Wayne Brady is the latest celebrity to open up about his sexuality. “I am pansexual,” the actor and TV host reveals to PEOPLE.
“To me, pan means being able to be attracted to anyone who identifies as gay, straight, bi, transsexual or non-binary. Being able to be attracted across the board. And, I think, at least for me for right now, that is the proper place,” Brady, 51, shares. I took pan to mean that not only can I be attracted to any of these people or types physically, but I could be attracted to the person that is there.”
The prefix “pan-” means “all.” So, pansexual refers to those who are romantically, emotionally, and/or sexually attracted to all people regardless of their gender identity.
Pansexual is often confused with bisexual and although the terms can overlap, they are not interchangeable. Bisexuality refers to those who are attracted to more than one gender, but not necessarily all genders. However, pansexuality does fall under the “bisexuality umbrella,” according to GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.
“Pan is more about all-inclusive, and bi tends to be more than one,” she told USA Today. “The golden rule, honestly, is to call someone by how they identify.”
“Pansexuality is a newer and more expansive term, a bisexual person may have a preference more toward a particular gender and a pansexual person doesn’t usually take gender into account,” added Cathy Renna, director of communications at the National LGBTQ Task Force.
Along with Brady, other celebrities have also come out as pansexual including Demi Lovato, Mae Whitman, Jena Malone, Miley Cyrus, Tess Holliday, Bella Thorne, Janelle Monáe, Tammy Slaton and more.