an increasingly common practice is the transition of formerly bisexuals to pansexuals.
Pansexuality vs Polyamory
Some people use pansexuality and polyamory interchangeably. However, this has nothing to do with reality. Polyamory is also a kind of "love without boundaries", like pansexuality, but it is based on the possibility of one person having love relationships with several people at the same time, with the consent and approval of all participants in these relationships, in contrast to monogamy, which implies exclusive relations.
The main difference between pansexuality and polygamy and monogamy is that it is just a sexual orientation that does not dictate the type of relationship. Representatives of this sexual orientation, like everyone else, have the freedom to choose - to be happy, no matter in what relationship, polygamous or monogamous.
Another myth that pansexuals never cease to debunk is that despite the prefix "pan", their orientation is not synonymous with promiscuous sexual relations, sexual promiscuity and hypersexuality. Their “all-sexuality” does not mean that they are ready to have sexual intercourse with anyone, anywhere, anytime. On the contrary, pansexuals can be very picky, but this already depends more on the person's personality than on his sexual orientation.
Often, society is too biased towards pansexuals, accusing them of sexual "greed" and phobia of relationships. However, attraction to people, regardless of their gender and sexual preferences, does not exclude the desire of pansexuals to have a relationship with a partner or partners. It's just that when pansexuals enter into a relationship, they build it not with the sex, but with the person. And they, like all other people, value meaningful, fulfilling relationships.
How do you know if you are pansexual?
Unfortunately or fortunately, you will not find an official test anywhere that identifies you as pansexual and puts a label on it. Only by learning to listen and hear yourself and your sexual needs can you discover your true sexual orientation. If it happens that you are not pansexual, although this idea generally appeals to you, do not be discouraged! In the variety of genders and sexual orientations that modern culture is rich in, you are sure to find something that is close to you. The main thing is not to get lost and not get lost in the wealth of choice.
