Abstract
Information concerning the racial distribution, family background, sexual history, education, and employment status of 27 New Zealand, male-to-female preoperative transsexual prostitutes was obtained by interview and questionnaire. Subjects lived in Wellington, New Zealand, and Sydney, Australia. Subjects recalled childhoods with maternal dominance, paternal absence, being youngest sons, and being dressed in girls' clothes by female relatives. Further, an early history of homosexual intercourse and cross-dressing behavior occurred significantly often. Moreover, it was apparent that the Maori race, which forms 9.0% of the total New Zealand population, was disproportionately represented; approximately 90% of the transsexual prostitute population in Wellington is Maori. Various explanations are offered for the racial inequality. It is concluded that cultural influences have an effect on the number of transsexual prostitutes in New Zealand. Further research is needed to assess whether these factors also influence the etiology and development of transsexualism.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ball, J. R. B. (1981). Thirty years experience with transsexualism.Aust. New Zeal. J. Psychiat. 15: 39–43.
Benjamin, H. (1966).The Transsexual Phenomenon. Julian Press, New York
Bligh, W. (1792). A voyage to the south sea, undertaken by command of his majesty, for the purpose of conveying the breadfruit tree to the West Indies, in his majesty's ship The Bounty. Including an account of the mutiny on board the said ship.G. Nicol II: 16–17.
Bouge, L. J. (1955). Un aspect du rôle rituel du “mahu” dans l'ancient tahiti.J. société océanistes 11: 147–149.
Danielsson, B. (1956).Love in the South Seas. George Allen and Unwin Ltd., London.
Gluckman, L. K. (1974) Transcultural consideration of homosexuality with special reference to the N.Z. Maori.Aust. New Zeal. J. Psychiat. 8: 121–125.
Green, R. (1969). Transsexualism: Mythological, historical and cross-cultural aspects. In Green, R., and Money, J. (eds.),Transsexualism and Sex Reassignment John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
Hamburger, C. (1953). Desire for change of sex as shown by personal letters from 465 men and women.Acta Endocrinol. 14: 361–375.
Hoenig, J., Kenna, J., and Youd, A. (1970). Social and economic aspects of transsexualism.Brit. J. Psychiat. 117: 163–172.
Hooker, E. (1965). Male homosexuals and their worlds. In Marmor, J. (ed.),Sexual Inversion. Basic Books, New York, pp. 89–107.
Levine, E. M., Shaiova, C., and Mihailovic, M. (1975). Male to female: The role transformation of transsexuals,Arch. Sex. Behav. 4: 173–185.
Levine, E. M. (1976). Male transsexuals in the homosexual subculture.Amer. J. Psychiat. 133: 1318–1321.
Levine, E. M., Gruenewald, D., and Shaiova, C. (1976). Behavioral differences and emotional conflict among male-to-female transsexuals.Arch. Sex. Behav. 5: 81–86.
Levy, R. J. (1973).Mind and Experience in the Society Islands. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Lukianowicz, N. (1959). Survey of various aspects of transvestism in the light of our present knowledge.J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 128: 36–64.
Money, J., Clarke, F., and Mazur, T. (1975). Families of seven male-to-female transsexuals after 5–7 years: Sociological sexology.Arch. Sex. Behav. 4: 187–197.
New Zealand Census. (1981).New Zealand Census of population and dwellings. Vol. 8. Maori Population and Dwellings. Department of Statistics, Wellington, 1976.
New Zealand Census. (1982).New Zealand Census of population and dwellings. Bulletin 3. Department of Statistics, Wellington, 1981, p. 24.
Pukui, M. K. (1977).Nana i ke kumu (Vol. II). Queen Liluiokalani Children's Center, Hawaii.
Randall, J. B. (1959). Transvestism and transsexualism—a study of 50 cases.Brit. Med. J. 2: 1448–1452.
Roth, M., and Ball, J. R. B. (1964). Psychiatric aspects of intersexuality. In Armstrong, C. N., and Marshall, A. J. (eds.),Intersexuality in Vertebrates including Man. Academic Press, London.
Stoller, R. J. (1967). Transvestites' women.Amer. J. Psychiat. 124: 3.
Taylor, A. J. W., and McLachlan, D. G. (1963). Further observations and comments on transvestism.New Zeal. Med. J. 62: 527–529.
White, J. (1874).The Ancient History of the Maoris. Didsbury, Wellington.
Wilson, J. (1799).A missionary voyage to the Southern Pacific Ocean, Performed in the Years 1796, 1797, 1798 in the Ship Duff, Commanded by Captain James Wilson. T. Chapman, London.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
MacFarlane, D.F. Transsexual prostitution in New Zealand: Predominance of persons of Maori extraction. Arch Sex Behav 13, 301–309 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541903
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541903