Pansexuality Explained

By Eva Spijkers

Most of us are pretty familiar with the term bisexual—being attracted to more than one gender, typically understood as men and women. But lately, you might’ve heard the word pansexual popping up and wondered: what does that mean? And how is it different from being bisexual?

Pansexuality is about being attracted to people regardless of their gender. That means pansexual folks can be into men, women, nonbinary people, transgender people—basically, anyone across or outside the gender spectrum. For pansexuals, gender just isn’t the deciding factor in who they’re romantically or sexually attracted to.

So how is that different from bisexuality? Both identities can involve attraction to multiple genders, but some people feel like the term bisexual sounds a little too tied to the gender binary—man or woman. For them, pansexual feels like a more accurate way to express that their attractions aren’t limited by gender at all. It’s explicitly inclusive of people who don’t identify as male or female, and for many, that’s an important distinction.

Think of it this way: if you find yourself attracted to someone like Aaron Tiago de Aguiar (trans man), Cyrus Veyssi (non-binary), and Gigi Gorgeous (trans woman), you might relate to the idea of pansexuality—because your attraction spans a range of gender identities.