Pansexual people, would this offend you?

[kiplothedungeoneer]

So I have a pansexual character, and I've done as much research I can, except asking someone.

So, eventually, in my novel (which I'm not writing here), there will be a robot character, who is VERY humanoid, and gender neutral, but the pan character starts falling for there personality before that, and falls for them completely once they're fully human looking. Would that... offend you? I mean, I'm not pan so I don't really know, but I could see how that could potentially offend me? But at the same time I can't really see that offending me, and I'm quite easily offended. Idk, any pan people here who can answer this?

And I didn't make him pan just so he would screw anything which moved or something, it's because the robot is gender neutral, and most bisexual people I've met do only like boys and girls.

And yes, his pansexuality is relevant to the plot in multiple ways, as is the character in general.

And please don't get angry at me just for considering it : ) I just wanted to make sure I represented LGBTQ issues in my novel, and had a romantic subplot at the same time : )

[joannekwan]

Is the part you question to be offensive, the character falling in love with a robot?

Shouldn't be a problem, cuz BOY HOWDY there are plenty of robophiles out there.

[vothnthorvaldson]

No problem with me on the pansexual aspect.

The only thing I expect from this kind of human/non-human pairing is to make clear that they have the same kind of level of reason and sentience, especially on the relationship and sexual aspects, otherwise it's VERY creepy.

[CMYKat]

I'm not the kind of person who gets offended by stereotypical things, per se, so maybe I'm not the best voice of reason here but I'll toss you my two cents anyway, as a panromantic individual!

There have been plenty of instances of folks of any orientation falling for robos or non-human characters. Being pan wouldn't necessarily make it that much easier to fall in love with a non-gendered robot than it would for anyone else, I wouldn't think! In the end, the romance between a pan person and a robot isn't really an issue.

Just be careful of the implication that pan folks are "Bisexual-plus", aka that they can be attracted boys, girls, and non-binary folks in addition. This isn't what makes a pan person pan and takes credit away from bi folks (and non-binary folks! that's another kind of erasure for them - shoulda mentioned that). While the bisexual/biromantic folks you've encountered may have expressed that they are attracted to boys and girls only, many bi people are also attracted to nonbinary folks as well.

The defining factor to being pansexual or panromantic is that gender is not a factor when it comes to attraction for us. Simply put, the gender identity / physical sexuality of a person doesn't come into play when pans consider their attraction to other people.

Hope that helps / makes sense. c:

[punkarsenic]

op, you will be doing the lords work representing not only pansexuals but also robofuckers

that said, bisexuals can like & date gender neutral and nonbinary people - theres massive crossover between the definitions of bi and pan, to the extent that the label you choose often falls to personal preference above all else. i have bisexual nonbinary friends who feel erased when ppl imply that bisexuals are only attracted to men and women - but with that cleared up, theres still nothing offensive abt ur character being pansexual lol, keep doing you

*for transparency, im a lesbian, but i have good friends all over alphabet city

EDIT: sorry joanne, didnt mean to reply to you w this post

[therealbereth]

most bisexual people I've met do only like boys and girls.

Uh, ehm, let me just take you aside for a moment here. xD It's your experience, so of course you wouldn't be able to say anything else, but there are a LOT of bi people who are attracted to, well, everyone lol

In general, bi and pan overlap quite a lot when people label themselves. Originally, bi is "attraction to two or more (!) genders", and pan is "attraction regardless of gender". So a gender neutral person can still fall under the umbrella "more genders", basically. So your character can identify as pan or bi and for the robot love, it wouldn't make any difference in my book.

I used to identify as pan, as well, but over time realized that it doesn't quite fit, since I have strong preferences (cis/trans women and genderqueer/nonbinary ppl, to counter the "bi people like boys and girls" argument—I don't dig men... like, at all :D).

These might be things you could look out for, but other than that, I think it's just important to make sure that the humanoid robot really is believable as a person. What makes a person? What makes them, specifically, a person? What qualities does your MC like in them? Etc.

It can be intriguing, so keep working on it, and don't forget to ask for some sensitivity reading afterwards!

@punkarsenic how dare you beat me to it lol (and @CMYKat, too, WHY ARE YOU FOLKS SO FAST xD)

[unknown_user]

Whatever you do, there is always a chance that someone inadequate will feel offended, so don't worry about it too much. BUT I think that adequate people will not be offended by it in any way.

[kiplothedungeoneer]

Oh, good to know about the bi thing! Thank you, that has helped more than countless hours on google!

[kiplothedungeoneer]

Tysm! I honestly was just going of personal experience, so excuse my ignorance : )

Can I pm you about whether the character would qualify more as bi or pan? I really don't want anyone to be made to feel uncomfortable about bits that, well, shouldn't make them feel uncomfortable :1

[kiplothedungeoneer]

(Sorry to be all serious about it) but I think being offended is fine! You never know if someone, for example, had a tough time coming out, and then some idiot gives the unaccepting parent a badly done redemption arc. Or even something as simple as calling a psychopath "psychotic" (which is the wrong term) could understandably cause someone with psychosis to become angry. Idk, I just like to think about what someones personal experiences are before I decide they're overreacting.

But then again, I'm probably just ranting at you for something ridiculous! Sorry to take the response so seriously if was just a joke, I'm a bit thick, and if it wasn't a joke, feel free to ignore me! Just my silly opinion after all : )

[kiplothedungeoneer]

Thank you for educating me on the thing about bi people liking non binary/ gender neutral people! I didn't mean to be rude at all, i just really don't want to use the wrong term, and i was kinda just going off incoherent google searches and personal experiences! : p

[therealbereth]

I am a bit hesitant when it comes to further advice, or at least I don't think my opinion alone would suffice if you go for a pan MC, after all (since I am kinda out of touch with the pan label and all).

I could give you some insight on the difference between romantic and sexual attraction, though, since I feel like that could play into your story a bit—I mean, can someone be sexually attracted to a robot? Or is it romantic interest then? And since I'm on the ace spectrum (and bi-romantic), that's insight I would feel comfortable in giving. ^^

You can shoot me your questions, of course, and I can decide if I am qualified when I see them?

[joannekwan]

If I am ever unsure of what to categorize my characters, I just don't.
I let their actions and preferences speak for themselves. c:

[baasinsimple]

There is absolutely no reason to find this offensive. I like the fact that you're going out of your way to be considerate, that's super cool of you but at the same time try looking at your own stuff with a critical eye as well, as far as I can see this is a pretty inoffensive story concept that's the same as a lot of others out there except just pan.

The one thing I do want to emphasize for anything though, is that before you represent any sort of issue in any sort of media, make sure your story has more heart than moral statement because that's been a huge issue in some of our peers' works lately. Just make sure your writing the romance because your emotionally invested in it first and foremost.

[punkarsenic]

I didn't mean to be rude at all, i just really don't want to use the wrong term, and i was kinda just going off incoherent google searches and personal experiences! : p

i gotcha, no harm done

[JRHoch]

Does the robot also like other robots? Because then he's definitely pansexual.

[skicoak]

Does the robot also like other robots?

Would the core coding be adaptable? Otherwise the robot would only be what they were programmed to be, right?

[JRHoch]

As long as one of them has a hard drive, it will work fine.

[Oso050]

No, not really. I like Robits. Personally, I don't like animal looking robots but of course I can fall in love with one.

[indagold]

Maybe this is offensive to the robosexuals cause I got nothing lol