"Autogynephilia"

Autogynephilia is far less important than some people think it is.

If the concept of gender dysphoria has any value at all, then it would be impossible for a man to bear living as a woman for years, especially if he were not aroused by it: and many so called autogynephiliacs no longer are.

Unfortunately, you will read otherwise in many places on the internet. No links here, I do not want to give the writers publicity (though if they comment they will be published and have a fair hearing). The theory is that autogynephilia is a paraphilia, or perversion: the helpless man gets so turned on by imagining himself as a woman that he wants to spend all his time dressed as one. He does not look particularly feminine, and is generally seen as a transsexual rather than as a woman. Eventually he reverts to presenting male because it is all too painful.

In reality, trans women who are attracted to other women, rather than to men, find the thought of themselves as women sexually arousing: but this is a symptom, rather than a cause, of gender dysphoria. Whether a person is attracted to men or to women is independent of whether they are male or female- as any gay person will tell you. We masturbate, and this is a fantasy we have when masturbating; and then we transition, because however hostile and prejudiced society is, it is better than presenting male. That is, we are gender dysphoric. Unfortunately, Ray Blanchard, who coined the term “autogynephilia”, believes that it is an “erotic target location error”, a developmental disorder leading to being aroused by onesself rather than another person.

I have held a lot of shame around autogynephilia. I have even suppressed my sexuality because I have found it too traumatic. This year I have dealt with that shame, and I want no-one to suffer it.

Here are pages showing my progress in addressing the shame, and discussing the phenomenon:  Autogynephilia, Autogynephilia Revisited, Autogynephilia III, James Cantor, and Reverting.

Jack Molay has two sites which have links to resources and a great deal of exposition about these phenomena. I do not agree with everything Jack writes, but have high respect for him.

There are suggestions of the existence of Autoandrophilia: people born with ovaries, attracted to men, and being aroused by the thought of themselves as men. The article linked is for subscribers only, but here is the abstract:

Two cases of gender-dysphoric genetic females who describe a sexual attraction to phenotypic males are reported. After outlining their individual histories, the authors note common clinical features of this subtype of transsexualism. Similar characteristics have also been found in the few cases of heterosexual transsexualism in genetic females reported by others. Familiarity with the distinguishing features of this subgroup could assist clinicians in diagnosing and treating such patients.

Another article compares trans men’s sexual orientation, remembering that the word “homosexual” is used of a trans man who is attracted to women:

Homosexual and nonhomosexual (relative to genetic sex) female-to-male transsexuals (FTMs) were compared on a number of theoretically or empirically derived variables. Compared to nonhomosexual FTMs, homosexual FTMs reported greater childhood gender nonconformity, preferred more feminine partners, experienced greater sexual rather than emotional jealousy, were more sexually assertive, had more sexual partners, had a greater desire for phalloplasty, and had more interest in visual sexual stimuli. Homosexual and nonhomosexual FTMs did not differ in their overall desire for masculinizing body modifications, adult gender identity, or importance of partner social status, attractiveness, or youth. These findings indicate that FTMs are not a homogeneous group and vary in ways that may be useful in understanding the relation between sexual orientation and gender identity.

“The relation between sexual orientation and gender identity”- I would say that the study shows that sexual orientation is not linked to gender identity, and that a trans man may be attracted to either sex and still a “genuine” trans man.

Anne Lawrence in 2009 wrote of a man, attracted to men, who found the thought of making his body more masculine erotic.

This page is a work in progress: any suggestions gratefully received in the comments.