ShoutOut to our LGBTQ+ Role Models: Pansexual People!
/Next up in our series, is Judith Finlay! Judith is a ShoutOut volunteer and she sits on the executive team, the team of volunteers which help run ShoutOut on a day-to-day basis. Judith is wonderful! Not only does she travel to schools all around to deliver ShoutOut workshops, she recently dyed her hair to raise money for ShoutOut!
Here are Judith’s pan icons!
Pansexuality is part of the wonderful bisexual family, with bisexual being an umbrella term that includes all types of sexual attraction to multiple genders. Although the term has existed since 1917 many people (including me!) have only become familiar with it in recent years, but it’s a term that better describes the particular type of bisexuality we experience. Fun fact about the Pansexual flag, it was created in 2010 and consists of the colours yellow, cyan and magenta, the three primary colours of light.
Labels are there to help individuals navigate their identity in the world, so only you can decide your labels and how you experience them. Every person experiences their identity in a way that is unique to them. So, as with every type of identity, pansexual people have many different ways to define this identity, and how they experience it, and that’s cool! Your identity is as beautifully individual as you are.
For some, pansexual differs from bisexual in that it is attraction to people REGARDLESS of gender, and bisexuality is attraction to 2 or more genders. Both terms are inclusive of trans and non binary folks, of course!
I wasn’t familiar with the term pansexual growing up in Ireland, so I always have identified as bisexual and my role models growing up where all of the amazing artists and musicians who identified as bisexual too (see the fab post on bi-icons by Lisa earlier this week!). When I discovered the term pansexual it gave me the language to explain the particular type of bisexual attraction I experience, which is often referred to as ‘gender blind’. This doesn’t cancel out the term bisexual for me, I still identify as both, but it helps me understand my experience of attraction better.
Here are some inspiring and awesome pan-icons blazing a trail for pan people everywhere. The list below are people who have identified as pansexual or have moved between labels. Many pansexual people also identify as bisexual, seeing these two labels as applicable to their own identity, there is, of course, a difference and that difference is important to many people
Asia Kate Dillon
Asia Kate Dillon is a ground breaking American non-binary actor who uses they/them pronouns. They played Brandy Epps in Orange Is the New Black and Taylor Mason in Billons. Their role in Billions was the first non-binary main character in a North American television show. For this, they earned a Critics’ Choice Television Award nomination for Best Support Actor in a Drama Series in this role, but more importantly they have helped raised awareness of non-binary and pansexual identities not only through these roles but also through a series of interviews explaining these labels in a very relatable way. They also played the Adjudicator in the 2019 film John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.
Lizzo
Lizzo, is today’s queen of soul and rap, echoing the legendary Aretha Franklin in her astounding vocal range and rock star confidence. She is also a spectacular flutist, a pretty unique talent for most of today’s famous musicians! Although she’s been making music for many years, she caught the world’s attention and gained a massive queer fanbase with songs her intoxicating brand of music and performance focused on self-love, honesty, confidence and body positivity. Songs like “Good as Hell” celebrate what it means to be different and to celebrate that difference. She has even dubbed her fans "Lizzbians". It’s no wonder Time named her the 2019 "Entertainer of the Year". Lizzo is also an actress performing the voice overs for animated film UglyDolls, appearing in the crime comedy-drama film Hustlers, as well as a wide range of magazines and ad campaigns. When asked about her gender and sexuality, Lizzo has used the term pansexual among others to identify herself, with her most recent statement saying "I personally don't ascribe to just one thing.... That's why the colours for LGBTQ+ are a rainbow! Because there's a spectrum and right now we try to keep it black and white”.
Brandon Boyd Urie
Brendon Boyd Urie is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist of Panic! At the Disco. Her formed Panic! In 2004 with a group of childhood friends and since then they have released multiple albums, winning a range of awards. Brendon is now the only original member of the band remaining. As I was raised on musicals like Rocky Horror Picture show and Cabaret, I love that Brendon combined his musical talent with theatre in 2017, taking up the lead role in the Broadway Production of Cyndi Lauper’s musical Kinky Boots. They truly are amazing boots! In July 2018, Brendon described himself as pansexual saying that he is ‘married to a woman and I'm very much in love with her but I'm not opposed to a man because to me, I like a person. ... If a person is great, then a person is great.’ Sweet! And for more evidence that Brendon is a sweetheart, check out ‘The Puppy Interview with Brendon Urie’ on YouTube!
Janelle Monáe
Janelle Monáe Robinson is a highly talented, experimental singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, producer and co-founder of the Wondaland Arts Society, a collective of experimental artists. Janelle released her first demo in 2003 followed by a series of conceptual EPs and albums, she starred in Hidden Figures and the renowned coming-of-age film Moonlight, winner of Best Picture at the 89th annual Academy Awards. Moonlight was the first all-black cast, queer-related film ever to win Best Picture. In 2018 Janelle’s music career reached new heights too, with her album Dirty Computer earning two Grammy nominations and international fame. Boston City Council named October 16, 2013 "Janelle Monáe Day" in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, in recognition of her artistry and social leadership. In 2018 Janell stated that she identifies with both bisexuality and pansexuality.
Shout out to many other pan icons who I wish I had more time to talk about here! Joe Lycett, Christine and the Queens, Suzannah Powell also known as Boyfriend, Sia Kate Isobelle Furler, Mary Edna González, Nayland Blake and Miley Cyrus. Role models and icons can often be fictional too, and its great to see an increase in pansexual representation, with Deadpool (confirmed as pansexual by co-creator Fabian Nicieza in 2013!), Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who, Ola Neyman in Sex Education, Klaus in Umbrella Academy and Yara Greyjoy in Game of Thrones.
