Omni-

From MOGAI Wiki


Omni is an Mspec orientation commonly defined as the attraction to all genders, with gender playing a role in one's attraction.

Etymology

The prefix omni- comes from the Latin word omnis, meaning "all".[1] Pan-, which the term pansexual comes from, also means "all" but is of ancient Greek origin.

Pronunciation

Definitions

History

The word Omnisexuality appears as early at the 1959 beat poet Lawrence Lipton's The Holy Barbarians,[citation needed] but the first time it was described in the context of the current definition was in a 1984 text titled simply Sexual Choices: An Introduction to Human Sexuality. This text described omnisexuality as "a state of attraction to all sexes"[citation needed], stating that some researchers believe that every individual is born omnisexual before developing their sexual attraction into the labels of homosexual, heterosexual, or other orientations.

The term spread even further in the early 1990s as M. Jimmie Killingsworth undertook an analysis of the poet Walt Whitman. In Killingsworth's study, he found that Whitman had a general omnisexual character throughout his work The Leaves of Grass[citation needed]. In the 2010s, The Atlantic noted that his poetry expresses sexuality towards all genders, sometimes even the sea or the Earth.[citation needed]

Omnisexual was a common message board term in the 2000s[citation needed].

Community

General Impact

The knowledge of this term was boosted even further when several celebrities, such as Janelle Monáe and Brendon Urie, came out as pansexual.[citation needed] The media made several non-monosexual terms known in the mainstream as that took place. Many popular articles discussed omnisexuality alongside these celebrities' pansexuality.[citation needed]

Controversy

Omni is commonly framed as (by exclusionists) as an "uneeded" and "biphobic" label. Omni is similar to both Pan- and Bi-. Pansexual and omnisexual are sometimes used interchangeably. Some people may identify as both, however one can make a distinction between them if they wished.

The most commonly cited difference is that omnisexuals typically feel a difference between genders. This can manifest in having a preference for certain gender(s). It can also manifest as feeling like the act of being attracted to a certain gender feels different than the act of being attracted to other genders (for example: they may feel like the act of being attracted to a woman feels different then being attracted to a man). Omnisexuals may be attracted to different qualities for different genders, or find certain traits more attractive for some genders but not for others.

On the other hand, pansexuality generally does not feel any internal difference between genders, or feels like any difference felt between genders is irrelevant. Although, some pansexual people may still have a gender preference, this is typically not caused by an internal difference felt in attraction, or is so minor that one feels it is irrelevant. However, the exact differences between pansexual and omnisexual are not strict and the choice to identify as one over the other may sometimes come down to personal preference.

Perceptions and Discrimination

Orientations

For a comprehensive list, see Category:Omni.

Related Terms

Subsets

See Also

  • If there are similar terms that aren't subsets of this term, put links to each here (with no description).

Controversy

If there's been a specific variety of (this identity)-phobic discourse that has led to discrediting it (examples being pan, ace, etc) or if this identity is potentially genuinely harmful (aliqua, quasihomo), please detail that here. This section can also be renamed called "flag controversy" if there have been similar -phobic discourses around popular flags, examples being the racist claims around the pan flag, or the true racism and biphobia of the pink lesbian flag's creator.

Gallery

Flags

The omnisexual flag was designed by Pastelmemer on or before July 4, 2015. It is unknown if the colors have any meaning, but a purposed meaning is as follows[citation needed]: The light pink and light blue represents the gender spectrum. Pink represents attraction to femininity and women. Blue color represents attraction to masculinity and men. The deep purple (sometimes depicted as black) represents attraction to people whose gender identity falls outside of the named categories.

The fifth alternate flag was coined by Cryptocrew at Hayden000s request on January 16th of 2021 and was first published on a post one day later[citation needed]. Dark blue represents men, mid-blue represents masculine genders, light blue represents non-masculine genders that have masculine presentation (such as azurgirls); dark green represents the agender/genderless spectrum, yellowish green represents demigenders, and yellow represents non-demigenders and non-genderless people with neutral presentation (such as a pewt man); red represents women, pale red represents feminine genders, reddish-pink represents non-feminine genders that have feminine presentation (such as rosboys); black represents anonbinary genders, purple represents androgynous genders, grey represents non-outherine and non-androgynous genders that present androgynously or in an amaranthian manner (such as a linproche agender person); white represents fluid genders/multigenders and people with fluid or multiple presentations; while the yellow design represents attraction and community, and a burst of love/attraction.

Combinations

Coining

Other

Usage

Sources