I am glad to say that transgender women have become much more visible and accepted during the last few years. That is a victory for the transgender community.
But keep in mind that a lot of male to female gender variant people still present as men, some out of fear of harassment, others because they feel at home in their male persona – they just have another side that needs to express herself.
Crossdream Life is a discussion forum for all kinds of trans and genderqueer, crossdressers and crossdreamers included.
For more than 20 years the so-called “autogynephilia” theory has been used to invalidate male to female transgender people. Even if the theory has been dismissed by both LGBTQA activists and most scientists in the field, people still have to respond to it. That has caused a lot of suffering.
Here is a great blog post by Ozymandias, that explains why this is a failed theory that does not capture the realities of being transgender.
Ozymandias suggests an alternative to stigmatizing explanations based on “fetishes”, “effeminate homosexuality” and “paraphilias”:
It is almost as if there are three switches,
one of which says Figure Out What People Of Your Sex Are Supposed To Do In Your Culture And Do That,
one of which says Be Attracted To People Of The Other Sex,
and one of which says Feel Strongly That You Are A Member Of Your Sex.
And then some factor– perhaps prenatal?– has something like a 50% chance of flipping over each individual switch.
So a minority of the population has all three (that is, they are straight feminine trans women), and a lot of people have one or two, but there’s still a strong correlation between the positions of the three switches.
Photo: RomoloTavani
Grayson Perry is one really fascinating British artist. He does not identify as a woman, but uses his fascination for feminine clothing and the lives of women in his art.
Lost in Transgender reports that he has started his own mini TV series where he talks about his life and the life of other transgender people.
I have embedded a clip from his interview with transgender model Tschan.
Here is one of Perry’s works of art (Map of Truths and Beliefs 2011):
How Transgender YouTube-Celebrity Gigi Gorgeous Debunked Transphobic Science by Being True to Herself
The transphobic autogynephilia theory is based on the idea that the sexual orientation of trans women can be used to divide them into two categories: (1) extremely effeminate gay men and (2) straight men with a sexual paraphilia (autogynephilacs).
(Yepp, it is that toxic, but hear me out.)
According to the theory trans women who come out young, transition early, look sexy and love men belong to the first category. All trans women who love women are per definition the opposite, autogynephiliacs: Bad looking late transitioners.
The theory is now actively used by right wing extremist and left wing “trans-exclusionary radical feminists” to destroy the lives of trans people.
In comes Gigi.
No, she hasn’t said a word about autogynephilia. But she has proven the theory wrong just by being who she is.
As someone who first came out as a gay man, then as a trans woman, passes well and loves fashion, she has to belong to the first category as these sexist researchers have defined it.
(Wait for it…)
Then she comes out and tells the world that she has fallen i love with a woman.
These photographs of queer and transgender people from the 19th and 20th centuries are from the collection of Sébastien Lifshitz.
Lifshitz says this about the collection:
I made a film in 2004 called Wild Side, in which the heroine was transsexual. To write the script and make this film, I met a lot of transsexuals in Paris in the early 2000s. The concept of queer was barely present in the media at that point. Making this movie helped me have a better understanding of the subject, in a more detailed way. In 2011, I met Bambi—one of the first transsexual women in France—and learned about her life to make a film about her. I delved into 1950s-60s Paris: the era of the cabaret and the first transsexuals.
In tandem, I was always looking for amateur photos of cross-dressers. I’d find them haphazardly: at flea markets, stoop sales, on the Internet.
Do we need an additional transgender flag for crossdressers and crossdreamers? My answer is no, as the transgender umbrella is wide enough to encompass all gender variant people. We already have a flag for transgender people.
Moreover, many trans men and trans women has explored their identities as crossdressers or crossdreamers at some point of their life journey.
That being said, some new flag proposals give great insight into the way many transgender people think about themselves and their identities and expressions.
So someone has brought up Ray Blanchard’s concept of autogynephilia in a discussion of gender variance and transgender women. They are all sexual perverts, they tell you. The science proves it!
Actually it doesn’t.
Here is some essential reading that will bring you up to speed on the topic of cross-gender arousal, crossdreaming and transgender identities.
Welcome to the seedy side of sexology. Welcome to the autogynephilia debate.
Julia Serano, leading trans philosopher and trans activist, presents cross-gender arousal in her highly influential book Whipping Girl, which has just been published in its second edition.
She understands crossdreaming (i.e. arousal from imagening yourself as your target sex) as an expression of a subconscious identity.
Yeah, i know, cis women have had a different life experience than trans women. The point is simply that they too can get excited by feeling sexy; that does invalidate their identity.
Female to male crossdreamers
If anyone tells you (as Blanchard will) that there are no female to male crossdreamers, you should take a look at my research.
I have written several posts on the lives of FTM crossdreamers and “girlfags”, and know many of them.
Bailey attempted to popularize the autogynephilia theory, revealing the underpinning sexism and gender stereotypes in the process. Binnie captures this in a brilliant manner!
Non-transitioning
If you want a different take on autogynephilia from an MTF crossdreamer who has not transitioned and who does not plan to do so, you should take a look at the writings of Felix Conrad.
Some scientists try to reduce the complex diversity of genderqueer and transgender people into categories that fit their homophobic and transphobic prejudices.
It is impossible to reduce the late Prince Rogers Nelson to any of these categories. This also contributes to his importance for trans and queer history.
The Crossdream Life discussion forum for transgender and genderqueer people, crossdressers and crossdreamers, has moved to a new location: crossdreamlife.lefora.com.
Talk about your life and your interests and how to cope with being trans or gender nonconforming.
Read about gender variance
Discuss crossdressing, crossdreaming, trans and gender variance
Chat with friends
Just a little reminder: Crossdream Life is a safe place open to all transgender and gender nonconforming people. Stop by and tell your story!
