Pansy Division is an American queercore band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1991 by guitarist/singer/songwriter Jon Ginoli along with bassist Chris Freeman.

Records and received international notoriety touring with Green Day in 1994, becoming the most commercially successful band of the queercore movement which began in the 1980s.

[5] Shortly after this, in 1991, Ginoli placed an ad in the San Francisco Weekly looking for "gay musicians into the Ramones, Buzzcocks and early Beatles".

[5] They hoped to defy the stereotype that gay men preferred pop divas and showtunes, by playing punk rock music.

[8] During the tour's New York stop, the band caught the attention of Howard Stern, who met them backstage, and spent a segment talking about them on his nationally syndicated radio show.

During this period, Pansy Division primarily performed as a trio, with Freeman and Ginoli being the only constant members amid a slew of perpetually rotating drummers, both gay and straight.

Goodwin left the band the following year, being temporarily replaced by Bernard Yin and then by former Mr. T Experience member Joel Reader.

Following the release of Total Entertainment, Pansy Division's active touring and recording schedule declined as most of the members relocated to different parts of the country.

In 2006, Alternative Tentacles released The Essential Pansy Division, a comprehensive 'best-of' compilation featuring thirty tracks picked by Ginoli and a DVD of various video footage.

[21] However, in 2007, Pansy Division launched their first national tour since 2003 with reformed San Francisco punk band the Avengers, whose line-up featured both Illades and Reader.

[32][33] Those interviews featured discussions with the cover model Alex Fazekas-Paul, recording engineer Kent Whitesell, and Lookout!

[37] In July 2022, Pansy Division played the Mosswood Meltdown, a large outdoor music festival in Oakland, California.