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What is Pansexual? Google searches ping after Disney president Karey Burke says she has pansexual child

Disney's general entertainment president Karey Burke choked up saying the issue hit close to home as her children are part of the LGBTQIA+ community

A Disney executive has vowed to amp up gender inclusivity in the company's productions, promising that at least half of the franchise's characters will be LGBTQIA+ or minority by the end of the year.

During a company-wide Zoom meeting on Monday, March 28, Disney's general entertainment president Karey Burke choked up saying the issue hit close to home because her children are part of the LGBTQIA+ community. The entertainment giant has been mired in protests, counter-protests, and walkouts staged by employees after Florida Governor Ronald DeSantis signed the so-called 'Don't Say Gay' bill into law, which bans exposing students to sexuality, gender identity, and sexual orientation "in a manner that is not age-appropriate."

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"I'm here as the mother of two queer children, actually, one transgender child and one pansexual child, and also as a leader," Burke said during the Zoom call on Monday. The all-hands meeting also saw Disney's television animation executive producer Latoya Raveneau gush about the company's inclusivity. "Our leadership over there has been so welcoming to my not-so-secret gay agenda," she said. "Where ever I could I was adding queerness too. No one would stop me and no one was trying to stop me."

Clips from the company-wide meeting were leaked to Christopher Rufo, a conservative journalist with the Manhattan Institute's City Journal, who shared the videos on Twitter.

What is pansexual? 

According to WebMD, pansexuality is defined as the "romantic, emotional, and/or sexual attraction to people regardless of their gender." Pansexual people may be attracted to some people and not others, but the person's gender is not a factor. The healthcare website states that people of any gender identity can identify as pansexual and that some use the terms “bisexual” and “pansexual” interchangeably despite distinctions between the two.

It's also worth noting that some prefer the term "omnisexual" to "pansexual." To some, pansexuality implies that their attraction to others has nothing to do with gender. Meanwhile, Omnisexuality implies that they are attracted to people of any gender, but it is still a factor in their attraction. That said, the distinction between omni- and pansexuality is "hazy" and some people use the terms interchangeably.

Disney employees staged a walkout at the company headquarters last week after Gov DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill into law, which critics have branded as the 'Don't Say Gay' bill. Disney faced quite the backlash from parents who accused them of pandering to liberal politics, but the animation company announced that it would increase the number of queer characters in its productions.

"I have heard so much from so many of my colleagues over the past few weeks in open forums, through emails and phone conversations," Burke said. "I feel a responsibility to speak not just for myself but also for [my kids]." She said that although 20th Century Fox has been "the home of really incredible, groundbreaking LGBTQIA stories over the years," it hasn't been inclusive enough. "One of our execs stood up and said, 'You know we only have a handful of queer leads in our content,'" Burke noted at the meeting. "I went, 'What? That can't be true. And then I realized it is true."'

Disney has reportedly launched a campaign called 'Reimagine Tomorrow' aiming to include more minority groups in its films. The campaign's promotional material declares that "by 2022, 50% of regular and recurring characters across Disney General Entertainment scripted content will come from underrepresented groups."