Pansexuality: a sexual option beyond gender roles

Beyond traditional sexuality, pansexuality is emerging.

The world is full of sexual orientations that remain taboo. remain taboo (at best) or (at best) or directly grounds for punishment (at worst). However, the fact that many cultures are beginning to recognize the freedom of individuals to be attracted to whomever they want does not mean that all these orientations are coming out equally and receiving the same attention.

To realize this, one need only look at how many people are familiar with the concept of pansexuality.

What is Pansexuality?

We were able to see a simulation of the typical reaction to the definition of pansexuality in one of the last (and worst) seasons of the British series Skins. One of the characters, Franky Fitgeraldwas questioned about his sexual orientation in a moment that had to be on the podium of the most interesting sequences of the season (note the level of quality).

The answer, which his patidifused female companions had to take for granted and which could not be developed much more either textually or narratively, was this: I'm into people. This sentence is very short, but it can be useful to have a basic notion of what it means to label oneself as a pansexual.

What does a pansexual person look like?

Let's start with the easy part: starting from a type of sexual orientation that is not very hegemonic to define a sexual orientation that is even less hegemonic. Let's take the example of homosexuality.

Whether it is a coincidence or not, homosexuality is based on a distinction between two sexes, as is the form of sexual orientation that has eclipsed it for centuries: heterosexuality. Both homosexuals and heterosexuals divide society into sexes to determine which one is potentially attractive.

Pansexual people, however, do not take the "sex" variable into account, or at least they feel that way when addressing the criteria by which they are attracted to one person or another. This means that, although a pansexual woman may find another woman attractive, her preferences cannot be described by placing her on a scale with the extremes "greater tendency towards heterosexuality" or "greater tendency towards homosexuality," because it it rejects the distinction between male and female that gives meaning to that measurement tool.

Pansexuality is simply a sexual orientation that is not governed by those parameters.

So are pansexuality and bisexuality the same thing?

Not at all, although it is possible that there are people who declare themselves bisexual because they are unaware of the idea of pansexuality. They are similar sexual orientations, since they question the male/female dichotomy and its relation to sexual attraction, but there are nuances that keep them separate.but there are nuances that keep them separate.

Someone who is bisexual is, in short, someone who can be attracted to people of both sexes. However, bisexual people define the sex of people by associating a gender charge to it: women are feminine and men are feminine.Women are feminine and men are masculine. This is important to keep in mind because, although being attracted to both sexes may call into question the value of this criterion, bisexuals still recognize the existence of gender associated with sex as important.

The difference between bisexuality and pansexuality is that in the latter, gender does not play an essential role either, i.e. the set of roles, attitudes and behaviors that are considered masculine or feminine. A pansexual does not take into account either the sex of a subject or the way in which his or her behavior is more or less in line with one or the other gender. They are simply attracted to people.

No, this cliché does not apply to pansexuals either.

Pansexual people consider both sex and gender to be empty concepts.But that doesn't mean they are attracted to everyone. The myth that someone who is attracted to people of the same sex is attracted to everyone is also false in the case of pansexuality. Someone who defines themselves according to this sexual orientation is perfectly capable of feeling little attraction (sexual or otherwise) for the vast majority of people, and yet will still enjoy the company of a few individuals, regardless of their genders and sexes.

In that sense, it is possible that pansexuality may involve more openness to the sexual appreciation of people, but not more openness to all people.but not more openness to all individuals in particular. This is an important nuance.

A silenced sexual orientation

Pansexuality may be a more romantic idea than homosexuality or heterosexuality, but it is also more shocking, more revolutionary. It is a challenge to the categories of sex and gender, and for that reason it is a difficult orientation to understand. It is not something that can easily become folklore, like that which makes up the stereotypes of the gay community, and is therefore also more difficult to recognize, make visible, and stuff with good amounts of clichés and marketing.

Perhaps that is why, ironically, it is possible that here and there it is believed that pansexuality is a fad. fada way to seek the attention of others. Perhaps that is why, even today, many people are still unable to assimilate the idea that it is possible to be attracted to people, just like that.

Bibliographical references:

• Aponte Carías, Yllelyna (2009). Soy pansexual y no discriminino. Available at: http://www.gaceta.udg.mx/Hemeroteca/paginas/573/G573_COT%209.pdf
• Serrano Ruiz-Calderón, José Miguel. (1994). Ideology and bioethics: The case of pansexualism. Available at: http://aebioetica.org/revistas/1994/1-2/17-18/19.pdf