Please read the Independent article on pansexuality.
Safe Schools Alliance feel that the introduction of new terminology such as ‘pansexual’ is part of a wider cultural trend — particularly amongst teens and young adults — where individuals feel the need to compete for the most obscure and ‘progressive’ labels in order to give them a social edge. We feel very strongly that the natural desire of teenagers to fit in with their peers is being exploited in order to push politicised notions of ‘gender identity’ onto the next generation. Those who are not au fait with this contemporary jargon risk being left behind by their friends.
What is particularly worrying is the implication that being gay, lesbian, bisexual or otherwise gender nonconforming is simply ‘not enough’. In what bears a striking resemblance to the social contagions of eating disorders and self-harm in recent years, teens appear to be facing peer pressure to adopt various ‘identities’ in order to keep up with the latest Tumblr-mandated fads. Increasingly, it seems as though many of these ‘identities’ are simply attempts by insecure young people to feel unique, special and significant.
The etymology of the prefixes ‘bi’ and ‘pan’ translate from Greek to ‘two’ and ‘all’, respectively. In reference to human sexuality, ‘pan’ becomes a wholly inaccurate and misleading prefix as it implies that there are more than two human sexes, something which we know to be scientifically false. The prefix ‘bi’, therefore, is accurate in describing those who are sexually attracted to both males and females whilst ‘pan’ is incorrect and redundant. A person’s biological sex, of course, is unaffected by how far they conform to or reject gender stereotypes.
One thought on “Safe Schools on ‘Pansexuality’”