Author | Anne Lawrence |
---|---|
Language | English |
Series | Focus on Sexuality Research |
Subject | Autogynephilia, transgenderism |
Published | New York |
Publisher | Springer Publishing |
Publication date | 2013 |
Publication place | United States |
Media type | |
Pages | 242 |
ISBN | 9781461451815 |
OCLC | 802321578 |
Website | https://annelawrence.com/book/ |
Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism is a 2013 book on the subject of autogynephilia and transgender women written by sexologist Anne Lawrence. [1] In the book, she discusses autogynephilia, a paraphilia in which a person is sexually attracted to and aroused by the thought or image of themselves as female. [1] [2] It is defined as an erotic target location error, as a self-directed form of gynephilia, and as a sexuoromantic orientation. [1] [3] [2] Autogynephilia has been theorized by some academics, such as Lawrence, Ray Blanchard, and J. Michael Bailey, to be the motivating etiology for a subset of transgender women. [1] It has also been theorized to be the cause of the feelings and behaviors of certain non-transgender males, including non-transitioning autogynephiles (sometimes called "crossdreamers") and erotic crossdressers ("transvestites"). [1] [4] In respect to the latter, transvestism has been defined as a subtype of autogynephilia. [1] Lawrence herself is a transgender woman and self-identifies as autogynephilic. [1] However, Blanchard's etiological typology of transgender women and autogynephilia are highly controversial subjects and are not accepted by many other transgender women and academics. [5] [6] The book was published in 2013 by Springer in New York. [1]
Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism is 242 pages in length and has 12 chapters. [1] Its chapters include "Men Trapped in Men's Bodies", "Theory and Case Histories", "Narratives by Autogynephilic Transsexuals", "Confronting Autogynephilia", "Developmental Histories", "Manifestations of Autogynephilia", "Autogynephilia and Heterosexuality", "Sex with Men", "Other Aspects of Autogynephilic Sexuality", "Debating the Meaning of Autogynephilia", "Narratives by Nontranssexual Autogynephiles", and "Autogynephilic Transsexualism in Perspective". [1] It includes 249 first-person narratives of autogynephilia by transgender women and 52 narratives of autogynephilia by non-transgender males (301 narratives in total) that were submitted to and collected by Lawrence. [1] This followed earlier collections of the same kinds of narratives that Lawrence had published in 1999. [1] [7] [8] Besides the book, Lawrence has published a number of literature reviews on autogynephilia. [9] [2] [10] [3] [5]
The book has a similar title to a 1998 essay published by Lawrence in Transgender Tapestry called Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: An Introduction to the Concept of Autogynephilia [11] and to a 1999 essay presented by Lawrence at the 16th Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA) symposium known as Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Autogynephilic Eroticism as a Motive for Seeking Sex Reassignment. [1] [12] [13] Both of these essays were also previously published on Lawrence's website, [1] [11] [13] in addition to her earlier 1999 collections of autogynephilia narratives. [7] [8] The book's title is also similar to the title of a chapter called Men Trapped in Men's Bodies in J. Michael Bailey's 2003 book, The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism , with this chapter title being inspired by and taking after the titles of Lawrence's earlier essays. [14] The phrase "men trapped in men's bodies" refers to the fact that transgender women are often described as "women trapped in men's bodies", yet autogynephilic transgender women are said not to resemble women in terms of their behavioral characteristics and life histories but instead to be more similar to men in these areas and to have an intense desire to become women due to their autogynephilic feelings. [1] [14] Hence, these transgender women, relative to pretransition, could, in a sense, alternatively be described as "men trapped in men's bodies" per Lawrence. [1] [14] Ray Blanchard has stated that Lawrence initially startled even him with the phrase and the forthright titles of her essays. [1]
Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism has received several published book reviews, including by psychologist Richard Lippa, [15] psychiatrist Stephen B. Levine, [16] sexologist Kevin Hsu, [17] psychologist Richard Carroll, [18] and psychologist Margaret Nichols. [19] It has been regarded by Ray Blanchard, who wrote the foreword of the book and developed the concept of autogynephilia, as the definitive text on the subject of autogynephilia. [1] He has compared it favorably to Magnus Hirschfeld's classic 1910 work, Die Transvestiten: Eine Untersuchung über den Erotischen Verkleidungstrieb (Transvestites: The Erotic Drive to Cross-Dress). [1]
Many transgender women reject autogynephilia as an explanation for their feelings and consider the concept to be offensive. [5] [6] Criticisms have been lobbied against the construct of autogynephilia on a variety of grounds. [20] [21] [22] However, some people, most famously Lawrence herself, identify with autogynephilia and find that it accurately describes their experiences. [1] [23] [24] That some individuals identify with autogynephilia is also evidenced by the 301 narratives of autogynephilia by transgender and non-transgender people that were submitted to and published by Lawrence. [1]
The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), formerly the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA), is a professional organization devoted to the understanding and treatment of gender identity and gender dysphoria, and creating standardized treatment for transgender and gender variant people. WPATH was founded in 1979 and named HBIGDA in honor of Harry Benjamin during a period where there was no clinical consensus on how and when to provide gender-affirming care. WPATH is mostly known for the Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People (SOC).
Transfeminism, or trans feminism, is a branch of feminism focused on transgender women and informed by transgender studies. Transfeminism focuses on the effects of transmisogyny and patriarchy on trans women. It is related to the broader field of queer theory. The term was popularized by Emi Koyama in The Transfeminist Manifesto.
The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism is a 2003 book by the American psychologist J. Michael Bailey, published by Joseph Henry Press.
Androphilia and gynephilia are terms used in behavioral science to describe sexual orientation, as an alternative to a gender binary homosexual and heterosexual conceptualization. Androphilia describes sexual attraction to men and/or masculinity; gynephilia describes the sexual attraction to women and/or femininity. Ambiphilia describes the combination of both androphilia and gynephilia in a given individual, or bisexuality.
The gender binary is the classification of gender into two distinct forms of masculine and feminine, whether by social system, cultural belief, or both simultaneously. Most cultures use a gender binary, having two genders.
Ray Milton Blanchard III is an American-Canadian sexologist who researches pedophilia, sexual orientation and gender identity. He has found that men with more older brothers are more likely to be gay than men with fewer older brothers, a phenomenon he attributes to the reaction of the mother's immune system to male fetuses. Blanchard has also published research studies on phallometry and several paraphilias, including autoerotic asphyxia. Blanchard also proposed a typology of transsexualism.
The American-Canadian sexologist Ray Blanchard proposed a psychological typology of gender dysphoria, transsexualism, and fetishistic transvestism in a series of academic papers through the 1980s and 1990s. Building on the work of earlier researchers, including his colleague Kurt Freund, Blanchard categorized trans women into two groups: homosexual transsexuals who are attracted exclusively to men and are feminine in both behavior and appearance; and autogynephilic transsexuals who experience sexual arousal at the idea of having a female body. Blanchard and his supporters argue that the typology explains differences between the two groups in childhood gender nonconformity, sexual orientation, history of sexual fetishism, and age of transition.
Gender incongruence is the state of having a gender identity that does not correspond to one's sex assigned at birth. This is experienced by people who identify as transgender or transsexual, and often results in gender dysphoria. The causes of gender incongruence have been studied for decades.
Sexuality in transgender individuals encompasses all the issues of sexuality of other groups, including establishing a sexual identity, learning to deal with one's sexual needs, and finding a partner, but may be complicated by issues of gender dysphoria, side effects of surgery, physiological and emotional effects of hormone replacement therapy, psychological aspects of expressing sexuality after medical transition, or social aspects of expressing their gender.
The classification of transgender people into distinct groups has been attempted since the mid-1960s. The most common modern classifications in use are the DSM-5 and ICD, which are mainly used for insurance and administration of gender-affirming care.
Feminizing hormone therapy, also known as transfeminine hormone therapy, is hormone therapy and sex reassignment therapy to change the secondary sex characteristics of transgender people from masculine or androgynous to feminine. It is a common type of transgender hormone therapy and is used to treat transgender women and non-binary transfeminine individuals. Some, in particular intersex people, but also some non-transgender people, take this form of therapy according to their personal needs and preferences.
A transgender person is someone whose gender identity differs from that typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth. Some transgender people who desire medical assistance to transition from one sex to another identify as transsexual. Transgender can function as an umbrella term; in addition to including binary trans men and trans women, it may also include people who are non-binary or genderqueer. Other definitions of transgender also include people who belong to a third gender, conceptualize transgender people as a third gender, or conflate the two concepts. The term may also include cross-dressers or drag kings and drag queens in some contexts. The term transgender does not have a universally accepted definition, including among researchers.
A transsexual person is someone who experiences a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desires to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance to help them align their body with their identified sex or gender.
Erotic target location error (ETLE) is a hypothesized dimension for paraphilias, defined by having a sexual preference or strong sexual interest in features that are somewhere other than on one's sexual partners. When one's sexual arousal is based on imagining oneself in another physical form the erotic target is said to be one's self, or erotic target identity inversion (ETII).
Analloeroticism is having no sexual interests in other people. Anil Aggrawal considers it distinct from asexuality and defines the latter as the lack of a sex drive. Analloerotics are unattracted to female or male partners, but not necessarily devoid of all sexual behaviour.
Anne Alexandra Lawrence is an American psychologist, sexologist, and physician who has published extensively on gender dysphoria, transgender people, and paraphilias. Lawrence is a transgender woman and self-identifies as autogynephilic. She is best known for her 2013 book on autogynephilia, Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism, which has been regarded by Ray Blanchard as the definitive text on the subject. Lawrence is one of the major researchers in the area of Blanchard's etiological typology of transgender women and has been one of the most major proponents of the theory. While Blanchard's typology and autogynephilia are highly controversial subjects and are not accepted by many transgender women and academics, some, such as Lawrence, identify with autogynephilia. Lawrence's work also extends beyond Blanchard's typology, to transgender women and to transition more generally.
Alice Domurat Dreger is an American historian, bioethicist, author, and former professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, in Chicago, Illinois.
Feminist metaphysics aims to question how inquiries and answers in the field of metaphysics have supported sexism. Feminist metaphysics overlaps with fields such as the philosophy of mind and philosophy of self. Feminist metaphysicians such as Sally Haslanger, Ásta, and Judith Butler have sought to explain the nature of gender in the interest of advancing feminist goals.
Transgender health care includes the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of physical and mental health conditions for transgender individuals. A major component of transgender health care is gender-affirming care, the medical aspect of gender transition. Questions implicated in transgender health care include gender variance, sex reassignment therapy, health risks, and access to healthcare for trans people in different countries around the world. Gender affirming health care can include psychological, medical, physical, and social behavioral care. The purpose of gender affirming care is to help a transgender individual conform to their desired gender identity.
The medicalisation of sexuality is the existence and growth of medical authority over sexual experiences and sensations. The medicalisation of sexuality is contributed to by the pharmaceutical industry, along with psychiatry, psychology, and biomedical sciences more generally.
What appears to have curdled her is the work of Ray Blanchard, the sex researcher who proposed the theory of autogynephilia, which posits that some trans women are motivated to transition by sexual arousal at the thought of being a woman. It is seen by some trans people as offensive because, in their view, it pathologises and/or sexualises their identity. An apparently smaller group of individuals, most famously Anne Lawrence, believe it accurately describes their own experiences.