What's the difference between bisexual and pansexual

Since about freshman year I have identified myself as a bisexual. I like guys and girls. But to me, I like gay/straight/bi/trans/crossdressing boys and girls. I like any kind of person, no matter how they identify themselves, no matter their religious affiliation, tall or short, fat or skinny, no matter what skin color, I could probably love a nazi just to make my point. I love all people. I do have preferences, but that doesn't mean I only like certain people.

Does this make me identify as pansexual? Even when I was bisexual, I had identified myself as someone who loves all people, but the title pansexual is just a little too confusing.

I think no matter who you are, you identify yourself as either a man or a woman, whether it shows on the outside or on the inside. I heard that this is not always the case, but as a general rule you are either a boy or a girl, or a boy in a girl's body or a girl in a boy's body. That's why I usually keep my identity as a bisexual because bisexuals like boys and girls.

But I don't quite understand the difference between bisexual and pansexual. Wouldn't bisexuals also consider loving all people?

I'm not someone who enjoys labels. For the sake of facebook and clarity to other people, i stick to either straight, gay, or bi. It's just way too confusing to tell someone "I don't like to label myself" and then have to explain to them what I mean by that. So this is not a thread about labels, this is about what makes a bisexual different than a pansexual.

Thanks!

As I understand it, bisexual is more about the gender binary, that is to say "male" or "female" and what you've described is typically the definition of pansexuality, but pansexuality is relatively new as a label and there is no obligation to use it. If you feel happier describing yourself as bisexual, I don't suppose there are any who would tell you different. In essence, I guess if a person is pansexual, they are still bisexual too, just with added extra?

I'd say you're splitting hairs, but according to another recent thread, that's not likely...

Pansexuals differ from bisexuals in that they are attracted to not just men and women, but also transgendered, androgynous and gender fluid persons.

http://dating.about.com/od/glossaryw.../pansexual.htm

What confuses me is that bisexuals love boys and girls. In my opinion, and this is NOT true for everyone, but everyone is either a boy or a girl, whether or not they are one or both or many in physical or mental form.

You can be a boy in a girls body or vice versa, you can be born with both sexes or be altered to have both sexes and be a she-male.

Apparently as I just found out from my friend who I found out is pansexual, there is a difference between boy and girl and male and female. I still don't understand what that means.

So if bisexuals like boys and girls, and people are either boys or girls, how does that differ from pansexuality?

I would consider myself both, after talking to my pansexual friend.

The vast majority of people are either physically male or physically female. I think your friend might have been referring to transgender people- as in a girl but physically male, or a boy but physically female, perhaps.

I think the stereotype here is that a lot of bisexual people would not be so attracted if they found out the female they were attracted to was born male, or a person had a gender identity outside of the binary and displayed it openly, or... well, people who don't fit into the neat binary categories. I think pansexual people describe bisexuality like that- as a person who is attracted to male men and female women, if you see what I mean, whereas being pansexual they are "gender blind" and don't see any issue with whatever gender presentation or variation they come across.

Being a female-to-male transsexual, and bisexual to boot, I battled my own sexuality for a long time...my reasoning was, if I expect my partner to be comfortable with my female-bodied-male-presenting self, oughtn't I extend the same courtesy and love regardless of gender or assigned sex? *The answer for me is no. *I'm attracted to people who are comfortable with their bodies as they are; as I understand (and I am open to correction) the difference between my bisexuality and another person's pansexuality is that they would not be discouraged, hurt, put off or turned off by their partner's identity vs. assigned sex.

For me this extends beyond the gender binary/spectrum to plastic surgery and society's conception of 'normal' and 'beautiful.' I can't be with someone who is not comfortable with their body, that's just what attracts me. *What bothered me was that it seemed like a condemnation from me, but I now believe that's not so.