Bisexuality is attraction to more than one sex or gender. The attraction does not have to be a perfect fifty-fifty split. It does not have to be active with more than one person at the same time. A bisexual man in a long marriage is still bisexual. So is a woman who has only dated men so far and knows her attention also catches women.

Erasure comes from all sides. Some straight circles treat it as a phase. Some gay circles treat it as a halfway house. Neither story matches how many people actually live. Fluidity can happen. So can a stable bisexual pattern across decades.

Labels are tools. Some prefer pansexual to stress that gender is not the filter. Some stay with bisexual because it is the word that found them first. Compatibility in a relationship still comes down to honesty about needs, not to the flag on a profile.

If someone uses the word, believe the word unless they revise it themselves.