Homosexual transsexual

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Homosexual transsexual is a controversial term used by some sexologists to describe male-to-female transsexual people who are exclusively attracted to males. It is less frequently used by proponents to describe female-to-male transsexual people who are exclusively attracted to females. ^[1] The term is almost never used outside of clinical literature and appears primarily in the sexology journal Archives of Sexual Behavior. Many transwomen and transmen object to the term because they define their sexual orientation based on their gender identity, not their sex assigned at birth. Some activists and clinicians prefer the descriptors "gynephilic" and "androphilic" rather than "homosexual" to avoid this problem. ^[2]

The term is also part of a two-type taxonomy based on transsexual sexuality and proposed by Ray Blanchard in 1989 to describe male-to-female transsexual people. The other type in the taxonomy is "nonhomosexual transsexual" and is characterized by higher incidence of a paraphilia Blanchard coined called autogynephilia. This taxonomy is informally known as the Blanchard, Bailey, and Lawrence theory, so named after Blanchard and two key proponents, J. Michael Bailey and Anne Lawrence.

1 Descriptions by proponents of the term
- 1.1 Physiological and demographic
- 1.2 Sexual activity
2 Criticism
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Descriptions by proponents of the term

The concept of a two-type taxonomy based on sexuality was first proposed by Magnus Hirschfeld ^[3] and codified for transsexual people by Harry Benjamin in the Benjamin Scale. ^[4]

[edit] Physiological and demographic

Kurt Freund proposed two types of cross-gender identity, ^[5] based on his observations that gender identity disorder is different for homosexual males and heterosexual males. According to proponents of the term, homosexual transsexuals were found to be younger when applying for sex reassignment, reported a stronger cross-gender identity in childhood, had a more convincing cross-gender appearance, and functioned psychologically better than nonhomosexual transsexuals. Blanchard found them comparatively shorter, lighter, and lighter in proportion to their height than nonhomosexuals. ^[6] Dorner reported that when injected with Premarin, homosexual transsexual men showed an increased luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone response compared to hetero- or bisexual transsexual men. ^[7] Other proponents have observed several correlations to homosexual transsexuality, including lower IQ, lower social class, immigrant status, non-intact family, non-Caucasian race, and childhood behavior problems, which are unrelated to gender identity disorder. ^[8] Bailey states that about 60% of homosexual transsexuals he studied were Latina or black, about three times the rate of ordinary gay men (p. 183). He states that most learn to live on the streets, often resorting to prostitution, shoplifting, or both (p. 184). ^[9]

[edit] Sexual activity

Leavitt and Berger further categorized homosexual transsexuals by three patterns of sexual activity:

Inactive group (44%): sexually inactive
Avoidant group (19%): sexually active but avoided using their penises
Pleasure group (37%): sexually active and derived pleasure from their penises

Each group showed varying levels of masculinity in development and levels of emotional disturbance. ^[10]

Proponents of the term have variously reported that between 10% and 36% of homosexual transsexuals report a history of sexual arousal to crossdressing. Bentler reported 23%, ^[11] and Freund reported 31%. ^[5] Leavitt and Berger reported 36% among all homosexual transsexuals, and 24% of the sexually active subjects. ^[10] Blanchard reports significantly lower numbers than his peers: 15% in his first study on the topic, ^[12] and 10% in a paper two years later. ^[13] Blanchard reported autogynephilia in lower levels when comparing homosexual and nonhomosexual transsexuals, with notable levels of anatomic autogynephilia among some of the 117 androphilic subjects. ^[14] A lower percentage of the homosexual transsexuals reported being (or having been) married and sexually aroused while cross-dressing. ^[15]

[edit] Criticism

In his 1966 classic The Transsexual Phenomenon, Harry Benjamin writes:

The term "homosexuality" has never impressed me as very fortunate. It indicates an exclusiveness and a finality that exists in only a relatively small group of men, those who are entirely homosexual. According to Kinsey, Pomeroy, and Martin, this group (the 6 on their rating scale) applies to not more than 4 per cent of the total male population.

[...] If we allow ourselves the use of the term "bisexuality" in this 46 per cent, it is evident that the term homosexuality is applied much too often. The reason is that even one homosexual contact in a man's life, if it becomes known, all too often stamps him forever as a homosexual which, of course, he is not.

Furthermore, homosexual orientation may be a symptom, as are transvestism and transsexualism, with a variety of possible causes and inceptions. These causes and inceptions may be anchored in an inherited or congenital (constitutional) predisposition or they may be an acquired condition. ^[4]

Leavitt and Berger note:

The homosexual transsexual label is both confusing and controversial among males seeking sex reassignment. Transsexuals, as a group, vehemently oppose the label and its pejorative baggage (Morgan, 1978)^[16]. As a rule, they are highly invested in a heterosexual life-style and are repulsed by notions of homosexual relations with males. Attention from males often serves to validate their feminine status. For many biological male transsexuals, acts of intimacy with women are truncated, because sexual attraction and relations with women pose the homosexual issue.^[10]

One person identified by J. Michael Bailey, In The Man Who Would Be Queen as a "homosexual transsexual" was "Maria". She does not agree with that description.

[edit] References

^ Chivers ML, Bailey JM (2000). Sexual orientation of female-to-male transsexuals: a comparison of homosexual and nonhomosexual types. Archives of Sexual Behavior. 2000 Jun;29(3):259-78.
^ cf. Leiblum SR, Rosen RC (2000). Principles and Practice of Sex Therapy, Third Edition. ISBN 1-57230-574-6
^ Hirschfeld M (1923). Die intersexuelle Konstitution. Jarhbuch fuer sexuelle Zwischenstufen. 1923: 3-27
^ ^a ^b Benjamin H (1966). The Transsexual Phenomenon. The Julian Press ASIN: B0007HXA76
^ ^a ^b Freund K, Steiner BW, Chan S (1982). Two types of cross-gender identity. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 1982 Feb;11(1):49-63.
^ Blanchard R, Dickey R, Jones CL. Comparison of height and weight in homosexual versus nonhomosexual male gender dysphorics. Archives of Sexual Behavior 1995 Oct;24(5):543-54.
^ Dorner G, Rohde W, Schott G, Schnabl C (1983). On the LH response to oestrogen and LH-RH in transsexual men. Experimental and Clinical Endocrinology. 1983 Nov;82(3):257-67.
^ Gender-Dysphoric Children and Adolescents: A Comparative Analysis of Demographic Characteristics and Behavioral Problems. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Vol. 7, No. 3, 398-411 (2002)
^ Bailey JM (2003). The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism. Joseph Henry Press, ISBN 0-309-08418-0
^ ^a ^b ^c Leavitt F, Berger JC (1990). Clinical patterns among male transsexual candidates with erotic interest in males. Archives of Sexual Behavior, | full text Volume 19, Number 5 / October, 1990
^ Bentler P M (1976). A typology of transsexualism: Gender identity theory and data. Archives of Sexual Behavior 5: 567-584.
^ Blanchard R (1985). Typology of male-to-female transsexualism. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 14, 247-261.
^ Blanchard R, Clemmensen LH, Steiner BW (1987). Heterosexual and homosexual gender dysphoria. Archives of Sexual Behavior, Volume 16, Number 2 / April, 1987
^ Blanchard R (1989). The concept of autogynephilia and the typology of male gender dysphoria. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 177, 616-623.
^ Smith YL, van Goozen SH, Kuiper AJ, Cohen-Kettenis PT (2005). Transsexual subtypes: clinical and theoretical significance. Psychiatry Res. 2005 Dec 15;137(3):151-60. Epub 2005 Nov 17.
^ Morgan AJ Jr (1978). Psychotherapy for transsexual candidates screened out of surgery. Archives of Sexual Behavior. 7: 273-282.