Pansexuality Awareness & Visibility Day 2023

It's Pansexuality Awareness & Visibility Day.

You may be surprised to know that there still exists in 2023, many people who not only do not know what Pansexuality is but have never even heard of the word! It's actually true.

For some others, their understanding of what it is can be quite misinformed, leading to incorrect beliefs and attitudes.

I heard an example within the last week on the radio.

An author was being interviewed about sex education and the presenter said her son had come home one day, asking what pansexual meant.

She eventually asked the author to define what pansexual was and let's just say that the response given was not necessarily pleasing.

It leant towards a good definition but could have been significantly better, alluding that it was a person who was sexually attracted to lots of different people.

Such definitions can be damaging, as they give others the view that a pansexual person seeks out sexual activity with anyone or anything, which is simply not the case.

Focussing the definition on sexual attraction only is very misleading, as romantic and physical attraction also play a part and may be more dominant in many pansexual individuals.

Panromanticism is even less known about, even though it makes up a decent proportion of the Pansexual+ spectrum.

Being unknown makes a minority group invisible and that inadvertently leads to false beliefs, hate speech and harassment to those identifying as Pansexual or Panromantic.

While it's only a day and a day goes by very quickly, today is a time and opportunity to proudly celebrate being Pansexual/Panromantic (if safe to do so for some) and to properly educate others in order for knowledge leading to recognition, acceptance and ultimately, no more harassment of our people.

Choose how visible you want to be, depending on your own individual circumstances.

You could put up a flag, wear a pin or wristband or dress in pansexual flag colours, for instance. You choose what you do.

Coming out is another way to be visible but only do this if it will be safe for you.

Feel free to ask if you have questions or need some around any of this.