"I know you've already explained this in the sexuality segment of this manual, but I still feel confused about something," you may say. "What's the difference between bisexual and pansexual? Aren't they technically the same thing?"

Before I can answer that, let's try to define the words bisexual and pansexual again. Keep in mind that, though I will be including Google standard definitions of bisexual and pansexual, I will be providing my own personal opinion on this subject. Despite not being either pansexual or bisexual, I feel like I can at least speak my mind about this since I've interacted with so many who have identified as these sexual orientations throughout my time conducting research about the LGBT+ community. If you disagree, it's fine, as long as you're not starting a flame war down in the comments.

Bisexual = Attracted to more than one sex and/or gender, typically male and female. Important note: This includes trans peeps too, whether some trans people have altered their sex so that it can fully align with their gender with surgery or not. Regardless of what's in their pants, as long as they identify as male or a female, it doesn't matter. Though I'm not at all saying that all bisexuals have a preference for one gender over the other, most, based off my personal experiences, tend to.

Pansexual = Attracted to all genders; regardless of gender identity and biological sex. Often times, this term is used to describe people who don't take gender into consideration when it comes to attraction. Intersex, non-binary, genderqueer, agender — none of that matters when regarding attraction because pansexuality includes the entire gender spectrum.

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This video can help elaborate on this subject. If you think you're leaning toward being bisexual, ask yourself these questions from the following video above:

1. Are you attracted to multiple/at least more than one gender(s)?
2. Does gender play an active role in your attraction to somebody?
3. Are you attracted to different genders in somewhat different ways?
4. Do you want to identify yourself with a label that has a long history and strong political identity?
5. Are you okay with having a somewhat ambiguous label that people might have an inaccurate and sometimes negative assumptions about?

If you've answered yes for any to all of the following questions, you may lean more toward identifying yourself as bisexual.

Here's another set of questions to consider:
1. Are you attracted to all genders?
2. Is gender irrelevant to your attraction?
3. Do you want a newer, less politically tied identity?
4. Do you want to unambiguously broadcast your attraction to those outside the gender binary?
5. Are you okay with having a less known label that people may not be aware of or be confused about?

If you've said yes for any to all of the following questions, you may lean more toward identifying yourself as pansexual.

Hopefully that abolishes some of your confusion away regarding this topic. Again, I am aware that not everyone will agree with me exactly here, but with all the videos and interactions that I've run through, this is the best and most accurate conclusion I can make regarding the similarities and differences between bisexuality and pansexuality.

In the end, it's you that gets to decide which label you want to use, if you even want to use any labels. Some people can see themselves as both of these sexualities, some can only be comfortable as one of these sexualities, and some people might even just prefer to be labeled as bi to avoid further explanation on what being pan is.

Thanks for reading.