Autogynephilia (derived from Greek for "love of oneself as a woman") is a term coined by Blanchard Other terms for such cross-gender fantasies and behaviors include
automonosexuality,
eonism, and
sexo-aesthetic inversion. Autogynephilic sexual arousal has been reported by some transsexual women and some cisgender men. and have argued that the concept of autogynephilia unduly sexualizes trans women's gender identity. Some fear that the concept of autogynephilia will make it harder for gynephilic or "non-classical" MtF transsexuals to receive sex reassignment surgery. Lawrence writes that some transsexual women identify with autogynephilia, some of these feeling positively and some negatively as a result, with a range of opinions reflected as to whether or not this played a motivating role in their decision to transition. In a 2011 study presenting an alternative to Blanchard's explanation, Larry Nuttbrock and colleagues reported that autogynephilia-like characteristics were strongly associated with a specific
generational cohort as well as the ethnicity of the subjects; they hypothesized that autogynephilia may become a "fading phenomenon".
As a sexual orientation Blanchard and Lawrence have classified autogynephilia as a
sexual orientation. Blanchard attributed to
Magnus Hirschfeld the notion that some cross-dressing men are sexually aroused by the image of themselves as female. (The concept of
a taxonomy based on transsexual sexuality was refined by endocrinologist
Harry Benjamin in the
Benjamin Scale in 1966, who wrote that researchers of his day thought attraction to men while feeling oneself to be a woman was the factor that distinguished a transsexual from a
transvestite (who "is a man [and] feels himself to be one"). Later studies have found little empirical support for autogynephilia as a
sexual identity classification, and sexual orientation is generally understood to be distinct from gender identity. Elke Stefanie Smith and colleagues describe Blanchard's approach as "highly controversial as it could erroneously suggest an erotic background" to transsexualism. Serano says the idea is generally disproven within the context of
gender transition as
trans women who are on
feminizing hormone therapy, especially on
anti-androgens, experience a severe drop and in some cases complete loss in
libido. Despite this the vast majority of transgender women continue their transition.
Erotic target location errors Blanchard conjectured that sexual interest patterns could have inwardly instead of outwardly directed forms, which he called
erotic target location errors (ETLE). Autogynephilia would represent an inwardly directed form of gynephilia, with the attraction to women being redirected towards the self instead of others. These forms of erotic target location errors have also been observed with other base orientations, such as pedophilia,
attraction to amputees, and attraction to
plush animals.
Anne Lawrence wrote that this phenomenon would help to explain an autogynephilia typology.
Cisgender women The concept of autogynephilia has been criticized for implicitly assuming that cisgender women do not experience sexual desire mediated by their own gender identity. Research on autogynephilia in cisgender women shows that cisgender women commonly endorse items on adapted versions of Blanchard's autogynephilia scales, suggesting that the phenomenon might simply be a reflection of erotic self-focus. Moser created an
Autogynephilia Scale for Women in 2009, based on items used to categorize MtF transsexuals as autogynephilic in other studies. A questionnaire that included the ASW was distributed to a sample of 51 professional cisgender women employed at an urban hospital; 29 completed questionnaires were returned for analysis. By the common definition of ever having erotic arousal to the thought or image of oneself as a woman, 93% of the respondents would be classified as autogynephilic. Using a more rigorous definition of "frequent" arousal to multiple items, 28% would be classified as autogynephilic. Moser responded that Lawrence had made multiple errors by comparing the wrong items.
Transfeminist critique Critics of the autogynephlia hypothesis include
transfeminists such as
Julia Serano and Talia Mae Bettcher. Serano describes the concept as flawed, unscientific, and needlessly stigmatizing. According to Serano, "Blanchard's controversial theory is built upon a number of incorrect and unfounded assumptions, and there are many methodological flaws in the data he offers to support it." She argues that flaws in Blanchard's original studies include: being conducted among overlapping populations primarily at the
Clarke Institute in Toronto without nontranssexual controls; subtypes not being empirically derived but instead "
begging the question that transsexuals fall into subtypes based on their sexual orientation"; and further research finding a non-deterministic correlation between cross-gender arousal and sexual orientation. She states that Blanchard did not discuss the idea that cross-gender arousal may be an effect, rather than a cause, of gender dysphoria, and that Blanchard assumed that
correlation implied causation. Activist and law professor
Florence Ashley writes that the autogynephilia concept has been "discredited", and that Bailey's and Blanchard's work "has long been criticised for perpetuating stereotypes and prejudices against trans women, notably suggesting that LGBQ trans women's primary motivation for transitioning is sexual arousal." == Typology and clinical relevance ==