Omnisexual

Omnisexual (often shortened to omni) is an orientation defined as the sexual attraction to all genders, though gender often still plays a role in one's attraction.

The romantic equivalent is omniromantic.

Omnisexuality vs. Other Identities
Omnisexuality is often compared to other multisexual identities. In particular, it is similar to pansexual as they both involve the attraction to all genders. 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.

Bisexuality
Omnisexuality is also often compared to bisexuality. Some bisexuals are attracted to all genders, however not all bisexuals are. Some people may identify as both bisexual and omnisexual, while others may prefer one term over the other. The choice to use one identity over the other usually comes down to individual preference. For instance: some may prefer to identify as omnisexual (in addition to or instead of bisexual) as they feel it provides a more specific or accurate representation of their orientation.

History
The word omnisexuality appears as early at the 1959 beat poet Lawrence Lipton's The Holy Barbarians, 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", 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. In the 2010s, The Atlantic noted that his poetry expresses sexuality towards all genders, sometimes even the sea or the Earth. Omnisexual was a common message board term in the 2000s. The knowledge of this term was boosted even further when several celebrities, such as Janelle Monáe and Brendon Urie, came out as pansexual. The media made several non-monosexual terms known in the mainstream as that took place. Many popular articles discussed omnisexuality alongside these celebrities' pansexuality.

Some fictional characters, such as Jack Harkness from Doctor Who, and Kevin Crawford from Paradise P.D. have been canonically confirmed as omnisexual.

Flag
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: 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. 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.

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