Sunday Editorial: Scarecrows in a Field

This Friday, a post I made was circulated a lot in battleaxe bi communities. Their comments and additions represent such a fundamental misunderstanding of the content of the post that it’s almost not worth addressing here. They seem to have skipped over most of the content of the post and instead zeroed in on the list of strawman arguments I provided, caricatures of our community which battleaxe bis invented and make posts about when they want to insult pan people while still maintaining plausible deniability. Having presumably skipped the part where I explain what a strawman is, they assumed these strawmen were views I held, and confidently began to lampast me for being queerphobic.

Panphobia can be illogical seeming. To better understand it, I’d like to go more in depth on the function a strawman serves. I’ll be talking about battleaxe bis in this editorial, but keep in mind these behaviors are exhibited by many groups dedicated to hating or excluding another. You are also not immune to creating your own strawmen. Be mindful of this type of thing in your own communities.

What battleaxe bis have created is a field of scarecrows. The scarecrows all say things like “fetishizes trans people” and “erases bi history”. Panphobes go out into the field, and look around, and believe they are seeing a snapshot of the actual pan community. Perhaps one of the scarecrows looks like someone a battleaxe bi knew once. Maybe they met a pan person who insisted to them that the term “bisexual” meant they had to be attracted to only two genders. So they built a scarecrow that looked like that person, and stuck it in the field for other battleaxe bis to see. That person was once real. They had reasons for thinking what they thought, and the potential to change and become more informed and thoughtful. But all any of the battleaxe bi’s friends see is a 2-dimensional facsimile of this person, with their worst trait written across their chest. As time passes, the scarecrow fades and the straw begins to fall out, making it even flatter and less human-like. But panphobes still point to it and say “Look! Look how awful pannies are! That’s what they look like. That’s what they believe.”

Some scarecrows are not based on real people. They are copies, and copies of copies. They are representations of pan people constructed by panphobes who have learned to hate not from single misinformed people who have had the misfortune of having their effigy erected forever in this field, but from the scarecrows themselves. They are caricatures of pan people created solely from other warped approximations, becoming uglier and more aggravating every iteration, and no longer resembling anything close to a real person. They have extrapolated a grotesque version of what they believe is the pansexual community, and they begin to discuss amongst themselves how ugly all these pansexual people they’ve created are, how harmful the content of the words across their chest is, how monstrous. They have taken the distorted beliefs of a few confused pan people and turned them into a monolith, a field littered with hundreds of thousands of scarecrows stretching from horizon to horizon.

This is why I believe that battleaxe bis assumed my post supported the arguments I listed. When they see a pan person clearly describing their scarecrows and calling them what they are, strawmen, it doesn’t compute. How can a pan person not believe these things? All of the pan “people” they’ve seen in the field do. So they cross their eyes, and ignore the content, and refuse to see anything but another scarecrow.

What can we as the true pan community do about this field? Not much. The scarecrows are flimsy and have no real substance, but the field is vast, and more are being built every day by dedicated panphobes. Each time we destroy a scarecrow, there’s another one for battleaxe bis to point to. The best we can hope for is to build our own community, far away from the field. We know we look nothing like the strawmen, so let’s have our own field, filled with wonderful, real pan people and our allies. Let’s enjoy our vibrance and diversity and life, while battleaxe bis throw rocks at their faded bundles of sticks and mud.

~Editor Luxe

I remember the first time I knew what being gaywas. I was in 4th grade and a girl in my grade had asked me out and I said yes, cause it made my stomach feel fuzzy. But another girls told me that God wouldn’t like it, so not even two days later I broke it up with her. She told me it didn’t matter what God thought, but my family was always big on religion so I was scared. I regret that, because she was truly wonderful. That’s the day when I learned that being a lesbian, gay, was a thing. But I kissed a girl before that. I remember her because we were good friends and lived close. We were playing girlfriend and boyfriend but there was obviously no boyfriend. So I said I was going to be the boy because being a boy sounded so much fun! I kissed her, many times, little sweet kisses that only children can share. I wonder how she is right now. I wonder if she remembers it.

I knew I wasn’t straight. I dated boys but I always knew I wasn’t straight. Looking at girls made my heart flutter, so did looking at boys. But I also knew I wasn’t bisexual. That simply wasn’t it. That didn’t feel good enough to describe what I felt about the beautiful humans I was attracted to. So I remained unlabeled for a long time: then I was 14. I found out what being pan was, what it meant and everything made sense to me. Something clicked. I just, I liked so much, and loved so much, that I knew something like gender wouldn’t stop me. So I labeled myself as Pansexual. This year, I am 15, turned 15 on July. Earlier in January I came out as Pan in my favorite Discord server and so many people congratulated me on finding out who I am and told me to be happy, and that some of them, adults, were grateful I found out who I was so early. And I was happy, very much so.

Then I saw people going around, saying things about biromantic, and I realized romantic attractions also exist. I went around and just stuck with panromantic, because it felt so right. Then I learned about gender identity, and I didn’t know what to choose, because I didn’t mind the pronouns people used on me: maybe I’m cassgender as it feels more natural, but I’ve seen people saying negative people about being cassgender so I don’t tell much people. Then, I discovered I am polyamorous. And I am happy. I am so happy that journey is chapter closed. That journey was long and sweet and painful but I don’t regret a second of my exploration. A single second I spent searching for my identity. I feel safe with this.

~Saturn, 15, via submission

posi-pan:

a while ago i saw some panphobic posts/articles focusing only on pan being defined in a bad way to frame it as if that’s all there is to pan history. so i put together the pan history panphobes don’t want you to know about.

there are different aspects to this; the pan timeline, a look into the bi community including alternative mspec labels, and a list of pan-inclusive queer research.

you can view it on my blog

• pan timeline: https://posi-pan.tumblr.com/pantimeline
• mspec labels in the bi community: https://posi-pan.tumblr.com/bisexualumbrella
• pan-inclusive research: https://posi-pan.tumblr.com/panresearch

you can view it via a carrd i made

• https://historyofpansexuality.carrd.co
• the carrd only has the pan timeline and the bi community including mspec labels, because there’s a limit on how much you can add to one carrd

i want to be clear that this specifically serves to be the other side of panphobes’ version of pan history. if you want to see all the times pan hasn’t been defined great, there are plenty of sources for that.

keep in mind that pan’s positive/neutral history is older and more extensive than its negative history. a lot of the negative comes from non-pan people, and what does come from pan people is not proof that pan is “bad” or “needs to be done away with”, because if that were how it worked, we wouldn’t have any labels.

so yeah. i hope you find this interesting or informative or helpful in some way! if a link doesn’t work or i can make the carrd more accessible, let me know!

Hello there! My brother came out this year, so far to me and our mother, as pansexual. He didn’t really need a label but looked up the different sexualities and said pan is what seems to fit. The only other person who knows is my husband. I myself am bisexual, I’ve known since a very young age. I’m just so proud that he’s my brother and wanted to share. We’ve been through so much in our lifetime so far, he just deserves to be happy! He has a boyfriend too & he’s adorable/cute!

 
~BiSister90, 30, via survey

bepandocrimes:

I really Do Not like hugs and prolonged physical contact but everytime I see a pan person getting hate/questioning their identity because of a panphobe, I desperately want to give them a hug.

I want to tell them it’s okay, that pansexuality is good and you are good. I want to tell them that panphobes don’t get to decide how you identify, no onedoesexcept you.

And if you also don’t like hugs, I just want to sit down and have a conversation with you. I want to hear your struggles and give you reassurance.

The whole reason I started this blog was to spread more positivity for groups of people that need it the most. I need everyone to know that panphobes and battleaxe bis are doing nothing but harming the queer community and shattering it further.

I don’t know where I’m going with this. I just hope my followers and anyone else who sees this post know that this is a safe place. Don’t be afraid to reach out.

‍♀️

catboy-jesus:

This pansexual day of visibility I’m planning to be as obnoxious as possible to make sure I’m extremely visible

here’s a little infographic i made for pan visibility day!!!!! hope y’all are having a pleasant day, i’m baking y’all virtual cookies of your preferred flavor

(sources/further reading: history,flag,statistics,representation)

image description under the cut:

[ID: A light grey background with pan flag colors in the corner. The top reads, “Happy Pan Visibility Day” in all caps, party emojis on both sides of it. Black text in the center reads:

What/Who: Pan Visibility Day, on May 24, is to celebrate and encourage acceptance and understanding of pan people and identity (such as pansexual, panromantic, pansensual, panalterous, panaesthetic, and panplatonic).

Brief History: In the 1960s-1980s, pansexual was often used to describe musicians, icons, styles, lyrics, movements, etc. in particularly the glitter/glam rock scene, to indicate androgyny, fluidity, and universal appeal.

In the 1980s-1990s, pansexual was often used in kink communities to indicate that an event, party, club, person, sex, etc. was open to people of all genders, sexes, and sexualities.

Evolving with and from that, pansexual now widely represents an attraction to people of all genders, or more specifically, attraction to people regardless of gender.

Flag: The pan flag was created in 2010 by Jasper (@shrikeabyssals); “pink and blue, because of their gendered traditions, and yellow, a generally non-gendered colour, to represent nonbinary folks etc.”

Statistics: Pansexuals experience high rates of depression, suicidality, anxiety, and physical and sexual harassment and violence, as well as low rates of happiness, self-esteem, optimism, being out, safety, inclusion, sense of belonging and community, and accessing health care.

Celebrities: Yungblud, Janelle Monáe, Sandra Mae Frank, Jake Choi, Bob the Drag Queen, Tess Holliday, Talia Hibbert, Rina Sawayama, Asia Kate Dillon.

TV/Film/Podcast: What We Do in the Shadows, Lucifer, Gossip Girl, Schitt’s Creek, The Thing About Harry, Sex Education, Single Parents, The Umbrella Academy, Otherwhere.

Comics/Books/Games: Deadpool, We Could Be Heroes by Mike Chen, Red Sonja, Vampirella, Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly, Mae Borowski, Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan, Cute Mutants by S.J. Whitby. End ID.]

ALT

let’s not forget that may 24th is pan visibility day! and let’s also not forget that we all deserve to love and be proud of ourselves!

Following the recent panphobia here’s some pan positive cards!! I hope y'all like it and use for the greater good ️‍

HAPPY PANSEXUAL AND PANROMANTIC VISIBILITY DAY!! ️‍♀️♂️⚧️️‍⚧️♂️♀️♀️

Look, I’m not saying bisexual people *have* to have a preference or whatever. But this is a panphobic dogwhistle and it’s not true lol

I’m sorry I’ve been gone, but I’m back with more memes!!

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL IS A QUEER ALLEGORY

️‍⚧️️‍

I’m sorry I’ve been gone, I’ve been having a lot of work but I didn’t forget y'all ️‍️‍⚧️✨

Where you would sit at??

1) Pansexual vampires

2)Pansexual dangerous

3)Pansexual problematic

4)Pansexual cuties

️‍

I do ️‍️‍‍‍❣️‍‍‍

If we don’t exist then we shouldn’t be paying shitYOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN ✨ acab and eat the rich

I hope this doesn’t count as a spoiler i’m sorry if u didn’t know :(

I’m gonna be sharing some of these with canon pan characters but also if you’d like me to do some about a specific canon/non canon pan character I’ll be reading your suggestions

Happy new year!! I hope you all have a lovely 2022, filled with joy, peace and so much magic!✨️️️

️️✨

Winter hollidays are always hard, especially for a lot of us so I’m sending you a hug

Also, no one is free unless we are all free

Sakura Kinomoto really said QUEER RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS ️️

I’m talking about all the queer people who keep forcing us to be hostile towards others mspec. I don’t really like that, so pls if that’s not your case then this meme ain’t talking about u ☘️☘️☘️☘️

Let’s not make war, but love instead ✨