Omnisexuality??? Ok, I accept that as Gen X I’m old. I grew up stating I was Bi because that’s the term we had at the time. Now I still say Bi, but clarify “or really Pan as the kids call it nowadays because I believe all the toys in toy box are fun to play with and I value the person (and personality) over plumbing”. Now what is Omni?
Bi: attraction to more than one gender
Pan: attraction regardless of gender
Omni: attraction to all genders
The difference between pan and omni is small and they’re often used synonymously. Most people I know, that fall into this category, identify as either bi or pan. Omni is exceedingly rare but it’s also not that new. I remember it already being an established thing when I first read about it almost a decade ago.
That seems to be making a distinction just to make a distinction. Pan and omni mean the same thing: all. It just sounds like someone wanted to feel more special than the people calling themselves pan so created a new word that means the exact same thing.
If you’re attracted to someone regardless of gender then you’re attracted to all genders. Attraction doesn’t mean you always like them, it means you have a lustful desire to them. Both pan and poly can feel that for anyone, but neither feels it for everyone obviously. Unless I’m getting something wrong here, they’re the same thing with the meaning you gave and the words even mean the same thing.
Yea, it’s obviously not about who you get the hots for, at that point. In both cases, everyone’s on the menu.
The commonly used distinction is, that pan is often described as „gender-blind“, meaning, gender has no role in attraction. A guy is hot, because he’s hot, not because he’s a guy, while this can be very much the case with omni.
But yes, it’s a very small distinction. It doesn’t make enough of a difference for most people. There’s a reason very few people identify as omni. But let them have their fun, if that small distinction matters to them. There’s no reason to police labels.
Sure, I’m not going to police it. If someone wants to call themselves omni I’m not going to tell them they’re wrong. They’re free to do whatever they want. I’m just saying it does seem to make sense to have a different term, beside just having fun.
For example though, I’m a straight man, but I’m still attracted to some more masculine appearing women. I’m just attracted to who I’m attracted to. There doesn’t need to be an additional term for straight people who can be attracted to both masculine and feminine appearing people of the opposite sex. That’d be absurd, and I’m sure the omni people would agree.
Thats what it sounds like “omni” is trying to do. You’re attracted to anyone, regardless of gender, which is pan. You just have a preference for particular gendered appearances. That’s still pan, but you have preferences for appearances, like everyone else. We don’t need a word for every single persons preferences or we wouldn’t be able to have a conversation about it. We don’t need a word for people attracted to people with tattoos, for example.
There doesn’t need to be an additional term for straight people who can be attracted to both masculine and feminine appearing people of the opposite sex.
No, the word for that is straight. But there are certainly words for people who are attracted to masculinity or femininity, regardless of gender. And of course there’s having a type. But that’s got nothing to do with sexuality. Pan folks can have types, too.
You’re attracted to anyone, regardless of gender, which is pan.
Well no. Omnisexuality is explicitly not regardless of gender. The gender is being regarded. That’s the whole point of the distinction. It’s just that all of them are being regarded. That has nothing to do with expression, type or appearance. The attraction to different genders might just be different, before type even plays a role.
At least, that’s how I understand it. I’m pan. I barely get how one can care about gender at all. I cannot speak out of experience here, only from what I’ve been told. I get omnisexuality about as little as I get exclusively gay/straight people. This feels a bit like a blind person explaining green to someone who can’t see colours.
Depends on the band. There are words for only attracted to fem guys and women, or masc women and men, but i forget them. Im sure someones made a word for other bands too
Androsexuality and gynosexuality. Honestly I would like those even if I wasn’t bi, much clearer than heterosexual/homosexual. Also they work better with nonbinary people
Yea, pan here, too. That’s how I always understood it. Gets a bit more nuanced though, when you include omnisexuality.
Omnisexuality??? Ok, I accept that as Gen X I’m old. I grew up stating I was Bi because that’s the term we had at the time. Now I still say Bi, but clarify “or really Pan as the kids call it nowadays because I believe all the toys in toy box are fun to play with and I value the person (and personality) over plumbing”. Now what is Omni?
Omni people don’t like mixing Greek and Latin.
Or they really hate flutes
Generally, it’s described as:
Bi: attraction to more than one gender
Pan: attraction regardless of gender
Omni: attraction to all genders
The difference between pan and omni is small and they’re often used synonymously. Most people I know, that fall into this category, identify as either bi or pan. Omni is exceedingly rare but it’s also not that new. I remember it already being an established thing when I first read about it almost a decade ago.
Edit: formatting
That seems to be making a distinction just to make a distinction. Pan and omni mean the same thing: all. It just sounds like someone wanted to feel more special than the people calling themselves pan so created a new word that means the exact same thing.
If you’re attracted to someone regardless of gender then you’re attracted to all genders. Attraction doesn’t mean you always like them, it means you have a lustful desire to them. Both pan and poly can feel that for anyone, but neither feels it for everyone obviously. Unless I’m getting something wrong here, they’re the same thing with the meaning you gave and the words even mean the same thing.
Yea, it’s obviously not about who you get the hots for, at that point. In both cases, everyone’s on the menu.
The commonly used distinction is, that pan is often described as „gender-blind“, meaning, gender has no role in attraction. A guy is hot, because he’s hot, not because he’s a guy, while this can be very much the case with omni.
But yes, it’s a very small distinction. It doesn’t make enough of a difference for most people. There’s a reason very few people identify as omni. But let them have their fun, if that small distinction matters to them. There’s no reason to police labels.
Sure, I’m not going to police it. If someone wants to call themselves omni I’m not going to tell them they’re wrong. They’re free to do whatever they want. I’m just saying it does seem to make sense to have a different term, beside just having fun.
For example though, I’m a straight man, but I’m still attracted to some more masculine appearing women. I’m just attracted to who I’m attracted to. There doesn’t need to be an additional term for straight people who can be attracted to both masculine and feminine appearing people of the opposite sex. That’d be absurd, and I’m sure the omni people would agree.
Thats what it sounds like “omni” is trying to do. You’re attracted to anyone, regardless of gender, which is pan. You just have a preference for particular gendered appearances. That’s still pan, but you have preferences for appearances, like everyone else. We don’t need a word for every single persons preferences or we wouldn’t be able to have a conversation about it. We don’t need a word for people attracted to people with tattoos, for example.
No, the word for that is straight. But there are certainly words for people who are attracted to masculinity or femininity, regardless of gender. And of course there’s having a type. But that’s got nothing to do with sexuality. Pan folks can have types, too.
Well no. Omnisexuality is explicitly not regardless of gender. The gender is being regarded. That’s the whole point of the distinction. It’s just that all of them are being regarded. That has nothing to do with expression, type or appearance. The attraction to different genders might just be different, before type even plays a role.
At least, that’s how I understand it. I’m pan. I barely get how one can care about gender at all. I cannot speak out of experience here, only from what I’ve been told. I get omnisexuality about as little as I get exclusively gay/straight people. This feels a bit like a blind person explaining green to someone who can’t see colours.
So what would be attraction to a specific band of aesthetic characteristics independent of sex or gender be?
Depends on the band. There are words for only attracted to fem guys and women, or masc women and men, but i forget them. Im sure someones made a word for other bands too
Androsexuality and gynosexuality. Honestly I would like those even if I wasn’t bi, much clearer than heterosexual/homosexual. Also they work better with nonbinary people
I cannot answer you that but there are certainly labels that describe specific cases of that.