Originally posted 2016-07-24 13:31:06.
Male to Feminine transitioners were classified by Dr Ray Blanchard into two different types: HomoSexual Transsexual (HSTS) and non-homosexual or Autogynephilic (AGP).
I classify similarly but use a different terminology (which Ray dislikes.) Homosexual transsexuals I call Transsexual Homosexuals or just transsexuals, while non-homosexuals I call transvestic autogynephiles or just transvestites, even if they do not cross-dress for sexual pleasure or at least, do not admit to it. So in my newer writing they are either transsexual or transvestite, although in older work this might not always be so. We live and learn.
(The reason for inverting the HSTS to TSHS is that all Transsexuals are Homosexual, but not all Homosexuals are Transsexual. The older nomenclature was unfortunate because it made it appear as if there actually was more than one type of Transsexual; there is not. This actually appears to have been Blanchard’s intent, since he wanted to avoid a ‘hierarchy’ between Transsexuals and Transvestites. That, we see today, was unwise.)
Transsexuals and transvestites have different characteristics, most notable being their primary sexual orientation: transsexuals are uniquely attracted to men; they are natively homosexual from early childhood, often showing cross-gender behaviours and desires as young as age three. Some transvestites do acquire a form of Homosexuality, which Blanchard called Pseudobisexualism, but this always appears later.
Transvestites display a complex array of arousal models but are always primarily heterosexual. In fact they could be called ‘hyper-heterosexual’, so strong is their desire for femininity. The detail variations are all based on the ‘flavour’ of their autogynephilia, which Blanchard defined as ‘a man’s propensity to be aroused at the thought of himself as a woman’.
We should be aware that ‘arousal’ doesn’t just mean in the sense of becoming sexually excited, though that is a prominent characteristic of transvestites in the West. In fact there appear to be romantic and existential components to Autogynephilia, which is a subtle and complex mental condition. This has led some writers, for example Dr Alice Dreger, to suggest a definition of ‘amour de soi en femme’ — being in love with oneself as a woman. I would put that slightly differently: being in love with the idea of oneself as a woman.
Transvestites always remain transvestites even if they do not physically dress in women’s clothes. In fact, the ‘dressing’ in many cases is entirely mental, it all happens in the sexual fantasy world that transvestites live in. This fantasy, in extreme cases, can lead to a complete detachment from reality.
