In regards to the different terminology used to identify oneself, many are confused with the distinction between "bisexual" and "pansexual" as they refer to individuals who are attracted to more than one gender. While heterosexual individuals are attracted to the opposite gender and homosexuals are attracted to the same gender, bisexual and pansexual open the door for multiple genders.
Bisexuality means that an individual is attracted to two genders. Due to the prefix "bi," meaning two, it often means that an individual is attracted to both males and females (via Medical News Today). Some people, however, believe that bisexuality can be exclusionary. As "Younger" star Nico Tortorella explains, "There's the argument to be had that people use all the time, that bi is exclusionary. It feeds into the binary of gender" and that there are only two genders one can have (via The Advocate).
Pansexuality differs from bisexuality in that individuals who identify as pansexual are attracted to all genders. This means anyone who is cisgender, transgender, or does not have any gender identity at all. These individuals mostly identify themselves as "pan" because it is the Greek root for "all." Those who identify as pansexual claim to be attracted to any person based on who they are and not their gender identity. Most pansexuals say they look at a person for their personality, rather than their gender (via Rolling Stone).
