Ive never really gotten a clear answer on this so im curious. Id like to start out by saying im pan.Has there been any negative connotations with being bi over being pansexual? Because i know in a lot of instances that bi could mean excluding trans folks. Like because from my perspective it kinda seems assholish to be bisexual in that instance. Excuse my ignorance.
I think that 99.99% of the time Bi and Pansexual end up meaning the same thing in practice. Generally the way I look at it is that bisexual is attraction to at least two, but probably not all, genders (but it CAN include all genders). Pansexual is just, for the most part, "yeah everyone's good!" I know folks really love to argue over these labels but I'm just not one of those people. There's a lot of new language happening in and around our lovely LGBTQ community and sometimes I think that leads us to drawing lines and picking fights where they really don't matter, you know? Like if you fancy someone and they fancy you back, have a good time.
I don't find bisexual to be exclusive or anything like that and I've certainly never felt excluded by someone who was bisexual.
I use the label pansexual for myself even though bisexual could do the work. For me it's about the person. I have my preferences, I think everyone does, about the types of bodies I like and aesthetics and style but it's mostly about the person for me. Am I attracted to THIS person? Great. I like food metaphors, I think of my sexuality like a buffet. Nothing's off the menu, but I do have some dishes I'm particularly fond of.