Happy Pan Visibility Day! In celebration, we took the excuse to reach out to pan folks all across the world. We wanted to hear them share what makes them proud to be pan, how they came to find their identity, and what they want to say to any baby pan folks out there (especially those who are still working out how to be thoroughly pantastic). So take a peek and see how pan-continental we managed to make our Pan Visibility celebrations…
Mukesh, 32 (he/him)
Pune, India
Fun facts: does salsa dancing, realised he was pan when he was 25.
“Love doesn’t see any gender – love is love. Being pan isn’t just a sexuality, it is how I believe I am. I love the person, not the gender identity. Sexuality and gender are fluid, you can be anywhere on the spectrum.”
Advice: Love doesn’t need any labels.
Sam, 32 (she/her)
Georgia, United States
Fun fact: she’s a police officer, and until COVID, couldn’t grow a plant to save her life – now post-lockdown, she basically lives in a jungle!
“I realized I was pan shortly after I came out, and that it wasn’t just looks that mattered to me: it was what the person’s brain had to offer. Pan means loving everyone. Not for what they’ve got under their clothing but for the soul inside and their intellect. Pan doesn’t narrow the playing field and it doesn’t allow for shallowness.”
Advice: Be YOU. Love YOU first. All other love will come freely and willingly. Take the time to love you, learn you, and be exactly who you are.
Ennola, 21 (she/they)
Montpelier, France
Fun fact: hates croissants (even though she’s French)
“I realised I was pan around 15/16 maybe. Pan for me is to take off the barriers, to be free in love and not have a ‘box’. I can love whoever I wanna love – and I have more shots like that! 😉 Kidding, haha!”
Advice: Do what makes you happy first without thinking about what others would say. Love whoever you wanna love and identify the way you wanna identify. We’re a big family!
Ad, 15 (he/they)
Guatemala
Fun fact: he’s a trans singer, artist and songwriter, creating alternative pop with original funky visual art
“I was around 13 when I found out the term pansexual existed. I always knew I didn’t care about people’s gender and I would just date anyone regardless of that. Being pansexual to me is pretty much not caring about people’s gender and simply seeing who they are as a person in terms of attraction and relationships.”
Advice: Regardless of our identity, we should all respect each other and try to be understanding of each other. Kindness leads to progress!
Tifa, 23 (she/her)
Perth, Australia
Fun fact: she’s half-Indonesian, half-Australian, and working to improve Asian LGBT+ representation in media.
“My parents were really great, and always told me I could love whoever I wanted to, and be whoever I wanted to be. I never really felt like I had a preference when it came to gender: if I liked someone, I liked them, in my head from a young age it was really as simple as that. I know that gender can be really important to a lot of people; to me, gender is not going to be a factor in whether I like you or not. To me, being pan means liking people for who they are, nothing else matters when I’m looking for a relationship.”
Advice: Love who you love. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Exploration is what we were made to do! To travel, to learn new things, to discover ourselves.
Dan, 42 (he/him)
Washington DC, USA
Fun fact: he nearly joined a monastery – but instead fell in love with a long-time internet fan!
“I am agender. For me, I don’t see gender as a meaningful factor, it seems like a set of socially constructed boxes that people put themselves into because society tells them that they have to choose. For me, being pan means acknowledging that I am capable of loving and desiring anyone and that the only limits that are placed on that are the ones that I choose to place on myself.”
Advice: Don’t accept the limits that society tries to place on you, or the lie that says you are programmed to be a certain way. Recognise that you are free to choose who you want to be, and to live as you wish to live.
Anaisha, 24 (she/her)
Nashik, India
Fun fact: she’s an open book!
“I was 19 or 20 when I discovered I was pan. For me, being pan is about great supportive vibes – romantic, emotional attraction towards humans, and I just love humans who are really mentally mature.”
Advice: Don’t put yourself in a small box – simply live life like a free bird
Dani, 27 (she/her)
Minnesota, United States
Fun fact: officially calls herself a ‘weirdo’ (and is proud of it, because that’s what makes her unique and fun!)
“I knew from a young age I like people for who they are, but pan wasn’t a term I knew. I came out as bisexual, then came out as a lesbian, until I was about 23 and I heard about pansexuality. Read up on it, and said ‘that is exactly how I feel.’ Being pan means to me loving someone for who they are, not what is in their pants. I love you as a person, for what’s in your heart.”
Advice: Keep being you. Don’t let the haters bring you down. You are here for a reason. You cannot be replaced. You are wonderful just the way you are.
So we managed 5 out of 7 continents – not bad for a first try, eh!
And for all those folks in Africa and Antartica we didn’t manage to get hold of (or for anyone else in any continent or country who wants to wave their pan flag), send us your stories, what makes you proud to be pan, and what advice you wanna give to all the other pan folks out there across the world. Our socials are always open!
Happy Pan Visibility Day, everyone! 💗💛💙
Written by Maddie Jones
Illustration by Harry Thory
