lgbt-answers:

I personally do not agree with the statement that pansexuality equals genderblindness. I think they are two very different things that are occasionally associated together. I know that there is a large number of people that say it does and because of that I have decided not to identify as pansexual. It is always important to remember that people define labels and not the other way around so how one person defines their label can differ to the next person. I think this is why there is so much confusion and in some cases misinformation.

I think there can be an issue with placing pansexuality and genderblindness together because just because you like all genders, does not mean that you do not care about the person’s sense of gender. Nor does it mean that their gender doesn’t play a role in your attraction (or lack thereof) towards the person.

Saying that you are blind to gender can also cause issues as it can be perceived as a form of erasure and as insensitive because gender identity can be something deeply important to a person. People have unique experiences due to gender identity and these shape a person and makes them who they are. It could also be seen as not acknowledging the oppressions a person faces because of their gender or the privileges of another.

I think that when it comes to pansexuality it is more to do with gender not playing a large role in the equation rather than the person being blind to gender.

-Valya