By Leslee Anthony
"This study was a preliminary exploration of gynandromorphophilia, that is, sexual interest in cross-dressed or anatomically feminized men. Subjects were male subscribers to a voice mail system devoted to personal advertisements for sexual or romantic partners. These comprised 51 gynandromorphophiles who sought cross-dressers, transvestites, transsexuals or she-males for such relationships, 37 gynandromorphilic cross-dressers who identified themselves as cross-dressers and sought similar men, and 31 residual cross-dressers who sought masculine or unspecified male partners. Analysis of advertisement content suggested that gynandromorphophilia constitutes a distinct erotic interest."
As can be seen from the above abstract, the studied population is quite small, only 51 persons. Since the study was of male interests in TV's, TS's and She-Males, the other two groups were not considered but were defined and discussed. And therein lies another, perhaps two other fields of study.
The study opens with a discussion of the background considerations for the study. For example, the term "she-male" was defined in "street vernacular" as "men who have achieved female chest contours with breast implants or hormonal medication but still retain their male genitalia.". But, as noted in the phone interview, this definition was not specified by any advertiser, but was used interchangeably with TV, TS and cross-dresser.
There was a fairly comprehensive discussion of the pornographic genre of the TV (preopTS) and the SM (sadomasochistic) implications of many of the advertisements. The authors presented specific data concerning the prevalence of transgender and gynandromorphophilic ads in free weekly publications such as a Toronto news and entertainment paper. In some cases the transgender advertiser sought out male partners for a fee or other thinly veiled offer of prostitution. The authors conclusion concerning these ads is well worth quoting. "They do, however, suggest that there are at least enough gynandromorphilic men in the metropolitan area to make it worth while for 19 prostitutes on any given week to purchase advertising in one particular periodical." The prostitutes themselves being TV, TS or She-Male.
Next, the study goes on, there are the direct ads by men seeking a transgender person. The question of how many of these advertisers are themselves cross-dressers is addressed and considered but not included since that is not a part of the study. These advertisers are treated as a separate category altogether, as will be seen later.
This all supports the thesis that male interest in transgender sex is not an isolated or rare event but is in fact more common than current psychological thought would suspect.
At this point I cannot resist the temptation to make a personal comment, not part of the study review. If such a population and such interest exist in Toronto then surely it is reasonable to extrapolate that data into other major metropolitan areas on essentially a comparable basis and on a reduced scale to smaller areas. Add in the unidentified population that feels or agrees with the thesis but does not advertise or act on their thought but merely fantasizes, and we have a really significant group of males every where who seek transgender partners. Back to the study itself.
Having established a basis and set some terms and limits, the authors described their method of study. They added to the newspaper ads by addressing the computer bulletin boards and the telephone voice mail systems. They opted to use the voice mail system and selected one of two available in Toronto. The one selected catered to men and women, both heterosexual and homosexual.
After describing the voice mail usage techniques, including the usual "menu" selections, they listed a few of the specific menu items from the system they selected. For example, "the options included, among others, long-term relationships, leather and denim, jocks and body builders, bisexuals, and, of present interest, cross-dressers."
With the survey narrowed down, the authors then describe further their defining of the study field by eliminating advertisers who did not fit the established criterion of being a male seeking a TV, TS or She-Male. Of the 1564 total ads, they found within the selected menu item of "cross-dresser" 137 who fit their criterion, but in that 137 there were 18 of those who dressed as little girls and wanted to be spanked, or those with other specific fetishes not related to men seeking sexual encounters. Which left the remaining 119 advertisers who potentially were a part of the study. As noted in the opening abstract, only 51 of these were actually clearly identified as gynandromorphophiles. They also established a list of the most "commonly mentioned activities, attributes, and preferences (e.g., bondage, shaved legs, dominant partners). In coding the data, the investigator simply checked off each item on the list mentioned by the advertisers as he listened to the recording." "Most commonly mentioned" meaning words spoken in the ad by the advertiser.
The advertisers were divided into three groups; males seeking TV's, TS's or She-Males; cross-dressers seeking other CD's; and "residual cross-dressers". The "residual cross-dresser" was defined as a male who cross-dresses and who advertised as seeking sex with a masculine partner or had no specified partner.
At this point you can see that there are 4 categories within the transgender community as seen by the authors. Not three as described in the study title, namely, Cross-dresser, TV, TS and She-Male. Although TV, TS and She-Male were defined I did not see a definition of cross-dresser. Presumably a TV. Still, it doesn't really matter since, as the authors are careful and clear in pointing out, the terms were used interchangeably by the advertisers and with a single common denominator, that the transgender person be female in external appearance but retain male genitalia. The traditional definitions or any other become purely academic and do not impact the survey.
There followed a detailed and exceptionally interesting analytical breakdown of the types of advertisers. This breakdown includes numerical data concerning several possible combinations, such as the percentage that declared an interest in Dominant or submissive activities, those who specified fetishism, those who described themselves a feminine, and so on. The discussion at this point became quite technical and dealt primarily with the statistical results of the study, along with a breakdown into categories of the various advertisers. It is particularly noteworthy that the authors recognized a pattern in some cases in which the advertisers saw themselves as actually being female or were males looking for a male who would treat them as being an actual female. These are generalized categories, but a summary provides an interesting insight into the rationale involved in the advertisers and the study. These categories are fascinating and the article included some actual ads to illustrate the point of males being treated as females, or seeking those who want to be treated as such.
The authors identified 6 distinct classes of ads and within them a variety of other factors. Factors such as age (often), marital status (rarely mentioned), sexual preference and some other items. All ad examples were from males seeking males. A quote from the report says it best," These examples give the clinical flavor of this material in a way that cannot be conveyed through statistics." There followed several ads that were broken down into the following categories
There is a chart which shows clearly the percentages and statistical analysis of types of advertisers and the most common types of statements made by the advertiser. In case you are a statistician, the title of the chart gives you an idea of the detail and technical analysis of this study. "For Each Statement Category, the Percentage of Subjects Who Made One or More Positive Statements, and Statistical Tests Comparing Those Percentages" Basically the chart list 3 types of advertisers, the male, the cross-dresser and the "residual cross-dresser" and compares these types with 7 positive statements. Statements such as, being specific about masculinity, wishing to treat the partner as a woman, wanting to be treated as a woman, Domination, submission, fetishism, and feminine self expression. Other statements were made but not often or representative enough to support statistical analysis.
The ending discussion mentioned several recurring themes with which we are all familiar, the "lesbian" idea when one transgender person has a relationship with another, the idea that a male and a transgender relationship is homosexual, and whether a male who advertises for a transgender partner is himself a closet "dresser". None of these questions were answered since they are outside the study scope.
Although the stated purpose was to study the male seeking a transgender sexual partner the complete study report covers other areas as a means of defining the primary goal. As is often said in research, be sure you know what not to do as well as what to do. This was done quite well. All in all, it is a fascinating and extremely interesting report. And, quite contrary to the news summary report does not deal strictly with males seeking to dominate sexually but rather with males who seek transgender persons as sexual partners on as nearly equal but definitely feminine basis as possible.
Transgender Forum invites comments on this subject and will publish them in a follow-up article in November. To submit a comment e-mail it to Cindy Martin, TGF's Publisher