In preparation for sharing the testimony of males with autogynephilia, Dr Ann Lawrence first explains why AGP males can be unreliable narrators of their own lives. Lastly Lawrence explains why he thinks the narratives he collected were more reliable.

First erotic arousal, while cross-dressing will either be omitted or it will be minimised.

They may indulge in a wishful falsification of their own childhood. This may not even be conscious. It may be outright, conscious lying but it could also be misinterpreting insignificant childhood events which, repeated often enough, are deeply embedded and fervently believed. For those men who have undergone significant, bodily, modification there may be a psychological need to believe this was inevitable based on the conjuring up of childhood memories. I would also had that given the shame associated with autogynephilia locating the desire in childhood serves to remove the sexual component, that is the source of the shame.

Bancroft (1972) documented a change in testimony from one patient who changed their story mid therapy. First they claimed they were of recent origin and then he retconned his narrative to report an earlier onset of the feelings.

Clients seeking access to surgery were more likely to misrepresent. Lawrence is of the few that, whilst sometimes this was deliberate it was “more often unintentionally”. I am not going to suggest all these men are consciously lying but I will only observe that there are many inconsistencies in the narratives of the transsexuals I have covered. There may be, as Fisk observes, ”pat histories”. How many accounts claim to have discovered their ”gender identity” at unfeasibly early ages at odds with child development theory? Alterations can be subtle, post-hoc rationalisations, outright denials or repressing a personal history that doesn’t reflect well on the subject. Note we have known about this compulsion to lie for over 50 years.

The subject may need to convince themselves as well as others. They may be more comfortable with the idea they are a true ”transsexual” rather than just a man who indulges in transvestic fetishism. The former has been granted some legitimacy, thanks to the rush to legally recognise ”transsexuals” by legislators across Europe and North America. The various ”Gender Recognition Acts” have conferred legitimacy on this desire of men to present, as the woman they love, on a daily basis.

Here is a handy list of the most common lies which ”transsexuals” admit to lying about. Lying about sexual arousal while wearing women’s apparel; pretending they are not sexually attracted to women/are attracted to men; pretending to have preferred toys associated with girls, as a child and claiming to have identified with female characters as a child.

Transwidows

Spare a thought for the wives of these men because they are not just re-writing their own histories but also those of their wives and children. In these cases the self-deception tips over into gaslighting and even abuse.

How reliable are Lawrence’s subjects?

Given all we know about the deception why would Lawrence’s interviewees be any more reliable? First of all they know they are speaking to a fellow autogynephile. They also have anonymity. Lawrence has also screened the respondents and weeded out those who were suspected of submitting narratives that had been published in earlier books about ”transsexuals”.

Lawrence had this to add. The MTF “transsexuals” that deviate from a ”true-trans” classic narrative are supplying ”reluctant testimony” which adds credibility. Those that own their early masculinity, heterosexuality and sexual arousal while cross-dressing are more likely to be truth-tellers. There is less motivation to misreport these things.

In the next piece I will cover the testimonies provided to Lawrence. His motivations may not align with radical feminist perspectives but he has performed a great service in documented this phenomenon.

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Dr Ann Lawrence: copy below. 👇

men-trapped-in-mens-bodies_book

This is the third in my series on the work of Dr Ann Lawrence and the second blog which focuses on this book. Lawrence describes himself a ”transsexual” and admits to having autogynephilia. {For neophytes this is a paraphilia where a man is sexually aroused at the thought of himself as a woman. Often this is sanitised as ”love of oneself as a woman” brushing the sexual arousal part under the carpet.}. Part one below.

Men Trapped in Men’s Bodies

“Transsexual” accounts

Lawrence looked for any published accounts of men admitting to being driven by autogynephilia. He finds some accounts which have all the hallmarks of this paraphilia but an explicit admission, or even awareness of autogynephilia, was in short supply. Here is one from 1978. 👇Note the envy and the confusion of sexual desire, this is the erotic target location error that is autogynephilia. Note also the masculine language of ownership.

The role pornography plays is evident from many of these accounts. This, from 1995, is Kate Bornstein, who married, fathered a child and broke away from the Church of Scientology; only to join the Gender Cult.

Another is Claudette Griggs who treats the real lives of women as their own sexual fantasy.

Deidre McCloskey is another late transitioner who followed the well worn path from transvestic fetishism to ”transsexual”. McCloskey is another one who has turned a masturbation aid into an ”identity”.

Erica Zander claims a Lesbian identity despite not meeting the most basic of entry requirements. This is reminiscent of Hunt’s account with the language of ”ownership” : “Have her and be her”. Note also the appearance of ”envy”.

Here the author claims the erotic arousal is an unwelcome side effect of their cross dressing. Another one who married and fathered a child.

The evidence of the sexual motivations for these ”transsexuals” dates back decades. Remember these accounts when someone tries to manipulate you with claims of ”true transsexual” or who hides their autogynephilia. Or, even worse, is open about their AGP and claims we need to normalise it.

Lawrence did not find enough accounts of autogynephilia in the public domain so decided to add to the literature by seeking anonymous accounts. Men with AGP tend to be unreliable narrators and Lawrence covers the motivations for lying at some length. I will cover the nefarious motives for this obfuscation in my next piece. Then I will cover the accounts given to Lawrence. Are men more honest when talking to fellow autogynephiles? What could be worse than the above accounts? Are there even darker accounts of this paraphilia? (The answer is a resounding YES, in case you were wondering)

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Dr Ann Lawrence: copy below. 👇

men-trapped-in-mens-bodies_book

I have finally got around to reading this book. Dr Ann Lawrence is himself a self-described autogynephile. This book extensively researches the stories of men who are in the grip of this paraphilia. I won’t assume he is entirely honest, and he doesn’t address the impact on the female sex in this book, but he is more honest than most. I intend to do a series on the writings of Ann Lawrence because I think understanding this phenomenon is vital to understand what is behind the attacks on women’s, sex-based rights. It is also critical that we head off calls to normalise AGP, some overt and some insidious.

First the Title

Lawrence rejects the notion that these are women born in men’s bodies. They are, for him, men trapped in men’s bodies. The forward was written by Ray Blanchard who first coined the term autogynephilia, which is, basically, a man’s love of oneself as a woman. Blanchard theorised that men who claim the name ”transsexual” can be divided into two camps. The homosexual “transsexual” and the autogynephilic “transsexual”.

For Lawrence, all the attempts to deny and demolish this theory falter when confronted by the words and actions of autoynephilic men. It is not surprising that there is widespread denial about this paraphilia. It has huge implications for the kind of men we are being urged to accept in single sex spaces. Moreover *some* of these men have undergone significant bodily modification to breathe life into the “woman” they love. Rejecting ”her” from female spaces triggers narcissistic rage in these men. {Lawrence has written on this phenomenon and that paper will also be part of this series}.

Lawrence’s motives for writing this book are described as wanting to explain this phenomenon so that other men, in the grip of this paraphilia, have an understandinf of their affliction. Lawrence argues, somewhat against his own interests, that AGP men are not the one’s who should be accepted as ”women”. For Lawrence, feminine, gay, transsexuals have the greater claim. Whilst I reject this argument, it is remarkable, to me, that Lawrence does not argue for his own ”woman”. After making claims of psychological affinity between feminine, MTF, ”transsexuals” and women; here’s what he says about AGP Men:

We have all seen how many men with this paraphilia have backgrounds in the military, have pursued extreme sports, or have PhDs in disciplines which are dominated by men. Whilst I don’t accept any men are ”psychologically” women the AGP males stick out like an erect penis.

I part company with Lawrence in other areas too. 👇 This is not at the benign end of the paraphilia spectrum. Indeed the men desirous of re-classifying biological sex, in service of their own fetish, are one of the more dangerous groups of men. 👇

Denial.

Lawrence points out that many of these men deny any sexual arousal is involved in wearing the clothes associated with the opposite sex. This was disproved when penile tumescence was measured. Interestingly the most aroused these men became was when they were presented with scenarios of sex, as a woman, with a male. These sort of fantasies are common in AGP males and are not true homosexual experiences. The source of their sexual pleasure is being treated as if they were a woman; it’s validation sex.

Men lie about their sexual proclivities, shocker.

Dr Lawrence puts a more compassionate slant on this deceit. This, he argues, may be driven by seeking to respond in a socially accepted way and may also be based on a genuinely held belief. In other words men may not know they are lying because they are deeply immersed in their fiction and ashamed that it is sexually motivated. Either way I have long since learned to be distrustful of AGP narratives.

Subcategories of autogynephilic behaviour

Blanchard identified other associated fetishes in men who claim a female persona. Some may fetishise pursuits which are associated with female sex(ist) stereotypes. Think of that when you hear about a man taking over the ironing or bread making or taking up knitting. Someone really needs to tell the Women’s Institute who featured one of these men on the front of their magazine. The are clearly naive about the motivations for one of their newest members. They may also fetishise pregnancy, lactation and menstruation.

There are entire sites dedicated to men with these fetishes. Menophilia and Lactophilia generate their own porn and there is even a fragrance. 😳

Lawrence further claims that men can find the erotic stimuli decreases over time and the relationship of the AGP male, with his own female persona, becomes analagous to pair binding in a long marriage. I am not persuaded by this argument. Neither am I convinced we should treat this as a legitimate sexual orientation, as Blanchard proposes.

This would legitimise fetishising women and, as we can see, to validate this sexual obsession women’s rights to self-determination are being obliterated. This compulsion is driven by envy, even hatred, of actual women who decline to validate the ”New Women”. I am not willing to #BeKind to a movement which is in direct opposition to women’s rights. True compassion for the many young kids caught up in this is the real #BeKind, not fostering a delusion driving vulnerable kids to engage in state-sponsored self-harm.

Blanchard goes on to delineate the phenomenon of co-existing paraphilia that sit alongside autogynephilia. Are we going to legitimise all of them?

Lawrence also delineates the existence of co-existing paraphilia which are borne out by the reports of the ”transsexuals” he interviews. They include paedophilia, masochism, forced feminisation, adult babies, amputee fetishists and zoophiles. (I will cover these first person narratives later in this series).

Lawrence makes a critical point in this section. If we accept the notion of the female brain in a male body then are we also going to accept the idea of a little girl brain in a man’s body or the brain of an animal in the case of zoophilia?

Another claim, often made by AGP males, is that their impulses began in infancy hence they could not have had a sexual motive. This is such a common narrative. See ”I have known since I was three”.

Another observation, which casts doubt on the idea that this is an innate identity, is the differential, geographic, distribution of the two types of “transsexual” . In Asia the gay males predominate but not so in the UK and North America. This is a good quote but I would say modify it to state that our culture is accepting of this paraphilia regardless of ”the impact on others”

Denial of Autogynephilia

While I diverge from Lawrence on many issues it cannot be denied that this is an important work. Given that Lawrence is in the grip of this paraphilia they are more honest than most. They have suffered much backlash from the wider trans community who need to deny AGP to persuade law makers to compel women to serve as their handmaids. It is unacceptable that we are asked to validate men with a pornified fetish about our existence.

In this next section they respond to some AGP denialism. This quote is hugely revealing. The denial is explicitly because Blanchard’s typology is not incorrect; it’s politically inconvenient. All politicians should read this book.

More to follow in this series. I will cover a paper on AGP and Narcissistic Rage, next, then I will return to some of the case studies covered in this book.

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