Autogynephilia: what it is and why it is not considered a paraphilia

Autogynephilia is a proposed paraphilia that is not considered a valid psychological construct.

Autogynephilia is a controversial concept that for years has been appearing in the debate about the relationship between sex and gender, and is often used for political purposes.

In this article we will see what it consists of and how it has been defined in the historical context in which it arose; an issue that leads us to question to what extent science can observe the phenomena of human behavior from a purely objective perspective.

Paraphilia or gender identity expression?

Sex and gender are essential phenomena for the definition that a human being makes of himself. In the first case, it refers to their Biological reality, and in the second to a social construction linked to the way in which masculinity and femininity are understood in the spatial/temporal coordinates in which they have lived.

Sexual orientation would be the third variable, differentiated from the previous ones.and from which the decision to maintain sentimental relations with another person on the basis of his or her sex or independently of it (homo/heterosexual, bisexual, asexual, etc.) would be forged.

As all of these phenomena are independent of each other, it is likely that disparate and plural combinations will emerge in which there is not necessarily a predictable directionality according to traditional standards.

We will now turn to a complex and highly controversial issue: autogynephilia, which was postulated as a paraphilia. whose purpose would be to explain the epistemological substratum of transsexuality. The controversy on this issue is still ongoing.

What is the concept of autogynephilia?

Autogynephilia (autogynephilia) is a deeply controversial a deeply controversial construct. It can be divided into different semantic units following its Greek provenance: "auto" (relating or referring to oneself), "gine" (woman) and "filia" (attraction or desire); so it can be summarized as the obtaining of sexual gratification that arises from imagining oneself assuming feminine attributes, or simply making use of the clothes that have traditionally been assigned to this gender.

In this way, it would become a specific paraphilia in which a male would feel attracted to himself as long as he adopts female traits. However, only theoretically.

This word, which does not enjoy unanimous consensus in the research community, was coined by psychologist Ray Blanchard, was coined by psychologist Ray Blanchard as a result of a series of papers published in the late 1980s and early 1990s. as a result of a series of papers published in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Through its formulation, not only the recognition of a "new" pathology was sought, but also the definitive articulation of a theoretical model through which to confront the traditional view of the female transsexual (born male) that would conceive of her as a "woman trapped in a man's body" (also known as the feminine essence narrative).

Blanchard's studies were carried out by dividing a sample (actually quite small) of female transsexuals into four groups, according to their sexual orientation: androphilic (attracted to men), gynephilic (attracted to women), bisexual and asexual. What the author described in his work was that the last three groups, which he called non-homosexuals, reported having more frequently experienced arousal when imagining themselves in female appearance or clothing, compared to the androphiliac or homosexual group (75% vs. 15%).compared to the group of androphiliacs or homosexuals (75% vs. 15%). None of them wished to undergo reassignment surgery.

This finding, together with the fact that the non-androphilic group (gynephiliacs, bisexuals and asexuals) reported less frequently having shown any hint of femininity during their childhood, led him to conclude that: androphilic female transsexuals were homosexuals who sought to modify their bodily characteristics in order to attract heterosexual men, and that the rest of the transsexuals would be affected by a paraphilia (autogynephilia) in which their own corporeality would become the object of desire. This would affect only those who were assigned the sex of male at birth, and not female-to-male transsexuals.

Understood according to Blanchard's postulates, autogynephilia would describe a broad group of transsexuals according to the way in which they orient their sexual desire. would describe a broad group of transsexuals according to the way in which they orient their sexual desire, completely ignoring the issue of gender identity.This is a way of understanding things, completely sidestepping the question of identity (or subsuming it in a reductionist way). With this way of understanding things, all non-androphilic transsexuals would be considered heterosexuals whose focus of interest would be displaced, so that instead of desiring a woman, they would desire themselves by adopting her role. That is, the person himself would become the very object of his narcissistic paraphilia.

Autogynephilia would imply a redirection of the object of desire as has been described in some cases of apotemnophilia (attraction to people suffering from severe amputations and ending with the resection of limbs or other parts of one's own body). Despite the fact that this is a theory that went unnoticed by the scientific communityIt was rescued at the beginning of the present century by J. Michael Bailey and has motivated a substantial volume of studies for and against it. It is a theory that has been considered openly transphobic by the LGBT community, and clearly harmful to the trans community.

Features

First of all, it is important to highlight that autogynephilia is not included in any of the commonly used diagnostic manuals. (DSM-5 or ICD-10) as a clinical phenomenon, in none of the general categories available to them.

On the other hand, Gender Identity Dysphoria (GID) does appear, understood as the clear rejection of having a body with primary characteristics of one or the other sex, and with which one does not feel any identification. In any case, gender dysphoria is not specifically referred to as a psychological disorder, although it is closely related to moments of discomfort that are not unrelated to the way in which social pressure conditions what should fit with gender roles.

According to the proponents of the existence of this concept, autogynephilia, this particular form of paraphilia would be expressed as arousal: imagining oneself wearing women's clothing (especially underwear), adopting body postures generally attributable to the feminine during sexual activity, being recognized as a woman by other men, or imagining oneself having intercourse with a male partner (vaginally).

One of the aspects that have generated the most controversy regarding the paraphilia issue is its supposed comorbidity with very diverse pictures of the same nosological family.. Blanchard's work postulated the concurrence with froteurism (excitement obtained through deliberate and non-consensual rubbing with other bodies) and voyeurism (sexual pleasure through the inadvertent observation of other people having intercourse); or even others much more serious because of their great impact on third parties, such as pedophilia or zoophilia.

However, the one that has been most solidly linked to autogynephilia (although always theoretically) has undoubtedly been masochism, which consists of obtaining sexual pleasure through passive (or receiving) participation in practices that generate pain, suffering or humiliation. However, there is no empirical evidence, there is no empirical evidence that connects such paraphilias with the fact of being transsexual.This link is considered to be illusory, contrived, degrading, devoid of any scientific substrate and malicious.

In any case, proponents of the autogynephilia model postulate that it is a real disorder, and that it underlies many of the practices that are performed to alter the physical expression of sex (not gender): from cross-dressing to hormone replacement, and ultimately to reassignment surgery. In any case, the label would only apply to female to female transsexuals (MtF) who do not report a homosexual orientation, so that paraphilia would be their motivation for change (and not a question of identity).

On the term autogynephilia and its impact at the societal level

The very concept of autogynephilia, which has been discussed in depth in the article, has mutated in recent years into a political weapon with a clear political tinge.. Through its use, the mere existence of transsexuality has been systematically questioned as a legitimate option through which to live one's sexual identity and orientation, using a construct dressed up as science to construct value judgments about one or the other.

All this has been particularly harmful for the female transsexual community who do not experience themselves as homosexual, nor do they report feeling as such since their earliest childhood. For this reason, it is perhaps worth reflecting on how science can occasionally be used for purposes very different from those for which it was conceived, which are none other than to objectively understand reality and contribute to knowledge that adds value to the lives of all people. Likewise, the very model of autogynephilia rules out the trans community of males (born female), for whom its precepts do not seem to fit.

In recent years, hypotheses have been emerging that emphasize that the fantasies conceived in this model tend to arise predominantly in transsexual men prior to reassignment surgery, and that they could be part of the construction of a scenario in which they experience their sexuality in a way that is congruent with their intimate desires. Along the same lines, it is observed that this practice is usually diluted after surgery, since the female self-image has already been integrated.

In any case, the scientific community is not oblivious to the issue and its repercussions, which is why it continues to invest its efforts to shed light on it and devoid it of any ideological nuances. Only in this way will a more accurate, constructive and genuinely beneficial knowledge be achieved.

Bibliographical references:

• Bailey, J.M. and Triea, K. (2015). What Many Transgender Activists Don't Want You to Know: and why you should know it anyway. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 50(4), 521-534.
• Blanchard, R. (1989). The Classification and Labeling of Non-homosexual Gender Dysphorias. En: Archives of Sexual Behavior 18(4), Ray, S. 315 - 334.
• Klára Bártová, R.A., Lucie Krejčová, P.W. & Klapilová, K. (2020) The Prevalence of Paraphilic Interests in the Czech Population: Preference, Arousal, the Use of Pornography, Fantasy, and Behavior, The Journal of Sex Research, doi:10.1080/00224499.2019.1707468
• Serano, J.M. (2010). The Case against Autogynephilia. International Journal of Transgenderism, 12, 176-187.