Autogynephilia (the phenomenon of men fantasizing about having the body of a woman) is an obscure topic and there is not much information out there on the Web.
Furthermore, the term is highly controversial in transgender circles.
The debate is heated (read: intense flame wars, anger and despair), mainly because many transgendered feel that the concept undermines the TG struggle for social acceptance. Given traditional ideas about transsexuals it might even stop some of them from getting the sex reassignment surgery they need and deserve.
All this makes it even harder to get a grip on what autogynephilia is about.
That is a pity, because for those of us who do feel that we belong to this category -- regardless of what it is: a disorder, a natural inclination, a different gender category, a disease or a perversion -- language and theory is the key to understanding. And understanding is needed if we are to find peace with ourselves and the world around us.
At the moment I am trying to identify both off- and online resources covering the phenomenon. As a first step I have included several web sites covering the topic in the right hand column of this page.
If you know of other sites and pages, please add a comment listing the URL! I am looking for content that argues both for and against the theory.
A definition of autogynephilia
The term autogynephilia was introduced by the psychologist Ray Blanchard at the Clarke Institute of Psychology in Toronto, Canada. He defined it as "a man's paraphilic tendency to be sexually aroused by the thought or image of himself as a female".
According to Blanchard there are two types of male transsexuality: the nonhomosexual autogynephiliacs and the homosexual transsexual. I'll come back to his theory in a later post. There is much about his theory I find unsatisfactory (including the traditional dichotomy of heterosexuality and homosexuality), but the fact that he tries to understand the phenomenon should be applauded.
See also: The Concept of Autogynephilia and the Typology of Male Gender Dysphoria.
Jack M.
