Abstract
Gynandromorphophilia (GAMP) is attraction to gynandromorphs (GAMs), who are natal males with both breasts and a penis, colloquially known as “she-males.” Men with GAMP (n = 314) and heterosexual men not attracted to GAMs (n = 211) completed an Internet survey regarding their sexual attraction patterns, relationship history, and potential correlates of GAMP. Men with GAMP reported much higher attraction to natal women than to men, although they also reported slightly higher levels of bisexual feelings compared with controls. Men with GAMP were equally attracted to natal women and GAMs, on average. Thus, GAMP is best considered an unusual form of heterosexuality rather than a separate sexual orientation. Indeed, men with GAMP scored much higher than controls on a measure of autogynephilia, or sexual arousal by the idea or fantasy of being a woman, which is also considered a variant of heterosexual attraction.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
The term “gynandromorph” was originally employed by Blanchard and Collins (1993) to refer to any kind of feminized male. Thus, it included more individuals than are described by the term “she-male.”
References
Abel, G. G., & Osborn, C. (1992). The paraphilias: The extent and nature of sexually deviant and criminal behavior. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 15, 675–687.
Arune, W. (2006). Transgender images in the media. In L. Castañeda & S. B. Campbell (Eds.), News and sexuality: Media portraits of diversity (pp. 111–133). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Bailey, J. M. (2003). The man who would be queen: The science of gender-bending and transsexualism. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press.
Bailey, J. M. (2009). What is sexual orientation and do women have one? In D. Hope (Ed.), Contemporary perspectives on lesbian, gay, and bisexual identities (pp. 43–63). New York, NY: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-09556-1_3.
Bailey, J. M., Finkel, E. J., Blackwelder, K., & Bailey, T. (1995). Masculinity, femininity, and sexual orientation. Unpublished manuscript.
Bering, J. M. (2012). SL letter of the day: A straight husband’s fascination with penises [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives.
Blanchard, R. (1989). The concept of autogynephilia and the typology of male gender dysphoria. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 177, 616–623. doi:10.1097/00005053-198910000-00004.
Blanchard, R. (1991). Clinical observations and systematic studies of autogynephilia. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 17, 235–251. doi:10.1080/00926239108404348.
Blanchard, R. (1992). Nonmonotonic relation of autogynephilia and heterosexual attraction. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 101, 271–276. doi:10.1037/0021-843X.101.2.271.
Blanchard, R. (1993a). Partial versus complete autogynephilia and gender dysphoria. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 19, 301–307. doi:10.1080/00926239308404373.
Blanchard, R. (1993b). Varieties of autogynephilia and their relationship to gender dysphoria. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 22, 241–251. doi:10.1007/BF01541769.
Blanchard, R., & Collins, P. I. (1993). Men with sexual interest in transvestites, transsexuals, and she-males. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 181, 570–575. doi:10.1097/00005053-199309000-00008.
Brighe, M. (2014). Please stop saying that trans women were “born boys”. Retrieved from http://www.autostraddle.com/let-it-go-for-the-last-time-trans-women-were-not-born-boys-255055.
Clark-Flory, T. (2011). What’s behind transsexual attraction? Salon. Retrieved from http://www.salon.com/2011/10/21/whats_behind_transsexual_attraction.
Dixson, B. J., Vasey, P. L., Sagata, K., Sibanda, N., Linklater, W. L., & Dixson, A. F. (2011). Men’s preferences for women’s breast morphology in New Zealand, Samoa, and Papua New Guinea. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 1271–1279. doi:10.1007/s10508-010-9680-6.
Docter, R. F., & Fleming, J. S. (2001). Measures of transgender behavior. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 30, 255–271.
Herman, B. (2015, July 29). Transgender porn is a best seller, but is it good for trans people? International Business Times. Retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.com/transgender-porn-best-seller-it-good-trans-people-2028219.
Hsu, K. J., Rosenthal, A. M., & Bailey, J. M. (2015). The psychometric structure of items assessing autogynephilia. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44, 1301–1312. doi:10.1007/s10508-014-0397-9.
Hsu, K. J., Rosenthal, A. M., Miller, D. I., & Bailey, J. M. (2016). Who are gynandromorphophilic men? Characterizing men with sexual interest in transgender women. Psychological Medicine, 46, 819–827. doi:10.1017/S0033291715002317.
Hsu, K. J., Rosenthal, A. M., Miller, D. I., & Bailey, J. M. (in press). Sexual arousal patterns of autogynephilic male cross-dressers. Archives of Sexual Behavior. doi:10.1007/s10508-016-0826-z.
Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B., & Martin, C. E. (1948). Sexual behavior in the human male. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.
Lawrence, A. A. (2013). Men trapped in men’s bodies: Narratives of autogynephilic transsexualism. New York: Springer.
Moskowitz, D. A., Rieger, G., & Seal, D. W. (2009). Narcissism, self-evaluations, and partner preferences among men who have sex with men. Personality and Individual Differences, 46, 725–728. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2009.01.033.
Ogas, O., & Gaddam, S. (2011). A billion wicked thoughts: What the world’s largest experiment reveals about human desire. New York, NY: Dutton Adult.
Petterson, L. J., Dixson, B. J., Little, A. C., & Vasey, P. L. (2015). Viewing time measures of sexual orientation in Samoan cisgender men who engage in sexual interactions with fa’afafine. PLoS ONE, 10(2), e0116529. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0116529.
Raymond, J. (1979). The transsexual empire: The making of the she-male. Boston: Beacon Press.
Savage, D. (2010). I cheated on my wife with a transexual: Am I gay? Washington City Paper. Retrieved from http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/40050/savage-love-i-cheated-on-my-wife-with-a-transexualmdasham.
Semon, T. L., Hsu, K. J., Rosenthal, A. M., & Bailey, J. M. (2016). Bisexual phenomena among gay-identified men. Archives of Sexual Behavior. doi:10.1007/s10508-016-0849-5.
Weinberg, M. S., & Williams, C. J. (2010). Men sexually interested in transwomen (MSTW): Gendered embodiment and the construction of sexual desire. Journal of Sex Research, 47, 374–383. doi:10.1080/00224490903050568.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by grants from the American Institute of Bisexuality and the Provost of Northwestern University. The authors would like to thank John Sylla and Arundati Nagendra for their assistance and contributions to the design of this project.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no potential conflicts of interests related to the study.
Ethical Standards
All research methods and recruitment strategies were approved in accordance with the ethical standards of Northwestern University’s Institutional Review Board for research involving human participants.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rosenthal, A.M., Hsu, K.J. & Bailey, J.M. Who Are Gynandromorphophilic Men? An Internet Survey of Men with Sexual Interest in Transgender Women. Arch Sex Behav 46, 255–264 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0872-6
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0872-6