Ray Blanchard lied when including autoandrophilia in the DSM-5 proposal

Cracks appear in Blanchard's facade. 

It turns out it was Ray Blanchard who suggested that "autoandrophilia" should be included in the new edition of the American psychiatric manual, labeling a large number of transsexual men as mentally ill in the process. He now admits that he did so in order to avoid being attacked by feminists. He does not really believe in their existence. 

As some of my readers will remember, the  new proposed version of the DSM-5 include a category called "autoandrophilia" refering to  female bodied persons experiencing sexual arousal when imagining themselves as male.

It now appears it was Dr. Blanchard, the chair of the paraphilia sub-workgroup,  who proposed the inclusion. But he does not believe in it.

Let me quote a recent  interview with Blanchard:

"[Motherboard:] Do you think autoandrophelia, where a woman is aroused by the thought of herself as a man, is a real paraphelia [sic]?

[Blanchard:] No, I proposed it simply in order not to be accused of sexism, because there are all these women who want to say, 'women can rape too, women can be pedophiles too, women can be exhibitionists too.' It’s a perverse expression of feminism, and so, I thought, let me jump the gun on this. I don’t think the phenomenon even exists."


Blanchard  is lying to the public in order to avoid criticism

Let me make this absolutely clear for you:

Blanchard is including a psychiatric diagnosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders that he believes is false, in order not to be called out as a sexist! And the American Psychiatric Association (APA) accepts this charade.

Are these people for real?

This is not only scientific fraud. The APA is actually willing to stigmatize a whole group of people so that Ray Blanchard will not be bothered by an open, democratic, debate about the role of psychiatry in society.

And here is the clincher: Female to male crossdreamers do undeniably exist

What truly shocks me is the fact that he is not recognizing the existence of female to male crossdreamers (female bodied persons who get aroused by the idea of imagening themselves as the other sex).

The reason he does not do so is clear to me. In his sexist universe only  male sexuality can generate "paraphilias". Women are apparently not wired for what he considers "erotic target location errors".

Because of this their existence threatens the whole model. The autogynephilia theory requires the male to female transsexual women to be driven by a unique male sexuality, characterized by a need to conquer and possess women.

According to this world view female bodied individuals must be driven by a female sexuality, which is understood to be the exact opposite. The existence of women who would like their feminine boyfriends to bend over and take it from behind is therefore an impossibility.

But yet: There they are, proving once and for all that Blanchard's dogmatic binary is nothing but a mirage created by his own prejudices.

The FTM crossdreamer/girlfag community is probably as big as the MTF

I have documented their existence in a large number of blog posts, and the wide dissemination of yaoi and other types of FTM crossdreamer erotica is undeniable.

And if blog posts aren't good enough for the esteemed doctor, peer reviewed papers are available. (See, for instance, Uli Meyer: "Hidden in straight sight: Trans'gressing gender and sexuality via BL")

I suspect his mind is so closed off, that it now actively filters out anything that can threaten his world view. Or maybe none of his colleagues dare to tell him, as it may break his bubble of academic arrogance.

Blanchard continues to believe that homosexuals are abnormal

The interview also makes clear that Blanchard still believe that homosexual sex is abnormal.

Homosexuality was removed from the DSM in 1973.

I think it is time someone removed Blanchard from the DSM as well.

Unless the President of the APA, Dilip V. Jeste,  and the DSM Task Force Chair, David J Kupfer, take action immediately, Doctor Blanchard will do irreparable damage to the standing of both the DSM and the APA.

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For new readers who do not know the context:

Let me make one thing perfectly clear: The fact that there are men and women out there who get aroused by the idea of being the other sex, does not mean that "autogynephiliacs" or "autoandrophiliacs" exist.

The two terms, which refer to love of oneself as a woman or man, entails an implicit explanation for this phenomenon that is clearly wrong.  These people are not suffering from a "erotic target location error". Their fantasies are just their psyche's way of expressing an inner sexual identity that is incompatible with their bodies and/or the cultural norms around them.

Here is a short summary of what is at stake:

1. Blanchard has developed a typology of transgender conditions where all male to female transgender, transsexuals included, are divided into two groups: "Homosexual transsexuals" (i.e. androphilic transwomen) who are understood as gay men and "autogynephiliacs" who are understood as heterosexual men suffering from an erotic target location error.
2. The theory has not been proved, it cannot be proved, and is dismissed by mosts sexologists and health professionals who know anything about transgender people.
3. The theory is highly stigmatizing and demeaning and completely disregards the experience of crossdreamers, crossdressers and transsexuals world wide.
4. It is true that there are men and women who get aroused by the idea of being the other sex. This blog is devoted to them. The fact that transgender and transsexual men and women have a sex drive does not mean that they are perverts, however. How can a transsexual woman fantasize about having sex, if not as a woman?

Click here for more information about crossdreaming and autogynephilia/autoandrophilia.

UPDATE: Autoandrophilia was not included in the DSM-5!