Am I Pansexual?

Pansexuality is defined as being able to feel attraction to anyone, regardless of gender. This includes people who do not identify as a specific gender. A pansexual person might become attracted to people who identify as male, female, nonbinary, agender, gender-fluid, and beyond. Their attraction extends to all genders, though it’s important to note that pansexual people aren’t automatically attracted to every single person on the planet. Rather, it just means that gender isn’t really a barrier or a factor in who pansexual people feel drawn to, because any gender can be attractive to them.

Bisexuality is commonly defined as attraction to more than one gender. Beyond that, however, the definition of bisexuality can be fairly fluid and often comes down to a specific person’s preferences. Some bisexual people only feel attraction to males and females, while others define their bisexuality as attraction to multiple gender identities, including nonbinary and genderfluid people. It’s easiest to think of bisexuality as a broad umbrella, with everyone under it having their own preferences beyond the basic definition.

Pansexuality and bisexuality are distinct concepts with a lot of overlap. If you’re wondering what the difference is between pansexuality and bisexuality, the answer is: bisexuality is the attraction to more than one gender, while pansexuality is the possible attraction to all genders. There are a lot of similarities between the two orientations, and the type of attraction that someone might feel can vary for both. For example, some people might feel romantic attraction to one gender primarily but sexual attraction to a different one.

The main difference between pansexuality and bisexuality is that, for pansexual people, gender doesn’t matter when it comes to attraction. For bisexual people, gender can be a factor; though they’re attracted to more than one gender, they might not be attracted to every gender—or attracted to someone regardless of gender. For example, a bisexual person might feel attracted to women, genderfluid people, and nonbinary people but not men.

How do I figure out whether I should identify as bisexual or pansexual? At the end of the day, the label you choose is completely up to you. In fact, some people decide not to choose a label at all or opt to identify with a broad label like “queer.” Some bisexual and pansexual people use both labels, while others change between one or the other depending on how they currently identify.

If you think you might be attracted to all genders, “pansexual” might be the most accurate label for you. On the other hand, if you think you’re definitely attracted to more than one gender, but perhaps not all of them, “bisexual” might resonate more with you. And, if you decide to label yourself pansexual right now but later decide that bisexual (or any other orientation) fits you better later, that’s okay too!