autogynephilia and why it's fucking well transphobic

[kalmn]

autogynephilia is a made up word for a made up "disorder". ray blanchard made up this word and this "disorder". to quote the TSRoadmap site,

"Autogynephilia" is a sex-fueled mental illness made up by Ray Blanchard. Blanchard defines it as "a man’s paraphilic tendency to be sexually aroused by the thought or image of himself as a woman."

paraphilia is a particular technical term, in psychology. it means that it involves a) nonhuman objects, b) the suffering and humiliation of ones self or ones partner, or c) children or nonconsenting persons.

if you are saying that a person transitioned, or that a person is trans, so they could have new toys to play with? that's transphobic. it's not funny. cut it the fuck out. if you're going to continue to say it and/or continue to think it's funny, please let me know whether you're saying a) that a trans woman is actually still a man, b) that they or their body parts are non-human objects, c) whether you think they're humiliating themselves or their partner, d) who precisely is nonconsenting, or e) some or all of the above so that i can be clear on in exactly what way you're an asshole.



(editing to make it try to post to lj)

Comments

[jiawen]

Actually, I think it was made up by Anne Lawrence.

What brings this up? Unfortunately, it's old news to me...

[dickens]

I'm very sorry (and embarrassed) to admit I said something deeply ignorant to kalmn.

I recently encountered the concept (though not the term and the appalling history that I learned in the link above) and repeated something offensive. I should've known better, and hopefully now I do.

[(Anonymous)]

You might also mention that you got it from someone who should also know better but has been saying it for nearly ten years and spreading it. For lack of a bigger keyboard, I'll just say yuck here.

[kalmn]

Argh, that's me.

[jiawen]

Okay, I guess I still don't really understand the context, but maybe it's not important.

[kalmn]

I'm not sure what you're asking me for, here. Could you clarify?

[jiawen]

It feels like I'm catching the tail end of a social situation without understanding what led to it. But I probably don't need to know. (?)

[redbird]

The idea of "autogynophilia" as a disorder is also very gender-essentialist, and assumes that cisgendered people don't also have, or enjoy, such fantasies. I grew breasts because of the genes and hormones I got by chance, and I can be turned on by having them as well as by touching them or having a partner do so. If that's somewhere between normal and normative, why is it weird that someone who didn't grow breasts on their own would be turned on idea of having them?

[beaq]

I was gonna SAY.

[kalmn]

There's a difference, tho, between 'everyone plays with their boobs' and 'you transitioned because you wanted attached sex toys'.

[beaq]

But of course.

[kalmn]

There's a difference, tho, between 'everyone plays with their boobs' and 'you transitioned because you wanted attached sex toys'.

[yarram]

Not to mention that it ignores and erases the existence of transwomen who are not sexually attracted to women at all.

[kalmn]

Good point! Thanks!

[jinian]

Ew.

(I can see a way in which "autogynephilia" as described would be about humiliation for a man having fantasies about being a woman and thinking that was somehow bad, but that would be his baggage and nothing about transwomen whatsoever.)

[pants_of_doom]

Nice deconstruction.