Love of oneself as a woman : an investigation into the sexuality of transsexual and other women : a thesis presented in partial fulfilments [sic] of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University (Albany)
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Date
2005
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Massey University
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Abstract
This study compared the sexuality of male-to-female transsexuals (TS) with other
(biological) females. From its beginnings in the early 20th century, there has been a
tradition of categorising TS into different types based on their sexual orientation.
However, among the TS community there is mixed reaction to being categorised. Most
especially, there has been debate over a theory proposed by Blanchard (1989b) that
categorises TS as either sexually attracted to males or sexually attracted to themselves
as women (autogynephilic). To resolve some of this debate, this research measured a
number of aspects of sexuality among TS and biological females: sexual orientation,
childhood gender identity, autogynephilia, fetishism, masochism, sexual attraction to
themes found in erotic transgender fiction, and aspects of sexuality that are relevant to
evolutionary theory. These variables were measured on an online or paper questionnaire
completed by 209 TS and 127 biological females. The results showed that TS tended to
prefer younger sexual partners, and have lower levels of masochism than biological
females. For the remainder of the sexuality variables measured, TS and biological
females did not differ, with the exception of those TS who acknowledged a history of
autogynephilia. These TS scored significantly higher on measures of autogynephilia,
Attraction to Femininity in Males, Attraction to Transgender Fiction, Interest in Visual
Sexual Stimuli, and Importance of Partner’s Physical Attractiveness. Factor analysis of
the scale totals revealed four factors, with autogynephilia accounting for about 12% of
the questionnaire variance in scores. Autogynephilia was reported by 47% of TS
participants; however it manifested in a less predictable way than was proposed by
Blanchard (1989b). A further finding was the tendency of participants to report sexual
arousal to a diverse range of sexual stimuli that were considered to be not conforming to
cultural norms; this accounted for a large amount of the questionnaire variance
(56.44%). Implications of these results were put forward in the discussion: clinicians are
warned against restricting TS by categorising them; instead they should allow for the
diversity and complexity of individual cases. An alternative theory of the development
of cross-gender identity in biological males is proposed: this theory is based on the early
development of a cross-gender identity and whether defense mechanisms are used to
suppress this identity. In concluding, the limitations and suggestions for further research
are discussed. A major limitation of this research is the large proportion of highly
educated, higher socio-economic participants.
Description
There may be minor variations between online and print versions (e.g. typographical error in the sub-title).
Keywords
Transsexuals, Transgender, Autogynephilia, Sexual orientation, Masochism, Cross-gender identity