DRAFT revised 1/19/04 3:30pm
Autogynephilia theories are both a matter of interest and intense controversy in the TG community. Autogynephilic arousal exists and it is more properly viewed as a coping mechanism rather than as a prime motivating force. This reconceptualization can explain primary/secondary TS clustering along the age and sexual orientation dimensions.
Transgenderism and human sexuality have been uneasy ontological neighbors since the founding of modern sexology. While the transgender state is about more than sex, there is no denying that sexuality is a significant aspect of the transgender experience.
This overlap has caused no end of problems. Transgender activists have to work against sexual stereotypes and society's lingering shame about sexual variance in order to advance their agenda. For some TGs, the sexual aspects are secondary or perhaps irrelevant. For others, it is at the core of their identity and its transformation.
The recent resurgence of interest in the autogynephilia (AGP) theories has inspired discussion and criticism of the role of sexuality in transgender life, and has inflamed emotions. As I have watched the controversy unfold, I have been disappointed at its political character, and with the relative absence of scientific data and argument.
To me, there seems to be a relatively simple resolution to the perceived conflict between the two models of transgender development at contest here. I have been reluctant to present it, however, for several reasons. First, I am not a behavioral scientist and thus have not been able to conduct experiments that bolster my argument. Second, the intensity of contention is frightening.
Fool that I am, I am going to dive in anyway.
Before presenting the theory, I need to make a crucial distinction between two concepts. They are the Self-As-Woman-Schema (SAWS) and the concept of autogynephilic motivated transformation (AGPMT). Since the term autogynephilia is so emotionally charged, I will be using these abbreviations from now on. (There is a table of all the abbreviations used at the end of this paper).
Transgender erotic behaviors are a diverse group of practices engaged in transgender persons. A very common transgender erotic behavior is one I call SAWS (Self-As-Woman-Schema), which is the experience of becoming sexually aroused by the fantasy of becoming a woman, in body or role. Most transgenders experience this, including many who proceed through surgical reassignment. While not all MtF transgenders experience SAWS, this phenomenon has even been reported in the autobiography of one of the Bailey critics*. The existence and relative prevalence of SAWS is an indisputable fact.
AGPMT designates the specific claim that the repeated experience of autogynephilic SAWS is the prime motivating force behind transition and medical feminization for a large subset of MtF TG's (that undertake that process). (We call this group S-TSes, for reasons explained later). The validity of AGPMT is the actual point of controversy in the "Blanchard-Lawrence-Bailey" (BLB) affair. AGPMT also asserts that SAWS is a sexual paraphilia. These claims are considered offensive by transsexuals who believe that sexual explanations have little or nothing to do with their transition experiences. There is also a widespread misconception that paraphilias only occur in males and therefore any theories incorporating paraphiliac explanations inherently deny the femininity of MtF TGs.
My theory is simple. Many transgenders develop the ability for SAWS in adolescence as a coping mechanism as they attempt to live in the masculine role. The pain of Gender Identity Dysphoria (GID) is counteracted by the pleasure of sexuality. For some, the GID continues to build and eventually emerges with the attendant imperative to transition. SAWS "comes along for the ride" as the MtF TG's true self emerges, adding positive reward to the process.
Since SAWS seems to come hand in hand with later-life transition, one can see where one could mistake these two related effects for a cause/effect relationship and formulate AGPMT. This is what I believe Lawrence and Bailey have done. Proving that there is not a cause and effect relationship is much harder.
So where does SAWS come from? My hypothesis is that many young MtF transgenders, forced to live as boys, discover within themselves a safe place for their feminine selves to exist as objects of their own desire. This "safe place" is constructed out of the standard materials and processes used for recognizing and responding to sexual stimulation. John Money called this process "love-map formation"** (although I prefer the term "erotic schema" to love-map). At the core of this schema is the image of the female-self. Secondary aspects such as an interest in BDSM or a fetish may be imprinted as well.
SAWS TGs can imagine themselves as the women they are at arms length. This strategy can earn multiple rewards – they can achieve sexual arousal easily, derive extraordinary pleasure from masturbation, and when engaged in sex with a partner can control their arousal level by shifting in and out of fantasy. Later, if they allow themselves to cross-dress, they can find within themselves a mistress who dresses and acts precisely the way they wish.
By being able to become their own sex objects, many MtFs make a Klein Bottle*** of lemonade from the bowl of lemons that life gave them. The sissy becomes the slut.
For many, this is enough, and the masculine façade is strong enough to last a lifetime. They can live happily as cross-dressers.
For others, the GID continues to build, and the feminine self eventually bursts through. The GID and the SAWS form an alliance, with GID providing the pain and SAWS the pleasure. Since this can happen after a period of public cross-dressing and SAWS activity, the transsexual emergence is often regarded by others as selfish indulgence rather than the profound psychological event that is actually is. I call this concept the Dual Motive Theory (DMT).
The basic argument for AGPMT is:
First we have "Get Rid of GID" or GROG. GROG claims that the pain of GID is the strong motivating force for transition experienced by all TSes. SAWS, if present, recedes as the transition unfolds. This is the orthodox view.
There is also our "Dual Motive Theory" (DMT): GID helps cause SAWS to develop. SAWS counteracts GID for a time, but GID continues to grow stronger and eventually joins forces with SAWS, creating irresistible motives for transition.
To justify item 6, AGPMT advocates have to show why their explanation trumps GROG, DMT, and other possibilities. This has not been done. Moreover AGPMT fails to account for GID, and GROG does not explain SAWS, or the S-TS time lag. That's why I like DMT - it covers everything.
To disprove AGPMT, the critics tend to cite themselves and their friends as counter-examples. In some cases the AGPMT may be acting in a subliminal way (from the perspective of the self-observer) and are thus invalid counter-examples. Assuming some are valid, we unfortunately are dealing with fuzzy logic, so counter-examples alone can't refute AGPMT. Perhaps sufficient counter-examples can been marshalled to attack the "Two Classes" claim, but AGPMT doesn't fall to this argument because you can always "patch it up" by adding another class category to the model.
The other line of attack is based upon the Definition and Synopsis of the Etiology of Adult Gender Identity Disorder and Transsexualism developed by GIRES. This doument argues that transsexualism is a neuro-developmental condition of the brain.
The linchpin of this argument comes from one Dutch neuroanatomical study. The team analyzed the brains of 42 subjects, measuring a feature called the BSTc neuron number. This number is roughly twice as high in men then women. The 7 MtFs scored in the female range and the one FtM scored in the male range. Most of the MtFs began in their hormone treatment in their mid-thirties, so they are probably in the S-TS group discussed below.
While the known hormone regimens are described, there is no mention of which institution(s) were involved and what the screening procedures are (for TS medical care). Some European gender clinics are notably more strict than the Clarke Institute, so it is possible that the sample is biased against SAWS or AGPMT. The sample size is also small (n=7). Finally, it is possible that a phenomena called neuroplasticity might be involved, which in simple terms means that learning and behavior can change brain structure. Perhaps the practice of "living full time as a woman" is a cause for BTSc differences.
The existence of MtF brain differences does not rule out sexual explanations for transgender life-change processes. Rather, the Dutch data suggests that the sex drive and GID may be working together.
This leaves AGPMT in limbo, maybe weaker, yet unfalsified.
What about the two classes of transsexuals that Bailey and many earlier researchers claim to exist? How might the "SAWS as coping strategy" theory apply to this distinction? This aspect of AGP theory is less controversial, but must be accounted for. To begin, I will briefly restate this aspect using Richard Docter's definitions****.
The Primary Transsexual Class (P-TS) describes TGs who are aware of their TG status early, do not make an extensive effort to adapt to adult life in their birth sex, transition early, and have a sexual orientation toward those of their birth sex.
The Secondary Transsexual Class (S-TS) consists of TGs who transition later in life, have attempted to live in their birth sex role, and often have developed an erotic interest in themselves dressing, presenting, and eventually becoming a member of the opposite sex. Many S-TGs have an extensive experience as cross-dressers. MtF S-TGs are often attracted to women or are bisexual.
Some AGP theories lump cross-dressers in with the the S-TS category, creating a larger category I will refer to as S-TG. Many cross-dressers experience SAWS and GID, but not at the levels which trigger transition.
The two TS classes appear as clusters in various studies, differentiated by the factors described above. The clusters are fuzzy and there are outliers, so the categories are not "hard and fast". Blanchard and Bailey use the term "homosexual TS" to refer to P-TSes and "autogynephilic TS" to refer to S-TSes.
What then might account for the differences between P-TS & S-TS? There are a number of possibilities, including genetic variation and environmental factors. One particularly simple explanation may have to do with the effect of sexual orientation on the ability of the young MtF to construct a script placing themselves in the role of the desirable other. A heterosexual or bisexual MtF can seek a female for their object of attraction, and they, themselves, can fill that role. In contrast, a homosexual MtF, desiring a man as the other, might not be able to lock upon themselves, untransformed.
| TG Type Matrix | ||
|---|---|---|
| SAWS | GID | Class |
| no | none | straight person |
| no | high | Primary TS (P-TS) |
| yes | low | cross-dresser (CD) |
| yes | high | Secondary TS (S-TS) |
Another explanation could be that the personality trait necessary to form a erotic schema focused on a sex object is independently heritable, and is thus not available to all TGs. It is also possible, as some critics have alleged, that the differences between P-TSes & S-TSes are the illusionary echoes of sociological processes.
When sex reassignment became available in the later part of the 20th Century, the transgender condition was thought to be very rare and care providers were presented with a large clinical population seeking access for a wide variety of reasons. As it became obvious that reassignment did not always produce a positive result, providers sought diagnostic indicators for screening. One early misconception was that P-TSes are better candidates than S-TSes, which had the perverse effect of causing some in S-TS to lie in order to present the clinical picture of P-TS.
Moreover, many TGs experienced shame and discrimination based on the public’s perception of them having a deviant sexual orientation or engaging in deviant sexual practices. This also caused many TGs to conceal or deny their TAB experiences.
The conflict between CD and TS has raged eternal and TABs have long been a skirmish line. As Kate Bornstein has observed, there is an implicit status hierarchy in the TG Community with post-op TSes at the top and fetishistic cross-dressers at the bottom. Not having TABs was considered evidence of belonging to the elite.
When Anne Lawrence revived interest in AGP, she enabled many TGs to come forward and describe their SAWS. She did this in the context of presenting the AGPMT hypothesis, and provocatively titled her paper "Men Trapped in Men’s Bodies". This attracted attention at the price of inflaming emotions. Bailey provoked even more outrage by titling his book "The Man Who Would Be Queen", and using Anne’s article title as chapter title in his book.
Calling a MtF TG a man is like calling a black person a nigger. Fighting words.
So now we have a scientific theory (AGPMT) attacked primarily on political grounds for emotional reasons. At stake are TG's internal rationalizations of their feminine identity. While the heretics burn, the questions raised by AGP will remain.
Unfortunately, lost in the heat of the riot is the possibility of genuine forward progress. Here are a number of questions I would like to investigate, or see investigated:
In conclusion, one can view SAWS as phenomena common to many, but not all TGs. It is a coping mechanism rather than the prime mover. Elucidating the role of SAWS in TG lives will require additional research. Such investigations will either bolster or debunk the claims of AGPMT advocates. LSD will stand, fall, or be revised.
It is also important to keep a level head and an open mind. Some of the possible explanations will involve sexuality and may call into question conventional explanations of who we are. We must not fear to ask, and we must respect those who venture into the unknown, to return, wrong, but wiser.
*Crossing, a Memoir, Deirdre N. McCloskey, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 11/1999. I wrote a review of this excellent book available at: http://www.jamiefaye.com/Articles/deidre0002.html
**Lovemaps John Money, Prometheus Books, Buffalo, NY, 1988. Money discusses many of the concepts involved in AGP as well as providing an introduction to paraphilia theory. He claims that gender transposition and the paraphilias are similar, but distinct. His theorys may explain why SWA erotic schema formation can incorporate specific secondary paraphilias from the BDSM and fetishistic categories. (Like bondage, discipline, submission, masochism, infantalism, leather, rubber, etc.)
***A "Klein Bottle" is a mathematical object that exists in 4 dimensions. Because it is curved back inside itself, it has no inside or outside. It is like the well-known Mobius Strip for 3 dimensions. See: http://www.kleinbottle.com/
****Richard Docter, in his book Transvestites and Transsexuals, Docter presents a theory for the development of secondary transsexualism that has many parallels with AGPMT. Since Docter used a more abstract description of a general reward mechanism rather then centering around sexuality, his ideas did not attract the controversy that the BLB AGPMT theory has. He also had the good sense not to use the M word. The full citation is: Transvestites and Transsexuals, Toward a Theory of Cross-Gender Behavior (Perspectives in Sexuality), Richard F. Docter, Plenum Pub Corp, 9/1988.
| AGP | Autogynephilia - designates theories that claim that the "Self As Woman (erotic) Schema"(SAWS) is a paraphila. |
| AGPMT | Autogynephilic motivated transformation. A theory that extends AGP to include the claim the AGP is the prime motivating force for S-TG transition. |
| BLB | Blanchard, Lawrence, and Bailey - three well-known AGP theorists. |
| CD | A Cross-dresser - a TG who adopts the opposite gender identity episodically. |
| DMT | Dual Motive Theory - a hybrid theory that claims that SAWS develops as a coping mechanism for GID in S-TGs that eventually fails for some. After this catastrophe, SAWS becomes a co-motivator with GID for transition. |
| GID | Gender Identity Dysphoria - the deeply depressing and anxious feeling that the sex of your body does not match the gender of your mind. |
| GROG | Get Rid Of GID - the conventional "woman trapped in a mans body" theory, which claims that the pain of GID is the prime motivator for TS transition. |
| FtM | Someone born female who becomes male, episodicaly or permanently |
| MtF | Someone born male who becomes female, episodicaly or permanently. |
| P-TS | Primary Transsexuals (those who transition early in life). |
| SAWS | Self As Woman Schema - the propensity to become sexually aroused by the fantasy of becoming a woman in body or role. |
| S-TG | Cross dressers and Secondary TS as a combined class. |
| S-TS | Secondary Transsexuals (those who transition later in life). |
| TG | Any transgender person. Sometimes I use TG and MtF TG interchangeably. This is sloppy but less awkward. |
| TS | A transgender person that consciously intends to or has undertaken a permanent transition of gender identity. |