Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism

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Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism
Author Anne Lawrence
Country United States
Language English
SeriesFocus on Sexuality Research
Subject Autogynephilia, transgenderism
Published New York
Publisher Springer Publishing
Publication date
2013
Media typePrint
Pages242
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 is theorized by some to be the motivating etiology for a subset of transgender women. [1] It is also 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 (transvestic fetishists). [1] [4] In respect to the latter, transvestic fetishism is defined as a subtype of autogynephilia. [1] Lawrence herself is a transgender woman and self-identifies as autogynephilic. [1] The book was published in 2013 by Springer in New York. [1]

Contents

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] [5] [6] Besides the book, Lawrence has published a number of literature reviews on autogynephilia. [7] [2] [3] [8]

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 [9] 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] [10] [11] Both of these essays were also previously published on Lawrence's website, [1] [9] [11] in addition to her earlier 1999 collections of autogynephilia narratives. [5] [6] 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] Hence, these transgender women, relative to pretransition, could, in a sense, alternatively be described as "men trapped in men's bodies". [1]

Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism has received several published book reviews, including by psychologist Richard Lippa, [12] psychiatrist Stephen B. Levine, [13] sexologist Kevin Hsu, [14] psychologist Richard Carroll, [15] and psychologist Margaret Nichols. [16]

Many transgender women reject autogynephilia as an explanation for their feelings and consider the concept to be offensive. [8] [17] Criticisms have been lobbied against the construct of autogynephilia on a variety of grounds. [18] [19] [20] However, some individuals, most famously Lawrence herself, identify with autogynephilia and find that it accurately describes their experiences. [1] [21] 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]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Anne A. Lawrence (2013). Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism (PDF). Focus on Sexuality Research. Springer Science & Business Media. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-5182-2. ISBN   978-1-4614-5182-2. OCLC   910979847. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-03-23.
  2. 1 2 3 Lawrence, Anne A. (2007). "Becoming What We Love: Autogynephilic Transsexualism Conceptualized as an Expression of Romantic Love" (PDF). Perspect. Biol. Med. 50 (4): 506–520. doi:10.1353/pbm.2007.0050. PMID   17951885. S2CID   31767722. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-05. Retrieved 2014-09-22.
  3. 1 2 Lawrence, Anne A. (2011). "Autogynephilia: An Underappreciated Paraphilia" (PDF). Advances in Psychosomatic Medicine. 31: 135–148. doi:10.1159/000328921. ISBN   978-3-8055-9825-5. ISSN   1662-2855. PMID   22005209. S2CID   16143265. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-11-12.
  4. ↑ Webb, M.A. (2019). A Reflective Guide to Gender Identity Counselling. Jessica Kingsley Publishers. p. 38. ISBN   978-1-78450-733-6 . Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  5. 1 2 Lawrence, A. A. (1999), "28 narratives about autogynephilia", annelawrence.com, archived from the original on 2000-08-16
  6. 1 2 Lawrence, A. A. (1999), "31 New Narratives About Autogynephilia: Plus Five Revealing Fantasy Narratives", annelawrence.com, archived from the original on 2000-08-16
  7. ↑ Lawrence, Anne A. (2004). "Autogynephilia: A Paraphilic Model of Gender Identity Disorder" (PDF). Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy. 8 (1/2): 69–87. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.656.9256 . doi:10.1080/19359705.2004.9962367. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2015-02-10.
  8. 1 2 Lawrence, Anne A. (2017). "Autogynephilia and the Typology of Male-to-Female Transsexualism" (PDF). European Psychologist. 22 (1): 39–54. doi:10.1027/1016-9040/a000276. ISSN   1016-9040. S2CID   151624961. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-02-13.
  9. 1 2 Anne A. Lawrence (1998), Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: An Introduction to the Concept of Autogynephilia, vol. 1, pp. 65–68, archived from the original on 1999-10-11
  10. ↑ Bailey JM, Triea K (2007). "What many transgender activists don't want you to know: and why you should know it anyway". Perspect Biol Med. 50 (4): 521–34. doi:10.1353/pbm.2007.0041. PMID   17951886.
  11. 1 2 Anne Lawrence (1999), "Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Autogynephilic Eroticism as a Motive for Seeking Sex Reassignment", Presented at the 16th HBIGDA Symposium, London, UK, August 20, 1999, archived from the original on 2000-01-18
  12. ↑ Lippa, Richard A. (2015). "Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism: By Anne A. Lawrence. New York, Springer, 2013, 242 pp., $129.00 (hardcover), $49.99 (softcover), $39.99 (ebook)". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 44 (5): 1511–1514. doi:10.1007/s10508-015-0553-x. ISSN   0004-0002.
  13. ↑ Levine, Stephen B. (2014). "What is More Bizarre: The Transsexual or Transsexual Politics?: Men Trapped In Men's Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism. By Anne A. Lawrence, New York Springer, 2013. 242 pp. $129 (hardcover). ISBN: 978-1-4614-5181-5". Sex Roles. 70 (3–4): 158–160. doi:10.1007/s11199-013-0341-9. ISSN   0360-0025.
  14. ↑ Hsu, Kevin J. (2014). "The "Auto" (Self) in Autogynephilic Transsexualism: Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism . By Anne A. Lawrence. New York, NY: Springer, 2013, 242 pages. Cloth, $129.00". The Journal of Sex Research. 51 (2): 234–236. doi:10.1080/00224499.2013.842354. ISSN   0022-4499.
  15. ↑ Carroll, Richard A. (2014). "A Review of "Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism": by Anne Lawrence . New York: Springer, 2013. 242 pages, $109 (hardcover)". Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. 40 (1): 73–75. doi:10.1080/0092623X.2013.854561. ISSN   0092-623X.
  16. ↑ Nichols, Margaret (2014). "A Review of "Men Trapped in Men's Bodies: Narratives of Autogynephilic Transsexualism": by Anne Lawrence . New York: Springer, 2013. 242 pages, $109 (hardcover)". Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. 40 (1): 71–73. doi:10.1080/0092623X.2013.854559. ISSN   0092-623X.
  17. ↑ Dreger AD (June 2008). "The controversy surrounding "The man who would be queen": a case history of the politics of science, identity, and sex in the Internet age". Arch Sex Behav. 37 (3): 366–421. doi:10.1007/s10508-007-9301-1. PMC   3170124 . PMID   18431641.
  18. ↑ Serano, Julia (2020). "Autogynephilia: A scientific review, feminist analysis, and alternative 'embodiment fantasies' model". The Sociological Review. 68 (4): 763–778. doi:10.1177/0038026120934690. ISSN   0038-0261.
  19. ↑ Serano, Julia M. (2010-10-12). "The Case Against Autogynephilia". International Journal of Transgenderism. 12 (3): 176–187. doi:10.1080/15532739.2010.514223. ISSN   1553-2739.
  20. ↑ Moser, Charles (30 June 2010). "Blanchard's Autogynephilia Theory: A Critique". Journal of Homosexuality. 57 (6). Informa UK Limited: 790–809. doi:10.1080/00918369.2010.486241. ISSN   0091-8369. PMID   20582803.
  21. ↑ Singal, Jesse (2023-11-21). "The rage behind Transgender Map". UnHerd. Retrieved 2024-04-28. 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.
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