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Pansexuality
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pansexuality (sometimes referred to as omnisexuality[1]) is a sexual orientation characterized by the potential for aesthetic attraction, romantic love and/or sexual desire for people, regardless of their gender identity or biological sex. This includes potential attraction to people who do not fit into the gender binary of male/female implied by bisexual attraction. Pansexuality is sometimes described as the capacity to love a person romantically irrespective of gender. Some pansexuals also assert that gender and sex are meaningless to them. The word pansexual is derived from the Greek prefix pan-, meaning "all". This prefix is used specifically in contrast to the idea of 'two' genders as expressed by bi-, not to encompass all forms of sexuality, such as sexual fetishes unrelated to gender.
The adjective pansexual may also be applied to organizations or events. In this context, the term usually indicates an openness to the involvement of people of all genders and sexual orientations in said organization/event, not that everyone involved is, or should be, themselves pansexual. The terms "pansexual" and "bisexual" are not mutually exclusive terms, but rather pansexual is a way of defining bisexuality without necessarily denying the possibility of interest in genders and sexes such as those identifying as transgender or "genderfuck."[2] The term alternatively is described as a "means to skip the binaries and existentialism of 'bi',"[3] and also criticized as being jargon-ridden and inaccessible.[4]
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The term pansexual generally is used for people who do not classify their sexuality according to a person's sex, but rather their gender. They believe that there is a set difference between sex and gender—gender being the socially constructed condition of being masculine or feminine, and sex being the biological condition of male or female.
People who are pansexual may be attracted to various forms of romance, and may be aroused by various acts of sex on a carnal level. Some suggest that pansexuality is more accurately described by its adepts: human- or person-oriented, irrespective of a pansexual person's fluid sexuality. In some cases someone who is defined as strictly heterosexual can engage in sexual activities with someone of the same sex in which there is a close relationship but with no desire to do so with another of the same sex. It can be an intense sexual experience because it is an isolated relationship formed by a rare friendship that others can never achieve with a separate or combined meaning for each and is shared only with those involved. It is a balance that's added as a separate part to being heterosexual.
Many people who identify as pansexual may associate with people of all sexual orientations, but are not necessarily interested in sex with people of all sexes or genders. For some people who are pansexual, biological sex is a secondary factor, something that will be discovered if and when sexual interaction takes place.
- ^ The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language - Fourth Edition. Retrieved February 9, 2007, from Dictionary.com website
- ^ Haritaworn, Jin, Chin-ju Lin, and Christian Klesse. "Poly/Logue: A Critical Introduction to Polyamory." Sexualities 9.5 (2006): 515-29.
- ^ Susan Pell, "Inescapable Essentialism: Bisexually-Identified Women's Strategies in the Late 80s and Early 90s" thirdspace 2/1 (November 2002): 40 pars.
- ^ Board, Mykel. "Pimple No More." In Tucker. 281-287.
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| Gender | Male · Female · Androgyny · Boi · Cisgender · Gender identity · Gender identity disorder · Genderqueer · Gender role · Intersex · Pangender · Third gender · Transgender · Transman · Transwoman · Transsexualism |
| Sexual orientations | Asexuality · Bisexuality · Celibacy · Heterosexuality · Homosexuality · Pansexuality · Technosexuality |
| Third genders | Fa'afafine · Fakaleiti · Hijra · Kathoey · Khanith · Mukhannathun · Muxe · Sworn virgin · Two-spirit |
| Other | Butch and femme · Castrato · Eunuch · Fetishist · Geesha girl · Homosexuality and transgender · Master (BDSM) · Pimp · Polyamory · Porn star · Prostitute · Sex offender · Swinging · Queer · Womyn · Switch · Same gender loving |