The concept of autogynephilia and the typology of male gender dysphoria

J Nerv Ment Dis. 1989 Oct;177(10):616-23. doi: 10.1097/00005053-198910000-00004.

Abstract

This study tested the hypothesis that all gender-dysphoric males who are not sexually aroused by men (homosexual) are instead sexually aroused by the thought or image of themselves as women (autogynephilic). Subjects were 212 adult male-to-female transsexuals. These were divided into four groups; one homosexual and three nonhomosexual. The three nonhomosexual groups were heterosexual, bisexual, and analloerotic (unattracted to male or female partners, but not necessarily devoid of all erotic behavior). A Core Autogynephilia Scale was developed to assess a subject's propensity to be sexually aroused by the fantasy of being a woman. The four transsexual groups were compared on this measure (and on several others), using Newman-Keuls multiple-range tests at p less than .05. As predicted, all three nonhomosexual groups were more likely than the homosexual group to report sexual stimulation by cross-gender fantasy. This finding supports the hypothesis that the major types of nonhomosexual gender dysphoria constitute variant forms of one underlying disorder, which may be characterized as autogynephilic gender dysphoria.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Factor Analysis, Statistical
  • Fantasy
  • Fetishism, Psychiatric
  • Gender Identity*
  • Homosexuality / psychology
  • Humans
  • Identification, Psychological*
  • Male
  • Paraphilic Disorders / psychology*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires