Happy Pansexual Visibility Day!
In 2024, Pansexual Visibility and Awareness Day will fall on Friday May 24.
The day was first observed in 2015, and has been celebrated annually since then. The day is marked by sharing stories, quotes, and messages of support for pansexual individuals, as well as holding events and activities to show solidarity and support for the pansexual community. It is also a day to educate people about pansexuality and the issues that pansexual people face.
The Pansexual Pride Flag has three stripes: pink, yellow, and cyan
It is a reminder of the importance of visibility and normalization of pansexuality, which is still often seen as something “weird” or “different.” Yet more and more people today are coming out as pansexual, and it is gaining more widespread acceptance
While there are many overlaps between pansexuality and bisexuality, the official definitions differ in their approach to gender. Pansexuality is often defined as an attraction to all gender identities or attraction regardless of gender identity, while bisexuality is often defined as the attraction to multiple gender identities. Both pansexuality, or “pan,” and bisexuality, or “bi,” are considered non-monosexual orientations, i.e. not being exclusively attracted to people of one gender such as with “heterosexual” or “homosexual.” It is possible to identify as both bisexual and pansexual, and many bi/pan activists have spoken out about the importance of solidarity amongst all non-monosexual people, and there not be any rivalry between bi and pan. As two prominent bisexual & pansexual advocates, Robyn Ochs and Heron Greenesmith, stated in an interview with Bustle, it is less important to strictly define the boundaries of what is bi or pan than it is to validate people’s individual identities and build solidarity together. Both the bi and pan communities have a history of solidarity with transgender and nonbinary people, and both identities recognize the many ways gender can exist beyond the binary of man/woman. In the 2015 US Trans Survey, which surveyed over 27,000 trans and nonbinary people across the U.S., 18% of respondents identified as pansexual, and 14% identified as bisexual.
Pansexual & Panromantic Visibility Day graphic, created by Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network, shared with permission [copyright AWN/Erin Casey]
The term pansexual is, in fact, not a new term. The word has been included in the Oxford English Dictionary since at least the early 1900s, and has been used in its current definition since at least the late 1960s. Some famous pansexual people include Janelle Monáe, Jazz Jennings, Asia Kate Dillon, Demi Lovato, and Miley Cyrus. As trans advocate and TV star Jazz Jennings stated in an interview about her sexuality for GLAAD, “being pansexual basically means to me that you are attracted to anyone, no matter their sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, everything. There’s no limits. I’ll date anyone. It’s more that I love someone for their soul.”
Further reading/resources:
GLAAD: What is Pansexuality? 4 Pan Celebs Explain in Their Own Words
Stonewall UK: 5 common misconceptions about pansexuality
Bustle: Why The “Debate” Around The Difference Between Bisexual & Pansexual Hurts The LGBTQ Community
