document updated 13 years ago, on Sep 13, 2010
Moser, Charles (July 2009). "Autogynephilia in Women". Journal of Homosexuality 56: 539–547.
The full text of the article is available here (prepress version).
A common way to discourage trans people from coming out is to explain their behavior as autogynephilia (Blanchard/Bailey/Lawrence) or fetish (DSM-IV).
There is good evidence that at least some gender-variant people get arousal from dressing or imagining themselves as the opposite gender, and this fact shouldn't be denied. However, suggesting that arousal can be the primary/only motivation harms the transgender community in several ways:
- It weakens and divides the transgender community into two groups: "true transgender" people who are motivated by gender disphoria, and other people whose gender-variance is motivated by arousal.
- It suggests that "true transgender" people are sexless.
- It increases the stigma that all trangender people face, because strangers can constantly question whether someone is being gender-variant for arousal purposes. (and by extension, the reason people they're being gender-variant in public, and not just in private, is that they think it's acceptable to be aroused in public)
This questionare by Charles Moser attempts to answer that. It found that 93% of natal women had "ever" had these occur to them, and 28% of natal women had "frequently" had these occur to them:
- I have been erotically aroused by contemplating myself in the nude.
- I have been erotically aroused by contemplating myself wearing lingerie, underwear, or foundation garments (e.g., corsets).
- I have been erotically aroused by contemplating myself fully clothed in sexy attire.
- I have been erotically aroused by dressing in lingerie or sexy attire for a romantic evening or when hoping to meet a sex partner.
- I have been erotically aroused by preparing (shaving my legs, applying make-up, etc.) for a romantic evening or when hoping to meet a sex partner.
- I have dressed in lingerie, sexy attire or prepared myself (shaving my legs, applying make-up, etc.) before masturbating.
- I have been erotically aroused by imagining myself with a “sexier” body.
- I have been erotically aroused by imagining that others find me particularly sexy, attractive, or irresistible.
Conclusion: all women (both cisgender and transgender) get enjoyment from being attractive or sexy.
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