Pansexuality

Pansexuality is a sexual orientation characterized by the potential for emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction toward people regardless of their gender identity or biological sex. People who identify as pansexual may be attracted to individuals across a broad spectrum of genders, including cisgender, transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people. Some use pansexual to emphasize inclusivity and the idea that gender is not a primary factor in attraction.

Pansexuality is sometimes contrasted with bisexuality, which also involves attraction to more than one gender. In practice, many people view pansexual and bisexual identities as overlapping and complementary, while others see them as distinct labels. A common misconception is that pansexuality means attraction to everyone; in reality, pansexual people have personal preferences and boundaries like anyone else, but gender does not constrain their attraction.

The term pansexual comes from the Greek prefix pan-, meaning all, and has appeared in English in the 20th century. In contemporary usage, it is a recognized label within LGBTQ+ communities and academic discussions of sexuality, used to describe a gender-inclusive pattern of attraction.

People who identify as pansexual may also describe related orientations, such as panromantic or omnisexual, to specify whether their attractions are romantic and how they relate to gender. Representation varies, and pansexual individuals may encounter stereotypes or erasure, including assumptions that their orientation is the same as bisexual.