Challenging “Autogynephilia”
Background
It has been postulated that gender dysphoria is associated with self eroticism in trans women. Moser’s article below demonstrates that their autogynephilic experiences are no different from those of other women.
Article by Charles Moser, PhD, MD
Autogynephilia, an erotic interest in the thought or image of oneself as a woman, has been described as a sexual interest of some trans women; the term has not been applied to natal women.
To test the possibility that natal women also experience autogynephilia, an Autogynephilia Scale for Women (ASW) was created from items used to categorize MTFs as autogynephilic in other studies. A questionnaire which included the ASW was distributed to a sample of 51 professional women employed at an urban hospital, 29 completed questionnaires were returned for analysis. By the common definition of ever having erotic arousal to the thought or image of oneself as a woman, 93% of the respondents would be classified as autogynephilic.
Using a more rigorous definition of “frequent” arousal to multiple items, 28% would be classified as autogynephilic. The implications of these findings are discussed concerning the sexuality of women and the meaning of autogynephilia for trans women.
Charles Moser PhD MD (2009) Autogynephilia in Women, Journal of Homosexuality