I am gender fluid, and the way you described feeling connected with your birth gender is probably the closest comparison anyone can make. Your connection to your gender probably feels natural and "right" (as in "this is how it's supposed to be for me"). You don't question it, because it's as normal to you as your skin. But what if it didn't feel natural? To make a somewhat silly comparison, what if you knew you were supposed to have skin, but you had scales? Wouldn't that bother you every time you looked in the mirror? It would be a constant reminder that your body and your sense of self don't mesh. For me, sometimes I feel like I'm supposed to have skin, sometimes I feel like I'm supposed to have scales, and everything inbetween, plus some extras. Now, this is as best as I can describe MY experience, but please know that everyone is different. Another gender fluid person might have a completely different experience, and they might feel this description doesn't work for them.

I want to know that too

I identify as pansexual because it works for me but I sometimes use bisexual when people don't understand what pansexuality means. My understanding is bisexual have a preference for the binary male or female. Pansexual has a preference for any across the gender spectrum including nonbinary, agender, gender fluid etc. Personally I feel like there is a lot of overlap. None of this is precise and it's good that it's not rigid. We use these words to gain a better understanding of ourselves and others - not to trap ourselves into boxes to be checkmarked.

It all comes down to what label you're comfy with using ^^

pansexual is gender-blind, bisexual is two or more genders, polysexual is multiple genders, omnisexual is all genders but on different levels!

Pan and bi are very very similar, with a lot of overlap. Bisexual actually has two meanings: attraction to 2 genders or attraction to more than one gender (I personally fit with that latter). Pansexual, meanwhile, is the attraction to anyone regardless of gender. In all honesty, it doesn't really matter whether a person identifies with the second bisexual meaning or pansexual. It's all down to how they feel and how they connect to the label. I personally latched onto bisexuality when I was scared and closeted and needed something to describe myself as and hold onto to remind me I was valid. But others who feel as I do consider themselves pan, and that is just as valid

Isn't it obvious? We bisexuals are /clearly/ head over heels for bicycles, and pansexuals obviously love pans. Honestly, the education system these days...

I'm not gunna lie, I believe there is a big difference. Bisexual uses bi to mean 2. I am interested in 2 genders. I don't believe I would be able to have a good relationship with someone who identifies outside of male and female because i dont personally understand it, not that theres anything wrong with it

bisexuality means you are attracted to two or more genders. it’s often used as an umbrella term. pansexuality means that you are attracted to all genders, with no preference, and that gender doesn’t really matter in your attraction. i’ve heard a lot of pan people say that they fall in love with the person, not the gender. full disclaimer this is just my understanding and i could be wrong

Pansexual people feel the same attraction to all genders, and there is no preference. Bisexual people may feel different attraction to different genders, or only be attracted to select genders. By extension, there are also polysexual, meaning attraction to multiple genders but not all, and omnisexual, which means feeling attraction to all genders but the attraction is different for each gender. I hope that makes sense!

I identify as pansexual (pan for short) and for me it means attraction regardless of gender, whereas bisexual (bi for short) it's attraction to two or more genders (with or without preference), but not necessarily all of them, and it is important to not the the nonbinary umbrella includes many different genders, although some people identify with nonbinary as their gender (these people sometimes call themselves nb or enby), and then there's Omnisexual (or Omni) which is attraction to all genders, but with a preference (some people call it pan with a preference). The lines though are very blurry and there is tons of overlap and this is just my understanding.

This one gets complicated. I'm bisexual. I like women. I like men. I like... I don't know, PEOPLE I guess. I think when it comes to bi, poly, pan, etc... it can be personal to whoever is identifying that way. Bisexual is the term I knew when I was coming out. Maybe I fall into one of those others better, maybe I don't. I just know what I am comfortable with. A lot of us who identify as one (or more) of those things cant even give you a clear definition. I mean, just LOOK at this comment section! How's that for a straight answer! LOL

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure pansexual has the same attraction to all genders but bisexual can have preferences

Bisexual means you are attracted to two or more genders, but not all. Pansexual means you are attracted to all genders.

Pansexual: attraction to ALL people despite gender (no, not children, pans aren't pedophiles) And Bisexual: Attraction to 2 genders [ex: male and female or enby and male)

lgbt stands for luigi got big tiddies, obvi

As a bisexual, the difference at surface level is that pansexuals have little to no preference for gender, and that they are attracted to any part of the gender spectrum. Bisexuals are more often attracted to binary genders (M/F).

If you look at the origin of the words, bisexual means you are both homosexual (homos is Greek for "the same") and heterosexual (heteros is Greek for "another" or "different"). Bisexual doesn't mean that you can only be attracted to men and women but not to nonbinary or trans people, but a lot of people get that wrong so we now have pansexual apparently. Anyway, I go by bisexual because "pansexuell" is not really used in the German language or maybe I am just old

bisexual means attracted to at least two genders but not all, and pansexual means attracted to all genders

Yes, when you are bisexual you are attracted to 2 genders, whereas when you are pansexual you like all genders

The original meaning of bisexual is to be a homosexual and a heterosexual. Because of how we think of gender and the binary we fall into thinking the “bi” is in relation to gender. Pansexual was first used to mock Freud as he thought everything was about sex, so pan(all) sexual. I literally saw a lecture on this subject this week. Dr Julia Shaw. https://www.bl.uk/events/the-hidden-culture-history-and-science-of-bisexuality.

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A trans women is a person who identifies as a women but was not a biological female. A trans man is a man who is not a biological male. There are also trans non binary people

100%. I honestly don't see the need for gendered pronouns in English anyway, so let's normalize using they/them as a default!

mine was special, a combo of my sister's idea and my favorite book

(Context here, I am pan) I really wish people would stop asking me if being pansexual means I'm attracted to cooking pans, if that means I would date them (fortunately for them, i have standards so they wont have to worry about this), if this means I would date animals (I would not) if I'm just bi, how I can be pan if there is only 2 genders (untrue in my opinion), etc.

My opinion is that if they said they're non binary, they're non binary. Doesn't really matter what they were assigned, especially if they were raised gender neutral

There are a few reasons that people come out when still questioning. 1) to find a community that will help them in their journey of finding who they are. 2) it can feel like you are lying to others while hiding that you are trying to figure it out. 3) having a label can be helpful for some people, even if they switch between terms, because it can make you feel less lost

You can ask those questions here. Let us help you if you want some clarity. I'm sorry you get yelled at for genuine curiosity.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like you are confused about the difference between what gender someone identifies as and how people express themself. Gender identity is what gender you feel like you have, cis or trans. Gender expression is how you dress, act, or express yourself. A person's gender identity and expression don't always match. As for being trangender, it is a different journey for everyone, some people feel like they have always known, others take a while to figure it out. Not all trans people experience gender dysphoria, but many do. There are a few types of it, I think the main ones are not feel like you fit in your biological sex, and feeling uncomfortable with what gender society labels you based on your biological gender and/or appearance. Sorry for the long answer, hope it helps

Cis, short for cisgender (pronounced sis-gender, or just sis), is a term that means whatever gender you are now is the same as what was presumed for you at birth. This simply means that when a parent or doctor called you a boy or a girl when you were born, they got it right.

i mean it really depends on what your mom is like. she seems like even if she isn't a full ally yet, she's open to it. if i were you, i'd start by telling people you trust (which may or may not include her) how you'd like to be referred to. then slowly branch outwards until you're presenting as yourself. i hope this helps, and sorry if it doesn't

Some people feel like they have always known, and others have more of a journey to find who they are.

Being bi means you are attracted to two or more genders, and being pan means that you are attracted to all genders with no preference. Nonbinary is a term for anyone who's gender isn't strictly male or female. It can be a label by itself, but there's a lot of subcategories like genderfluid, bigender, agender, etc. So nonbinary isn't a sexuality, and both pan and bi people can be attracted to nonbinary people but not all bi people are.

Not necessarily, there are people who are not transphobic, but are just uncomfortable dating a trans person. If they are disgusted and being rude about it, then it is far more likely that they are transphobic. Hope this helps!

I remember having an 'imposter' phase when I identified as ace, especially since then I thought I was still hetroromantic. In the end, only you can say your identity. Maybe ask yourself some questions, or research on aroace. If you find you are aroace, know that you are 100% valid. Hope that helped!

Honestly, teach yourself anything and everything you can, and don't put the burden on LGBTQ people to explain to you what you're doing wrong and how you can do it right. We don't all want to be teachers and advocates and political statements, we just want to exist. So listen to the people who are comfortable with talking, but don't put any pressure on those of us who just want to live our lives.

Hello Lucky, asexual person here. I agree that it's harmful and sad to not be accepted. Unfortunately, asexuality is often considered a mental illness (when it isn't) that can be treated with medications and the truly horrendous conversion therapy (praying away the gay/ or being forced into sexual encounters). The Trevor Institute says that asexuals have some of the highest percentages of being offered conversion therapy as a way to fix them. There's very little asexual representation in the media and yet have a feeling there's a lot more of us, but so many people are terrified to ever come out to family and friends (I'm 30 and still closeted) for fear of ridicule and not being accepted. Sadly, many LGBT support groups don’t even include asexual teens, youth, and adults in their conversations. All members of the LGBTQIA+ community should be loved and included! Fortunately, wonderful activists like Yasmin Bennoit are working with the LGBTQ+ community to bring more awareness about asexuality. Remember you are loved and valid! If anyone says you are not they are not worth your time.

Xenogenders. They’re controversial because some LGBTQ people believe it invalidates the struggles that LGBTQ people have gone through, like being called the right name and pronouns if they’re not cis. Xenos were coined as a way for neurodivergent people to express their gender identity. Dreamgender started off as a joke but it ended up getting into the wrong hands. I do not think xenos are valid and many people online will come for you if you believe that xenogenders are invalid.

I'm not really too sure, but I would assume if you go to your cities website they would have a date for the pride parade, if they do have one. I know where I'm moving they recently had their first pride parade (I'm really excited for next year! ) And it was on the website, but I will look into that! You have spiked curiosity in me now.