Fine! That would mean that we could leave out the A (the healthy crossdressers), right? And if crossdressing is not a disorder, it should not be included under the headline "transvestic disorder". Moreover, if it is not a disorder, it does not belong in a manual for mental disorders in the first place -- no more than enthusiastic stamp collecting or aggressive mountain climbing.
So you could take out the A category and leave in the B.
The use of language
That is what you would expect. But it does not matter what crossdressers may think, because Blanchard has made up his mind. Read the next paragraph carefully and note the words I have underlined:
"The immediate consequence of re-naming the diagnosis is that the patient does not have to be subjectively distressed or objectively impaired by his transvestism to be identified as a transvestite; he simply has to manifest the syndrome of repeated dressing in women’s apparel with sexual excitement (Criterion A). An ego-syntonic [i.e. in self-denial], well-adjusted transvestite could be classified as a transvestite for research or descriptive purposes without being diagnosed with a disorder.
The crossdresser does not have to be subjectively distressed to be included, because Blanchard believes he has a disorder regardless of what the crossdresser may say. After all, a man who wants to dress up as a woman cannot possible be in his right mind. Getting turned on by imagining himself as a woman having sex as a woman is not a "sexual interest in copulatory or precopulatory behavior with phenotypically normal, consenting adult human partners".
(Or at least, it is not according to him. Most crossdressers actually dream of having normal sex as a woman with normal partners, but who cares about what they say?)
Misogyny
Note that this is the only disorder in the whole manual that is limited to men. A woman who gets aroused by dressing up as a man is not a paraphiliac. Why not? Well, neither the draft nor the Blanchard paper say.
We know that
F2M crossdressers and autoandrophiliacs exist. There can only be one explanation: For a man to want to dream about having the body of a woman is considered a disease; for a woman to desire the body of a man is not. What on earth are these people thinking? This is the year 2010, not the misogynistic 19th century!
A convenient excuse
Still, Blanchard clearly sees the problem of classifying healthy people as perverts, so he comes up with an excuse. The "well-adjusted transvestite could be classified as a transvestite for research or descriptive purposes without being diagnosed with a disorder."
So in order to help Blanchard with his autogynephilia research, the American health system is to label a large number of men as mentally ill, even if they are not. And just to make sure that ever doctor in America understand that they are "well-adjusted", the condition is put under the headline "transvestic disorder".
This makes me sick! I know of autogynephiliacs who plan to chemically castrate themselves to get rid of their feelings. Why? Because they are labeled as perverts. Over at
Laura's Playground you will find the most tragic tales of transgendered people breaking down under the burden of shame, pain and despair. All caused because their self respect has been obliterated by some people's obsessive need to categorize people as deviants. And yes, there are suicides.
In spite of this Blanchard wants to keep the transvestite disorder category in the manual, so that he can do research.
Smooth operator
In a text that otherwise is both liberal and enlightened, this bigotry makes it through because it is hidden behind a deceivingly smooth phrasing.
Note, for instance, that the word “heterosexual” has been removed "because some transvestites interact sexually with other males, especially when cross-dressed, and may subjectively perceive themselves as bisexual."
OK, so Blanchard and his friends are willing to accept that M2F crossdressers and autogynephiliacs may be attracted to men? Oh no! The phrase "subjectively percieve themselves" means "they may say so, but we don't believe them". Blanchard believes all autogynephilic crossdressers are gynephilic, and that there are no bisexuals.
Where did the gender dysphoria go?
The old DSM-IV specification was the following:
With Gender Dysphoria: if the person has persistent discomfort with gender role or identity
The reason this has been removed is not that Blanchard and his colleagues are not recognizing that crossdressers cannot experience gender dysphoria (or "gender incongruence" as it is called now). They do, but Blanchard argues that you can use the Gender Incongruence category as well if this is the case.
This is actually a good thing. It doesn't matter how much you pull these sentences apart, the manual recognizes that crossdressers can be suffering from "gender incongruence". This also means that autogynephilic fantasies can not in themselves hinder anyone from getting sex reassignment surgery.
But without this specification, the practitioners and specialists do not get the help they need to do this reclassification. The fact that crossdressers can be recognized under the gender incongruence cateogory is hidden. And given that "gender incongruence" is not a disorder, while crossdressing is, this will cause a lot of confusion.
Do we need a "transvestic disorder" category?
I do not accept that crossdressing or autogynephilic fantasies are "paraphilias". I am still open for the possibility that it has a psychological as opposed to a biological origin, although all evidence points in the direction of it having a biological basis. But I do not accept that it is a paraphilia in the way it is defined by Blanchard.
Sexuality is not there for normal procreation only. Sexuality is not that is limited to "copulatory or precopulatory behavior with phenotypically normal, consenting adult human partners". Sexuality is a force that binds us together. Sexuality gives us a room for exploration of our inner identity and of our relationship with others. Sex is creativity. Sex is bonding. And it helps us express love, joy, ecstasy and grief.
For most autogynephiliacs, sexual fantasies are the only way their inner woman can find an expression. And the reason this is the only way, is because there is no room for such feelings in our society. This manual reinforces these prejudices and makes it even harder for these people to find themselves and a life of meaning. This manual negates their identity and makes a mockery of their lives.
I am not saying that there are no mental diseases among autogynephiliacs. There are probably more psychological suffering in this group than in the general population, because of the stigma. There are depressions, obsessions and addictive behavior. But you do not need the "transvestic disorder" category to help them. You can just use the relevant categories for depressions, obsessions and addictive behavior -- as you do for carpenters, hairdressers and lovers of good books.
The transvestic disorder category has to go!
Im not 'aroused by the idea of being a woman' im horrified by having a male body and trying to have sex as a man is sickening.
ReplyDeleteKay Brown relentlessly attacks 'autogynephiliacs' for diverting attention from the transkids she looks after, as if the two types of mtf transgender are in competition and AGP people are a homogenous group of perverts.
The religious right attacks all transgender people as if we are a homogenous group of perverts.
All it comes down to for me is sex as a guy is horrifying, sex as a (transwoman) is nice. this is true of sex fantasies too.
I agree!
ReplyDeleteThe differences we might see between "early onset" and "late onset" trans women are most likely the effect of different social dynamics, based on sexual orientation or personality (as Jaimie Veale has argued). Indeed, we now see that the "late onset" (understood as trans women who love women) come out at an earlier and earlier age, now that they are met with more tolerance.