This is no different than a bisexual person who may be more attracted to one gender than another.

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Definitions

A lot of terms are used when discussing sexuality.

You may have already heard some of them.

Portrait of a happy homosexual couple

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Still, reviewing their meanings can set you up to better understand the nuances of pansexuality.

Sexual orientationis a person’s identity in relation to the gender or genders they are attracted to.

There are many defined sexual orientations.

Pansexual flag

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Some include gay, lesbian, bisexual,asexual, anddemisexual.

It is important to note that a person’sgenderis not the same thing as a person’s sex.

In general, there is no restriction as to who can identify as pansexual.

Others still may use the terms bisexual and pansexual interchangeably based on who they are with.

The term a person uses is ultimately a personal choice.

Beliefs like these invalidate a person’s sexual identity.

This, in turn, can lead to feelings of low self-esteem, alienation, and rejection.

The term is not meant to be used as a noun.

For example, “he’s a pansexual.”

It’s important to remember that someone’s pansexuality is whatever they personally define it to be.

People can apply the term in any way that they choose if it matches how they identify internally.

His definition referred more to a platonic curiosity than to sexual or romantic attraction.

By 2010, the pansexual flag was released on the internet.

It consists of pink, blue, and yellow stripes representing attraction to all identities.

Or, you may choose to not identify at all.

Everyones journey will be different.

Omnisexuality is an attraction to all genders and is sometimes used interchangeably with pansexuality.

Omnisexual people may also have a preference for certain genders.

Traditionally, people believed that there were two genders: male and female.

Cisis short for cisgender, which means a person identifies as the gender they were assigned at birth.

4 pan celebs explain in their own words.

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Human Rights Campaign.LGBTQ Youth Report.

Malinowska A, Gratzke M.The Materiality Of Love.New York City: Routledge.

Them.In Queery: The Past and Popular Usage of the Term “Pansexual”.

Nadal K.The Sage Encyclopedia Of Psychology And Gender.

Human Rights Campaign Foundation.Supporting and Caring for Our Bisexual Youth.