What is pansexuality?

Wowoww. I always thought that pansexuals were open to the idea that "one can not control who they fall in love with". I had thought it had nothing to do with sex - for instance, a pansexual could still love and desire a person who abstains entirely from sex or identifies with no gender. For instance, I thought that a pansexual would even be able to sustain an emotional relationship on a purely intellectual level even without sex. Open to, but not necessarily preferring, anything.

After reading this thread I'm thoroughly sure I was wrong before. So strange how my definition was the total opposite of what it really is.

 

it sounds childish to me. its not about who u find atractive its who u love why do people care so much about sex who other peopla are having sex with

 

That's a possibility, that 'pan' doesn't refer to the ranges of gender to have sex with, but the scale of sexuality from zero to high. I suspect most of us here don't know what we're talking about.

 

I suspect you are right, because every website I've looked at that has tried to define pansexuality defines it in a different way. I suspect the entire Internet doesn't know what they're talking about lol.

I like the definition of it not really having anything to do with sex, but instead referring to people who are open to the possibility of falling in love with anybody regardless of gender, even when there isn't anything sexual there. I'm not sexually attracted to women but I am very attracted to women on a certain level that has nothing to do with sex so that definition could kind of apply to me.

 

Although, if it has nothing to do with sexuality, then why call it pansexuality...right? Just trying to introduce different angles from which you could look at this matter... *shrug*

 

Very good point. But I've also heard of non-sexual people that refer to themselves as "asexual" no matter how little it makes sense.

 

Yeah, I've heard of that happening, too. My theory is that one cannot be 100% of anything especially on something like sexuality. Something sexual by nature has a good chance of arousing us, whether it's of the opposite sex sort of thing or of the same sex counterpart...or even inter-species.

I consider myself as heterosexual. But I know I'm not 100% hetero if 100% means there is zero possibility of my being sexually aroused by display of male sexuality. After all, some of my wet dreams have featured myself coming in contact with other erect penises. I develop an erection when I watch a footage featuring a penis in its process of developing an erection. And of course, I'm sure most of us have been aroused by others of the same sex as children and as adolescents. Our hormones may settle as we grow older, but that doesn't mean they don't remember what's sexually stimulating.

And this is without taking the aspect of "love" into consideration. But loving someone of the same sex in itself doesn't necessarily have to be sexual. A man may love the male portion of his family, his male friends, your pets, without turning those situations into something romantic. The female version of the story ditto. So that wouldn't be considered pansexual even though we're talking about love. If we put it that way, I think it becomes a little easier to see that the sexual aspect must be present in order for something to be referred to as pansexual.

Well, that's what I think anyway at least, lol.

 

I'm in love with my best friend. I admire her because I think she's the most beautiful, talented, and smartest woman I've ever met. But more than that I love her physically; I love her voice and the way she carries herself, I love her figure and her booty and her skin tone and her sensuality. But I don't want to have sex with her. Its almost a sexual crush I have on her, in that theres definitely a physical aspect there, but it stops short of being truly lustful. Maybe that is what is meant when pansexuality is defined as not neccessarily a sexual love. There is a sexual element there but its not sexual in the sense of actually desiring to have sex.

 

Pansexuality is a term people who spend too much time on the internet use to feel better about themselves.

 

Pansexuality and Queer are often used by people who feel like they've been marginalized or just all out not included in the LBGT tag.

Just like all communities, people get their panties in a knot about labels. Some L/G don't believe that bixsexuality exists. Some people who are gay, would not chose a trans partner. Little variations on a theme, one label may mean you would date a trans or andro, while another lable may mean you don't.

It's sorta like the dreadheads who faction over methods and products and shit...it's crap labeling from within it's own community, which is ironically what they're trying to escape in society at large.

If forced to lump my kingly-self in with a label, I use Queer as I am not LGBorT

Just a semantics game.

 

Pansexuals are simply people for whom physical attraction is completely irrelevant when it comes down to who they can be attracted to. As long as they are attracted to the personality, what the person looks like means nothing to them.

 

That's exactly how I describe and feel it. I don't give a care if the person I'm attracted to is male, female, trans, etc. I go with who and what turns me on, simply.

Me too! Hooray for tentacles.

 

Yeah but IF you are turned on by something physical, you are not pansexual according to that interpretation.

 

i don't care either, every person who's ever turned me on just happens to be female.

 

Well that's the thing, I'm attracted to the person as a whole package, I'm far from considering only physical appearance or gender. These are one of the many characteristics that makes someone "him/her" according to me and I even consider them as details. I look at the attitude, the style, the general persona and that attracts me a lot more than flesh, even though I like a pretty face. I just don't mind if that pretty face is male, female or both at the same time.

 

im probably a pan, but havent found a tran to fall in love with ... but im getting warmer.. lol.

 

There seems to be a false assumption that only pansexuals can be attracted to transsexual women. I've heard a few men saying they can be attracted to them, and consider themselves as straight. I also think its very likely that other straight men have found themselves attracted to a transsexual woman without realising it. So I think it's wrong to suggest only a pansexual could be attracted to them. However, many straight men even if they were attracted to one, they would never enter a relationship with one, because of the social stigma attatched to transsexuals. I think this is the only difference. This is something a pansexual could look past, whereas many straight men could not.

 

I hate lumping myself into any type of category or name- as human sexuality can be very complex with it's own areas of gray. But the closest label for my sexual orientation would probably be pansexual- I am attracted to and fall in love a person regardless of their gender.

 

Im just not attracted to male types though..