Problem with Pansexual

[Pica Pica]

Surely pansexual means that you find everything sexy - including; children, animals, trees, deckchairs, doorframes, cauliflower, dinosaurs, fingernail clippings, computer chips, strawberry milkshake, rough hessian, your own grandparents ....

... if not then it is the only time I can think of where the prefix 'pan' does not mean every single thing.

[Vanessa_yhvh]

Merriam-Webster....

pansexual

Main Entry: pan·sex·u·al
Pronunciation: \ˌpan-ˈsek-sh(ə-)wəl, -shəl\
Function: adjective
Date: 1926

: exhibiting or implying many forms of sexual expression

— pan·sex·u·al·i·ty \ˌpan-ˌsek-shə-ˈwa-lə-tē\ noun

[Jeatyn]

mmmm....doorframes

but yeah, never thought of it like that before language is silly

[Pica Pica]

there you go then, still hanging round with Johnson.

But what do we call someone who is sexually attracted to ice cream cones and goats &c... They'll have to claim the word back.

[cynthialee]

Walks away shaking her head and muttering something about people who quibble over semantics.

[Pica Pica]

Nah, don't normally - just enjoy the bizarre lists of things.
Post Merge: April 27, 2010, 06:14:52 PM

mmmm....doorframes

funny you pick up on the doorframes, main character in my first book has a fetish for doorframes.

[Nero]

<insert nero mini rant> I've always said the term was a bit ridiculous, especially when it is used as an alternate for "bisexual". Apparently a bisexual who would also date a trans person is "pansexual". I'm bisexual dammit. The fact I wouldn't exclude another transsexual from my dating pool doesn't change my sexuality.
Might as well use omnisexual. <end nero mini rant>

[Miniar]

Pan does mean all, but all doesn't mean the same thing as "everything".
Pansexual refers to an attraction to "all" genders and sexes.

[Silver]

Homosexual (as in, attracted to humans. Or attracted to the same species. Either way.)

[Arch]

Might as well use omnisexual.

Some people do.

[FairyGirl]

I find myself very attracted to that cute guy with the horns and goat's feet who plays those cool pipes...

[brainiac]

The main point of it is that "bi" directly refers to a gender binary, which pansexuals explicitly reject. That's all it comes down to. It's about as ridiculous as "androgyne" or "genderqueer".

No one is telling you to change the way you identify, and no one should pretend that they understand someone else's identity better than that person.

[kyril]

The main point of it is that "bi" directly refers to a gender binary, which pansexuals explicitly reject. That's all it comes down to. It's about as ridiculous as "androgyne" or "genderqueer".

No one is telling you to change the way you identify, and no one should pretend that they understand someone else's identity better than that person.

Yep (shrug) I don't identify as pansexual, or even bi, but it's no skin off my back if someone else wants to identify that way.

I do have some related issues with the word in its real life use: I am bothered when people claim that we're all somehow naturally pan/bi, because that denies my gay identity and tells me I'm somehow wrong or broken because of who I am/am not attracted to, which is something I thought the LGBT movement was trying to get away from. And I'm bothered by people who use "pansexual" as code for "I think trans people are hot," because it implies that your garden-variety straight or gay person isn't or shouldn't be attracted to binary-identified trans people. And it really pisses me off when people who identify as pansexual elaborate that they're actually attracted to "women and transmen" (actually I'm irritated whenever that phrase comes up, whether or not it comes from a pansexual person) for reasons described by Not Aiden here: http://www.notanotheraiden.com/archives/i-only-date-women-and-transmen

But if you want to use "pansexual" to tell people that you as an individual are or may be attracted to consenting adults of any and all sexes, genders, sexualities, and combinations thereof...then more power to you

[Autumn]

Everyone I know irl who is pan is fat.
Same with the polys.

I never liked the term pansexual. I've bitched about it on this forum before. Course, I think I'm slowly coming to terms with being over 90% gay. I don't feel like calling myself a lesbian, because it seems so trite for someone in my shoes to use it (feel like I haven't earned the word), and also because I've grown up with this innate desire for men that... doesn't seem to play out in the flesh too well.

To be honest, I've wanted to be more open about my sexuality, and see how comfortable I am with it (as I feel transitioning took me from one closet, into another (gay girl playing straight...) But honestly, without being like "YO, I LIKE RUGS," I very infrequently find a reason to bring it up, or feel like i'd be forcing or flaunting it if I did. The last person I admitted I liked girls to was this cute girl who hinted several times she liked girls, more and more strongly. I know we set each other's gaydar off. And she had to keep steering the conversation that way to get it out there. And who knows we may get some drinks at the only gay bar in town one of these days.

I really feel like trying to label my sexuality right now is pretty impossible, so why worry? I've come to love the word queer. I mean I've lived aspects of all four (GLBT) and my life is in a state of flux... Queer works while being ambiguous.

[Nero]

No one is telling you to change the way you identify,

People have though, hence the rant. So yeah, it's a small pet peeve.

[brainiac]

Everyone I know irl who is pan is fat.
Same with the polys.

I really feel like trying to label my sexuality right now is pretty impossible, so why worry? I've come to love the word queer. I mean I've lived aspects of all four (GLBT) and my life is in a state of flux... Queer works while being ambiguous.

Well, I'm not fat...? And my closest poly friend isn't fat either. I guess that doesn't help any, though, since this ain't IRL.

And I prefer using "queer" in general too, though if someone asks what I "really mean" by that, I'll say bisexual or pansexual. It really isn't that big of a deal to me, personally, and I'm sorry you guys and gals have had bad experiences with obnoxious people who are pushy about how others identify.

However, I've had plenty of people tell me I shouldn't identify as pansexual because it's "not a valid sexual identity"... just like my parents said that bisexual wasn't one either, and just like people decades ago (and some still) did not consider homosexuality valid, but a pathology, and just like many people still think that gender identity isn't "real" somehow compared to biological sex... Yeah. I get fussy when people say that one way of identifying is somehow incorrect.

[Osiris]

However, I've had plenty of people tell me I shouldn't identify as pansexual because it's "not a valid sexual identity"... just like my parents said that bisexual wasn't one either, and just like people decades ago (and some still) did not consider homosexuality valid, but a pathology, and just like many people still think that gender identity isn't "real" somehow compared to biological sex... Yeah. I get fussy when people say that one way of identifying is somehow incorrect.

Most definitely agreed.

The way I see it is there's too much beauty in the world to be tied down to one gender. I find people attractive, I'm not too picky on gender which is why I consider myself pansexual.

[saint]

I have heard the term "pansexual" to indicate attraction to humans of all flavours, and "omnisexual" to indicate attraction to aliens, furniture, plants, and everything else you can think of.