I mean, practically, if someone tells me they’re bi or pan, it doesn’t really change my view of them. Like there’s not really any practical difference insofar as something I would need to know to treat them somehow. Like if I’m trying to flirt with someone, and if I was a man, and that person I find out is a a lesbian, then I wouldn’t. But if they’re bi or if they’re pan, it doesn’t change that.
There is a difference, I’m not saying there isn’t, and I’m not saying we should only use one if the two. I’m just saying the need for clarifying is overblown. If I’m curious why they picked one over the other, I might ask, but again, it’s not super critical for anything.
But is there really a difference, then? Both words communicate the same thing, i.e. being attracted to multiple genders. Anything beyond that is so subjective as to not really be meaningful beyond prescriptive queer discourse.
What’s the alternative you’re suggesting? That they don’t use the label that best suits them? That they don’t use the definition they prefer when asked why they identify as they do? This feels sort of half baked. I get where you’re going, but to what end? Suggesting they use a different definition or a different label just for convenience is pretty problematic.
I mean, practically, if someone tells me they’re bi or pan, it doesn’t really change my view of them. Like there’s not really any practical difference insofar as something I would need to know to treat them somehow. Like if I’m trying to flirt with someone, and if I was a man, and that person I find out is a a lesbian, then I wouldn’t. But if they’re bi or if they’re pan, it doesn’t change that.
There is a difference, I’m not saying there isn’t, and I’m not saying we should only use one if the two. I’m just saying the need for clarifying is overblown. If I’m curious why they picked one over the other, I might ask, but again, it’s not super critical for anything.
But is there really a difference, then? Both words communicate the same thing, i.e. being attracted to multiple genders. Anything beyond that is so subjective as to not really be meaningful beyond prescriptive queer discourse.
What’s the alternative you’re suggesting? That they don’t use the label that best suits them? That they don’t use the definition they prefer when asked why they identify as they do? This feels sort of half baked. I get where you’re going, but to what end? Suggesting they use a different definition or a different label just for convenience is pretty problematic.