Psychology Facts

▼ Pansexual ▼

》Pansexuality is a term that refers to people who are attracted to others no matter the other person's gender identity.

In a 2017 LGBTQ Teen Survey through the Human Rights Campaign, 14% of youths identified themselves as pansexual.

That number doubled from 2012, when only 7% of individuals identified as pansexual.

The 2018 LGBTQ Youth Report found that more than 75% of bisexual, pansexual, and fluid-identified youth said they "usually" felt feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness over the past week.

It has also been claimed that pansexuality refers not to a metaphysical order of attraction to other human beings but rather, a more carnal attraction to sexual acts in general and irrespective of gender.

According to Google Trends, "pansexual" did not become a common search term until the mid-2010s, which also coincides with the increase in the usage of terms such as "nonbinary" and "agender".

In recent studies it is reported that among nonheterosexual pansexual individuals, five times more women than men identified as pansexual.

Also more likely to identify as pansexual were nonheterosexuals from younger generations and those who have a gender identity, gender expression, or gender role that society considers inappropriate for the sex one was assigned at birth (aka "noncisgender").

Finally, pansexual individuals "overwhelmingly represented their sexual/romantic attractions as falling within the bisexual range of the sexual continuum."

In addition, there are also many individuals who are exclusively or mostly straight or gay in terms of their sexual orientation who also identify as pansexual. They and others who are in the middle sexualities of the sexual continuum stress additional aspects of the person — such as their personality, temperament, likeability, or body type.

No matter where you stand on the issue of pansexuality, pansexuals do exist and therefore deserve respect, love, and support, just like every other human.