Blanchard's transsexualism typology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by MarionTheLibrarian (talk | contribs) at 02:53, 5 June 2008 (→‎Research studies comparing homosexual with nonhomosexual transsexuals: corrected format). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Jump to navigation Jump to search
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientations
Related terms
Research
Animals
Related topics

The Blanchard, Bailey, and Lawrence theory (an informal name) is a taxonomy of male-to-female transsexualism.[1] This theory was proposed by Ray Blanchard of Toronto's Clarke Institute in the late 1980s.[2][3][4]

The term "BBL" was coined by critics of the theory and refers to Drs. Ray Blanchard, J. Michael Bailey, and Anne A. Lawrence, the most prominent researchers and proponents of this theory. It was originally used by critics in a derogatory sense, but has become more common in usage as this theory has received more widespread attention in academia.

Content of the idea

Ray Blanchard conducted a series of taxonomic studies of male-to-female transsexuals, concluding that there exist two distinct types.[5] One group are those who are exclusively attracted to men, whom Blanchard called homosexual transsexuals[3] (also sometimes called androphilic transsexuals). The other group include those who are attracted to females (gynephilic), attracted to both males and females (bisexual), and attracted to neither males nor females (asexual); Blanchard referred to this latter set collectively as the non-homosexual transsexuals.[6][7] Blanchard has also reported that the non-homosexual transsexuals (but not the homosexual transsexuals) exhibit autogynephilia, a paraphilic interest in having female anatomy.[8][9]

A journalist following Bailey's The Man Who Would Be Queen[10] explains it this way:[11]

...the theory in question boils down to this: all men who go through sex-reassignment surgery are motivated by one of two things. Either they're very, very homosexual and want to be penetrated by a man the way a woman is, or they're fixated on having a vagina of their own, maybe to be penetrated by a man, maybe by a woman, more likely by neither--it's arousing enough just to have a vagina.

— Dennis Rodkin, The Chicago Reader

Origins of grouping transsexuals by sexual orientation

Blanchard has recounted how he arrived at the taxonomy of male-to-female transsexualism and coined the term autogynephilia.[12] His concept follows from observations by earlier sexologists such as Magnus Hirschfeld,[13] Harry Benjamin,[14] and Blanchard's collaborator Kurt Freund, who had previously published about two types of cross-gender identity.[15] Freund hypothesized that gender identity disorder is different between homosexual males and heterosexual males. Blanchard notes that "Freund, perhaps for the first time of any author, employed a term other than 'transvestism' to denote erotic arousal in association with cross-gender fantasy."Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). He eventually resolved that there was evidence for only two types; "homosexual" and everything else or "non-homosexual."[7][6]

In the 2000 revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), the section on gender identity disorder specifies transvestic fetishism is a related paraphilia.[16] Although the concept of this paraphilia is mentioned in the DSM, some psychologists object to the pathologizing of gender variance and paraphilia.[17]

Blanchard's Categories

According to Blanchard there are two distinct types male-to-female transsexuals:

Homosexual (or androphilic) transsexuals

According to Blanchard,[18] "Homosexual gender dysphorics are those who, from the earliest sexual awareness in childhood or puberty, feel attracted only to men. The individual's masturbatory fantasies and romantic daydreams are of males; if he also has sexual encounters or love relationship in real life, these are exclusively or almost exclusively with men....The childhood behavior of homosexual gender dysphorics, unlike that of [non-homosexual] gender dysphorics, closely resembles that DSM-III-R diagnosis of gender identity disorder of childhood....As boys, they are unusually deficient in, or afraid of, physical competitiveness: They avoid rough-and-tumble play, are frightened of fistfights, and strongly dislike team sports. They prefer to play with girls, to play girls' games, and to play with girls' toys, in particular, Barbie-type dolls" (p. 69).

Nonhomosexual (or autogynephilic) transsexuals

Main article: Autogynephilia
Look up autogynephilia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

According to Blanchard,[18] most nonhomosexual transsexuals, "take part in normal boys' activities without outward signs of effeminacy, and most experience sexual arousal when they first begin cross-dressing. [They] tend to work in male-dominated occupations, and the majority get married at least once. When they are not deliberately feminizing their attire, their anatomy, or their presentation, they are unremarkably masculine in demeanor and appearance" (p. 57).

Blanchard classified autogynephilic sexual fantasies into four types:

  • Transvestic autogynephilia: arousal to the act or fantasy of wearing women's clothing.
  • Behavioral autogynephilia: arousal to the act or fantasy of doing something regarded as feminine.
  • Physiologic autogynephilia: arousal to fantasies of female-specific body functions.
  • Anatomic autogynephilia: arousal to the fantasy of having a female body, or parts of one.[19]

Research studies comparing homosexual with nonhomosexual transsexuals

Homosexual transsexuals show several characteristics different from non-homosexual transsexuals:

  • Homosexual transsexuals have an increased number of older brothers, relative to non-homosexual transsexual.[20][21][22] This difference, called the fraternal birth order effect also distinguishes gay men from their heterosexual counterparts,[23][24][25] from which Blanchard concludes that there exists some relationship between what produces homosexuality and what produces the homosexual subtype of transsexualism. The effect has not been observed to occur female-to-male transsexuals.

Homosexual transsexuals are physically shorter, lighter, and lighter in proportion to their height than non-homosexual transsexuals.[26] Blanchard hypothesized several possible explanations for this difference, including that homosexual transsexuals might begin puberty earlier, like gay men do,[27] which results in smaller size.[28]

Homosexual transsexuals seek sex reassignment at younger ages, on average, than do non-homosexual transsexuals.[29][30] The average age of the non-homosexual transsexuals in Blanchard's sample is around 39,[7] whereas the average of the homosexual transsexuals was 26.[3] Moreover, the homosexual transsexuals reported that cross-gender wishes preceded cross-dressing by 3-4 years, whereas the non-homosexual transsexuals reported that their first cross-gender wishes occurred around the time they first cross-dressed.

Blanchard also reported that both classes of male-to-female transsexuals respond well to sex reassignment, but that the homosexual transsexuals are less likely to regret doing so.[31]

When surveyed, over 80% of non-homosexual transsexuals report some history of experiencing sexual arousal while cross-dressing, whereas less than 10% of homosexual transsexual report experiencing such arousal.[32]

Many of the findings from Blanchard's comparisons of these two types have been replicated. Smith (2005) reported, "In this study the two subtypes were indeed found to differ on many characteristics. Replicating some of the previously observed differences, we found that compared with non-homosexual transsexuals, homosexual transsexuals reported more cross-gendered behavior, appearance and preference in childhood, and they reported less sexual arousal while cross-dressing in adolescence, applied for SR at a younger age, and fewer were (or had been) married."[29]

BBL controversy

The "BBL Controversy" also known as the "Autogynephilia Controversy" is an ongoing and heated line of discussion in the transgendered community. The concept had not received much attention outside of sexology until sexologist Anne Lawrence, who self-identifies as an autogynephile, published a series of web articles about the concept in the late 1990s.[33] Lynn Conway and Andrea James responded to Lawrence's essay. Conway started an investigation into the publication of Bailey's book by the United States National Academy of Sciences. Accusations of misconduct by Bailey were leveled. Northwestern University investigated Bailey, but did not reveal the findings of that investigation and did not comment on whether or not Bailey had been punished.[34] According to intersex activist and bioethics specialist,[1] Prof. Alice Dreger, Ph.D., who is now one of Bailey's supporters, two of the four transwomen who accused Bailey of misusing their stories were not mentioned anywhere in the book, and Bailey's critics' publication of obscenely titled photographs of his minor children constituted an unconscionable harassment campaign.[2]

References

  1. ^ Dreger, A. D. (2008). The controversy surrounding The Man Who Would Be Queen: A case history of the politics of science, identity, and sex in the Internet age. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37, 366-421.
  2. ^ Blanchard, R. (1985). Typology of male-to-female transsexualism. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 14, 247-261.
  3. ^ a b c Blanchard, R., Clemmensen, L. J., & Steiner, B. W. (1987). Heterosexual and homosexual gender dysphoria. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 16, 139–152.
  4. ^ Blanchard, R. (1989). The concept of autogynephilia and the typology of male gender dysphoria]. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 177 616-623.
  5. ^ Blanchard, R. (1985). Typology of male-to-female transsexualism. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 14, 247-261.
  6. ^ a b Blanchard, R. (1989). The classification and labeling of nonhomosexual gender dysphorias. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 18, 315-334.
  7. ^ a b c Blanchard, R. (1988). Nonhomosexual gender dysphoria. Journal of Sex Research, 24, 188-193.
  8. ^ Blanchard, R. (1989). The concept of autogynephilia and the typology of male gender dysphoria. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 177, 616-623.
  9. ^ Blanchard, R. (1991). Clinical observations and systematic studies of autogynephilia. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 17, 235-251.
  10. ^ Bailey, J. M. (2003). The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism. Joseph Henry Press.
  11. ^ Rodkin, Dennis (Dec. 12, 2003). Sex and Transsexuals. The Chicago Reader.
  12. ^ Blanchard, R. (2005). Early history of the concept of autogynephilia. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 34, 439–446.
  13. ^ Hirschfeld M (1923). Die intersexuelle Konstitution. Jahrbuch fuer sexuelle Zwischenstufen. 1923: 3-27
  14. ^ Benjamin H (1966). The Transsexual Phenomenon. The Julian Press ASIN: B0007HXA76
  15. ^ Freund, K., Steiner, B. W., Chan, S. (1982). Two types of cross-gender identity. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 11, 49-63.
  16. ^ American Psychiatric Publishing (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed (text revision) ISBN 0-89042-025-4
  17. ^ Moser C, Kleinplatz PJ (2002). Transvestic fetishism: psychopathology or iatrogenic artifact? New Jersey Psychologist, 52 (2) 16-17.
  18. ^ a b Blanchard, R. (1990). Gender identity disorders in adult men. In R. Blanchard & B. W. Steiner (Eds.), Clinical management of gender identity disorders in children and adults (pp. 47-76). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press.
  19. ^ Blanchard, R. (1993). Varieties of autogynephilia and their relationship to gender dysphoria. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 22, 241–251.
  20. ^ Blanchard, R., & Sheridan, P. (1992). Sibship size, sibling sex ratio, birth order, parental age in homosexual and non-homosexual gender dysphorics. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 180, 40–47.
  21. ^ Blanchard, R., Zucker, K., Cohen-Kettenis, P., Gooren, L., & Bailey, J. (1996). Birth order and sibling sex ratio in two samples of Dutch gender-dysphoric homosexual males. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 25, 495–514.
  22. ^ Green, R. (2000). Birth order and ratio of brothers to sisters in transsexuals. Psychological Medicine, 30, 789–795.
  23. ^ Blanchard, R., & Bogaert, A. F. (1996). Homosexuality in men and number of older brothers. American Journal of Psychiatry, 153, 27–31.
  24. ^ Blanchard, R. (1997). Birth order and sibling sex ratio in homosexual versus heterosexual males and females. Annual Review of Sex Research, 8, 27–67.
  25. ^ Blanchard, R., & Bogaert, A. F. (1996). Biodemographic comparisons of homosexual and heterosexual men in the Kinsey interview data. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 25, 551–579.
  26. ^ Blanchard, R., Dickey, R., & Jones, C. L. (1995). Comparison of height and weight in homosexual versus nonhomosexual male gender dysphorics. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 24, 543–554.
  27. ^ Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B., & Martin, C. E. (1948). Sexual behavior in the human male. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.
  28. ^ Tanaka, T., Suwa, S., Yokoya, S., & Hibi, I. (1988). Analysis of linear growth during puberty. Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica, 77 (suppl. 347), 25-29.
  29. ^ a b Smith, Y. L. S., van Goozen, S., Kupier, A. J., Cohen-Kettenis, P. T. (2005). Transsexual subtypes: Clinical and theoretical significance. Psychiatry Research, 137, 151–160.
  30. ^ Blanchard, R. (1994). A structural equation model for age at clinical presentation in nonhomosexual male gender dysphorics. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 23, 311-320.
  31. ^ Blanchard, R., Steiner, B. W., Clemmensen, L. H., & Dickey. R. (1989) Prediction of regrets in postoperative transsexuals. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 34, 43–45.
  32. ^ Cite error: The named reference Blanchard1987 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  33. ^ Lawrence AA (1998). "Men Trapped in Men's Bodies:"An Introduction to the Concept of Autogynephilia. originally published at annelwrence.com, October 1998. Retrieved August 21, 2006)
  34. ^ Robin Wilson. Northwestern U. Concludes Investigation of Sex Researcher but Keeps Results Secret. Chronicle of Higher Education, 2004.

See also

Advocates

Critics

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blanchard%27s_transsexualism_typology&oldid=217215837"