Bisexuality is a sexual orientation that, nominally, indicates that a person is sexually attracted, at a minimum, to men and women.
Bisexuality and binary gender[]
At times, bisexuality is criticized for maintaining a view of gender that is binary, that there are only two genders (men and women). However, contemporary definitions of bisexuality encompass a range of genders, just as contemporary definitions of homosexuality and heterosexuality also mean that individuals are attracted to a "broadly similar" or "broadly different" gender.[1]
Other definitions of the "bi" in "bisexuality" have been taken to imply that sexuality is any number of sexual facets that each have "a range between two points."[2] This understanding fully encompasses the theorized gender galaxy and brings to light the concept that each facet of sexuality, including attraction to a gender presentation, attraction to a sociosexual cultural identity identity, and so on, are each "separate sliding scales," that slide between two ends.[3]
Bisexuality in relation to other orientation descriptors[]
Pansexuality[]
Pansexuality is usually considered an orientation where the person has the possibility for sexual attraction to anyone regardless of gender or sex, or to a person of any gender or sex. Some pansexuals say that they see "people, not genders", while others feel gender plays a part in their attraction even though they're attracted to a wide range of genders and sexes.
This can also be used by people who feel that the prefix "bi" limits the number of genders/sexes the person is implied to be attracted to (the prefix "pan" means "all" or "every"), despite the fact that it doesn't necessarily refer to the gender or sex binary. Or it can be used by people who agree that bi doesn't mean "two genders/sexes", but acknowledge that many people assume it does and want to avoid furthering that idea. It can also be used for activists' purposes, as using pansexual can open a dialogue about the sex and gender binaries.
At the same time, some people who feel that pansexual is more accurate will describe themselves as bisexual because it's more commonly recognized.
Polysexuality[]
Polysexuality can be used similarly to #Pansexuality, but usually by people who don't feel they're attracted to all sexes or genders, just to more than one. Polysexual can also refer to non-monogamous relationships that don't have an emotional/intimate connection.[4]