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Social Diversity: Bisexuality, Pansexuality, & Plurisexuality

Cecilia Wallis

Department of Psychology, Sinclair Community College

PSY 1100: General Psychology

Professor Chuckeia Folley

April 10, 2022

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Research Summary

Plurisexuality is a term “to collectively refer to a range of identities broadly defined by

attraction to more than one gender; including bisexuality, pansexuality, omnisexuality, and

queer, among others (Hayfield & Křížová, 2021).” Many people use the word bisexual as an

umbrella term to describe anyone that has an attraction to two or more genders. Hayfield and

Křížová found that while it was started to unify segments of the same community, it results in

minority sexual orientations feeling as though they are being diminished or invalidated. This

research was conducted in the United Kingdom with the objective of understanding how

plurisexual individuals understood their identities and how identified the difference between

bisexuality and pansexuality. They found that most pansexual individuals that identify as

bisexual do so for ease of understanding. Many people are not aware of what pansexuality is or

don’t understand the difference between it and bisexuality, so it is easier to just say bisexual.

When that individual is with friends and family that do understand they use their true sexual

orientation terms because they know they won’t have to explain them.

Research has found that within both heterosexual communities and LGBTQ

communities, plurisexuality isn’t understood or fully accepted. According to Mitchell, Davis,

and Galupo (2015), lesbian women tend to think bisexual women are “untrustworthy” and have

an “unstable identity” (p. 246). This prevents bisexual individuals from feeling welcomed and

connected to the LGBTQIA community. This research was conducted specifically for those

identifying as bisexual so “it is possible that sexual prejudice would be directed less towards

individuals with pansexual/queer/fluid identities when compared to those whose primary sexual

orientation identity is bisexual (Mitchel et al., 2015, p. 248).” Due to the lack of research that
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covers all plurisexual individuals, the researchers decided to broaden research beyond just

bisexual individuals. The study was conducted with 235 participants from across the United

States and found that bisexual individuals reported more hostility from lesbian or gay individuals

than other plurisexual individuals. That rate of hostility was lower than the rate of hostility from

heterosexual individuals for both groups.

Interview Summary
I interviewed my friend Rayne Jones. Rayne is a 19-year-old young man born and raised

in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was raised in a household with two sisters and two brothers

and grew up surrounded by many cousins. When Rayne came out in 2018, his immediate and

extended family was accepting and affirming. Having a sibling and cousins who had come out in

earlier years made the process easier for him. Although most of his family was accepting, there

were still some family members and friends that didn’t understand and thought that this meant he

would be an entirely different person. While Rayne lost some friends, most of his friends

educated themselves, realized that Rayne was still the same person, and continued to be a friend

and support Rayne in being the most authentic version of himself.

Rayne’s experience as a pansexual man in South Africa was mostly positive with very

few bad experiences. One of the bad experiences happened about two weeks ago when he was

out with friends. A police officer found out that Rayne was not a straight man and started to call

him homophobic slurs. As Rayne tried to verbally defend himself, the officer threatened to arrest

him. He was able to remove himself from the situation without any further issues. One of the

disadvantages of being a pansexual person are the stigmas surrounding it. Many people

perpetuate the view that pansexual men are feminine, which is untrue. Pansexuality is still seen

by many as an invalid sexual orientation. Rayne hopes that in the future there is more education
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around what pansexuality is and that it will be given better recognition within the LGBTQIA+

community as a real and valid sexual orientation.

One of the advantages of being a pansexual person is the ability to fall in love with

anyone regardless of sex, gender identity, race, ethnicity, gender expression, and more. Rayne’s

advice to someone who is fearful about coming out as pansexual is to take your time. Everyone

moves at their own pace so don’t rush yourself or feel like you must have all the answers. Be true

to yourself and don’t let anyone tell you that you’re something or someone you aren’t. In this

journey dance to the beat of your heart.

Personal Reflection

While I have several friends that identify as both bisexual and pansexual, I didn’t

understand the difference or why the difference was important prior to doing this paper. I

referred to them according to their preference and didn’t think anything of it. I now understand

the difference between the two sexual orientations and why it is important to understand.

The process of writing this paper allowed me to better understand what privileges I

possess, what obstacles those with minority orientations and identities face, and how I can better

support and stand alongside them in the struggle for equal rights. It also allowed me to sit in a

space of compassion in knowing that plurisexual individuals feel hidden and invalidated when

their identities are not authentically respected. Being able to speak with and learn from someone

with a different gender identity and sexual orientation than me caused me to understand the

importance of having real relationships with people from all walks of life.

Something that I think many people would be surprised by is how open and gracious

most members of the LGBTQIA+ community are when asked questions that people genuinely

want to get right. I was always so afraid to ask questions for fear of being offensive, but if you
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show that you want to get it right, the answers are explained fully with patience. I met Rayne

shortly before he came out as bisexual, and when I was interviewing him, I slipped and used the

wrong orientation. He stopped me and reminded me that he is pansexual and understood why I

slipped up. This graciousness reminds me that members of the community are so much more

understanding, compassionate, and empathetic towards people who are not members of the

community than one would expect from their societal treatment.

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Reference Page:
Hayfield, N., & Křížová, K. (2021). It’s like bisexuality, but it isn’t: Pansexual and panromantic

people’s understandings of their identities and experiences of becoming educated about

gender and sexuality. Journal of Bisexuality, 21(2), 167–193.

https://doi.org/10.1080/15299716.2021.1911015

Mitchell, R. C., Davis, K. S., & Galupo, M. P. (2015). Comparing perceived experiences of

prejudice among self-identified plurisexual individuals. Psychology & Sexuality, 6(3),

245–257. https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2014.940372