The Flying Handbag
A big, purpose-built LGBTQ+ bar and club on Queen Street, open from noon every day with drag hosts, karaoke, food and a sun terrace.
Pansexual people in Blackpool
What pansexual means, how it differs from bi, and welcoming places and groups.
Pansexual people can be attracted to people regardless of their gender. Many pan people say gender simply isn't a deciding factor in who they fancy. Panromantic is the equivalent word for romantic attraction. Neither means being attracted to everyone you meet: they describe the scope of someone's attraction, not how much of it there is.
Pansexual or bisexual?
The two overlap, and many people are comfortable with both words. Broadly:
- Bisexual means attraction to more than one gender. It has never meant only men and women, whatever older definitions say.
- Pansexual puts the emphasis on gender not mattering, and explicitly includes trans and non-binary people.
The difference is often about which word feels right, not a strict line. Use the word the person uses.
In Blackpool
There are no pan-specific groups or nights in Blackpool, and you don't need one: everything that welcomes bi and queer people welcomes you. In practice that means the mixed venues of the Rainbow Quarter rather than the men-only hotels and saunas.
Funny Girls
Blackpool's best-known drag cabaret, staging big themed revues in a restored 1939 art deco cinema two minutes from Blackpool North.
Garlands
A camp, free-entry drag pub near Blackpool North where resident queens are on from mid-afternoon every single day.
Pan people often find a home in the groups that are open to all genders:
BiPhoria
Britain's longest-running bi group, based in Manchester since 1994, with peer support and socials for bi+ adults across the North West.
Blackpool Allies
A free, relaxed social evening twice a month for LGBT+ people and anyone who supports them, at the Horizon centre on Dickson Road.
Electric Pink Voices
Blackpool's LGBTQ+ community choir, which rehearses every Tuesday evening and welcomes new members.
Rainbow Creative Hub
A new arts club for LGBT+ people on the Fylde coast, held at a creative studio in St Annes.
BiPhoria in Manchester is explicitly for bi+ people, which includes pansexual people.
Dating across genders
If you date trans or non-binary people, Blackpool has a good set of trans-run and trans-friendly groups and a dedicated NHS sexual health clinic for trans and gender-diverse people, the Phoenix Clinic, which partners can ask about too. See trans support in Blackpool.
The pan flag and awareness dates
The pansexual flag, created in 2010, has three stripes: pink, yellow and blue. Pan Visibility Day is on 24 May, and many pan people also mark Bi Visibility Day on 23 September.
More
Sources
Sexual and romantic orientation: more pages
LesbianMixed bars, women-friendly stays, the nearest lesbian socials, and the history of Lucy's and Kings.GayThe bars, men-only hotels and saunas, bears, health clinics, peer support and fifty years of history.BisexualWelcoming venues, BiPhoria and other groups, health services and bi history at Blackpool Pride.AsexualWhat asexual means, the ace spectrum, Pluto MCR, sociable things to do away from the bars, and support.AromanticWhat aromantic means, the aro spectrum, the nearest group, friendship-first socials and awareness week.QueerWhat queer means today, plus queer art, heritage, alternative drag and community in Blackpool.QuestioningGentle first steps, confidential helplines, youth groups and low-pressure places to start.CuriousWhat curious means, welcoming venues, men-only places, safer sex, consent and support.Every identityThe full list, the long acronyms and UK law.