Attraction to transgender people: Difference between revisions

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			{{Short description\|Romantic or sexual attraction to transgender people}}
	{{redirect\|Transfan\|the use of "transfan" to describe fans of the Transformers\|Transformers (toy line)}}
	{{~~Undue~~\|date=~~April~~ ~~2014~~}}		{{Primary sources\|date=September 2019}}
		⚫	{{Use dmy dates\|date=October 2020}}
	{{Sexual orientation}}
			], a trans woman (right), with her partner, Nicolás Guamanquispe, a trans man (left), 2014]]{{Transgender sidebar}}'''Sexual attraction to transgender people''' has been the subject of scientific study and social commentary. Psychologists have researched ] toward ], ], ], ] people, and a combination of these. Publications in the field of ] have investigated the attraction transgender individuals can feel for each other. The people who feel this attraction to transgender people name their attraction in different ways.
⚫	{{Transgender ~~sidebar}}~~
⚫	{{Use dmy dates\|date=~~May~~ ~~2014~~}}

			] men attracted to transgender women primarily identify as ] and sometimes as ], but rarely as ], and may even regard their attraction as its own sexual orientation and invent their own terms for it. Transgender individuals often call their attraction to other transgender people '']'' and may consider it both a sexual identity and a form of ].
	'''Attraction to transgender people''' is an enduring pattern of experiencing ] or ] feelings for ] persons. Attraction to transgender people can be toward ], ], ] people, or a combination of these. This attraction can be a person's occasional, preferred, primary, or exclusive interest.

			==From cisgender people ==
	People attracted to transgender people can identify as either heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or with none of those categories; they may identify as transgender or cisgender.
			===Overall===

			A 2019 study asked 958 online participants, mostly young adults in Canada and the United States, which gender identities they would be interested in dating. In the sample, 3.3% of heterosexual men, 1.8% of heterosexual women, 11.5% of gay men, 28.8% of lesbian women, and 51.7% of bisexual, ], and non-binary people (grouped together for analysis) reported they would be interested in dating a transgender person, and the remainder were not interested. Both gay men and lesbian women were much more willing to date a trans person whose gender matched their orientation (i.e. gay men were more willing to date trans men than trans women and lesbian women were more willing to date trans women than trans men).<ref>{{cite journal \|last1=Blair \|first1=Karen L. \|last2=Hoskin \|first2=Rhea Ashley \|title=Transgender exclusion from the world of dating: Patterns of acceptance and rejection of hypothetical trans dating partners as a function of sexual and gender identity \|journal=Journal of Social and Personal Relationships \|date=1 July 2019 \|volume=36 \|issue=7 \|pages=2074–2095 \|doi=10.1177/0265407518779139 \|s2cid=149760233 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web \|title=Will Straight Men and Women Date a Trans Person? {{!}} Psychology Today \|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sex-sexuality-and-romance/202104/will-straight-men-and-women-date-trans-person \|access-date=2023-07-28 \|website=www.psychologytoday.com \|language=en-US}}</ref>
	==Terminology==
			] including a trans woman in Saint Petersburg, Russia, 2014]]
	There are a variety of terms, inside both the transgender and academic communities, for people who are attracted to transgender people. These terms include ''admirer'', ''transfan'', ''tammyfan'', ''trans* catcher'', ''trans* erotic'', ''transsensual'', ''tranny chaser'', ''tranny hawk'',<ref name="baker23004">Baker, Paul (2004). ''Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang.'' Continuum International Publishing Group, ISBN 978-0-8264-7343-1</ref> though the final two may be considered offensive as they contain a slur. In Brazil, people (generally cis men) attracted to transfeminine people in general or specifically to ] are often known as T-lovers,<ref> {{pt icon}}</ref> but this term is generally not applied to those attracted to transmasculine or other genderqueer people.

			=== Trans women ===
	The term ''tranny chaser'' was originally (and still predominantly) used to describe men sexually interested in pre-operative ], but it is now used by some ] as well. Transgender people often use the term in a pejorative sense, because they consider chasers to value them for their trans status alone, rather than being attracted to them as a person.<ref name=tompkins>{{cite journal\|last=Tompkins\|first=Avery Brooks\|title="There's No Chasing Involved": Cis/Trans Relationships, "Tranny Chasers," and the Future of a Sex-Positive Trans Politics\|journal=Journal of Homosexuality\|date=2 December 2013 \|doi=10.1080/00918369.2014.870448 \|url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00918369.2014.870448#.U2uYSPldW5I \|deadurl=no \|accessdate=8 May 2014}}</ref> However, some claim this term in an affirming manner.<ref name=green>{{cite web \|last=Green \|first=Eli \|title=LGBTTSQI Terminology & Definitions\|url=http://www.trans-academics.org/lgbttsqiterminology.pdf \|work=Trans academics \|author2=Eric Peterson \|deadurl=yes \|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905233210/http://www.trans-academics.org/trans_and_sexuality_termi \|archivedate=2013-09-05 \|accessdate=8 May 2014}}</ref> The term ''tranny'' (or ''trannie'') is itself considered a slur in many circles.<ref name="bbc2010">Staff report (4 January 2010). '']''</ref><ref name="nyt2010">Lennard, Natasha (April 7, 2010). '']''</ref>
			In their sociological study, ] and ] interviewed 26 ''men sexually interested in trans women'' (MSTW).<ref name=weinberg>{{cite journal \|last1=Weinberg \|first1=Martin S. \|last2=Williams \|first2=Colin J. \|title=Men Sexually Interested in Transwomen (MSTW): Gendered Embodiment and the Construction of Sexual Desire \|journal=The Journal of Sex Research \|date=13 July 2010 \|volume=47 \|issue=4 \|pages=374–383 \|doi=10.1080/00224490903050568 \|pmid=19544216 \|s2cid=24525426 }}</ref> 13 identified themselves as heterosexual, and 13 as "bisexual or probably bisexual". The authors opined "These labels only superficially describe their sexual interest,"<ref name=weinberg/>{{rp\|378}} and noted that the expressed interest in trans women was sometimes used as a basis for denying a more stigmatized self-identity. As an example, they described a case who "said that he was 'bisexual' rather than 'gay' because he was able to think of the trans women as women".<ref name=weinberg/>{{rp\|381}}

			As part of HIV prevention research in 2004, Operario et al. interviewed 46 men in the San Francisco area who had sex with transgender women, but found "no consistent patterns between how men described their sexual orientation identity versus their sexual behavior and attraction to transgender women".<ref name = Operario2008>{{cite journal \|last1=Operario \|first1=Don \|last2=Burton \|first2=Jennifer \|last3=Underhill \|first3=Kristen \|last4=Sevelius \|first4=Jae \|title=Men Who Have Sex with Transgender Women: Challenges to Category-based HIV Prevention \|journal=AIDS and Behavior \|date=January 2008 \|volume=12 \|issue=1 \|pages=18–26 \|doi=10.1007/s10461-007-9303-y \|pmid=17705095 \|s2cid=31831055 }}</ref> Of the sample, 20 of them described themselves as being straight or heterosexual. Some men were definitive about this declaration, while others were hesitant and wondered if they should consider themselves bisexual.
	More recently, less pejorative terms such as transamorous and transsensual have emerged, but they have not seen much usage.<ref name=tompkins />

			A Northwestern University study recruited 205 men interested in trans women. In that online survey, 52.9% identified as straight, 37.3% as bisexual, and 2.6% as gay, and 7% as something else. Also, 55.9% said their ideal partner would be a cisgender woman, and 34.7% said it would be a trans woman. The study authors concluded that "The interest in trans women appears to be a distinct sexual interest separate from heterosexual men's attraction to women for the majority of men, but there is a substantial minority who may experience it as their sexual orientation."<ref name="Hsu-2017">{{cite journal \|last1=Rosenthal \|first1=A. M. \|last2=Hsu \|first2=Kevin J. \|last3=Bailey \|first3=J. Michael \|date=January 2017 \|title=Who Are Gynandromorphophilic Men? An Internet Survey of Men with Sexual Interest in Transgender Women \|url=https://rdcu.be/dILDW \|journal=Archives of Sexual Behavior \|volume=46 \|issue=1 \|pages=255–264 \|doi=10.1007/s10508-016-0872-6 \|pmid=27858199 \|s2cid=27994757 \|url-access=limited \|quote=<!--p. 252:-->GAMP is best considered an unusual form of heterosexuality rather than a separate sexual orientation. ... <!--p.262:-->By this understanding of 'sexual orientation,' GAMP does not qualify. GAMP men in this study were indifferent between their self-reported sexual arousal by women and by GAMs; both were highly arousing to them.}}</ref>
	===Academic terms===

			A 2016 study that used the ] demonstrated that the arousal patterns, genital and subjective, of ] who report attraction to transgender women who have "female-typical physical characteristics (e.g. breasts) while retaining a penis" are similar to those of straight men and different from those of gay men. The study showed that these men are much more aroused to female than to male stimuli. They differed from both the groups of straight and gay men, however, in also displaying strong arousal to stimuli featuring trans women, to which they responded as much as to the cisgender female stimuli. Of the men attracted to trans women, 41.7% identified as bisexual, with the remainder identifying as straight. The bisexuals among them did not display significantly more arousal to male stimuli than their heterosexual counterparts, though they did report a higher number of male sex partners.<ref name="Hsu" />
	]s have created numerous terms for preferential attraction to transgender people.

			], a trans man whom PETA hired to pose near-nude for a "sexy"<ref>{{Cite web \|date=2017-09-13 \|title=PHOTOS: Transgender Models Unveil Sexy New PETA Ad at NYFW \|url=https://www.peta.org/media/news-releases/photos-transgender-models-unveil-sexy-new-peta-ad-nyfw/ \|access-date=2023-07-28 \|website=PETA \|language=en-US}}</ref> ] campaign]]
	] and ] proposed the term ''gynemimetophilia'' to refer to a sexual preference for ] people who look like, act like, or are women, including ] men and trans women. They also proposed the term ''andromimetophilia'' to describe a sexual attraction to ] people who look like, act like, or are men.<ref>{{cite journal\|last=Money\|first=J\|author2=M. Lamacz\|title=Gynemimesis and gynemimetophilia: Individual and cross-cultural manifestations of a gender-coping strategy hitherto unnamed\|journal=Comprehensive Psychiatry\|year=1984\|volume=25\|issue=4\|pages=392–403}}</ref>

			=== Trans men ===
	] and ] proposed the term gynandromorphophilia.<ref>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.</ref>

			In 2015, ''The ] Handbook of the Psychology of Sexuality and Gender'' described a lack of research exploring others' attraction to trans men or nonbinary FTM persons.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book \|last1=Richards \|first1=Christina \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7tW_CQAAQBAJ&dq=%22trans+men%22+%22attraction+to%22&pg=PT201 \|title=The Palgrave Handbook of the Psychology of Sexuality and Gender \|last2=Barker \|first2=Meg-John \|date=2015-04-28 \|publisher=Springer \|isbn=978-1-137-34589-9 \|language=en}}</ref> This is because much of sexual research often centers the "experiences and perspectives of heterosexual males," who generally have sex with trans women rather than trans men.<ref name=":0" />
	] and ] have proposed the term ''men sexually interested in transwomen'' (MSTW) to describe the phenomenon among men.<ref name="weinberg">{{cite doi\|10.1080/00224490903050568}}</ref>

			The traditional understanding of lesbian does not convey attraction to trans men.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book \|last1=Tate \|first1=Charlotte Chucky \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eu3mDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22trans+men%22+%22attraction+to%22&pg=PT56 \|title=Undoing the Gender Binary \|last2=Hagai \|first2=Ella Ben \|last3=Crosby \|first3=Faye J. \|date=2020-06-04 \|publisher=Cambridge University Press \|isbn=978-1-108-60531-1 \|language=en}}</ref> A lesbian whose partner transitions to a trans man generally identifies as ] rather than lesbian. Similarly, a heterosexual man whose partner transitions to male would generally use the "queer" label as well.<ref name=":1" />
	==Social aspects==

		⚫	Erotic materials created for people attracted to trans men have become more visible, especially due to pornographic actor ].<ref name="Richardson">Richardson, Niall (2010). ''Transgressive Bodies: Representations in Film and Popular Culture.'' Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. {{ISBN\|978-0-7546-7622-5}}{{page needed\|date=March 2021}}</ref> Trans activist ] writes that cisgender gay men who are partnered with trans men "are often surprised to find that a penis is not what defines a man, that the lack of a penis does not mean a lack of masculinity, manliness, or male sexuality".<ref>{{cite book \|title=Becoming a Visible Man\|last=Green \|first=Jamison \|year=2004 \|publisher=] \|location=] \|isbn=978-0-826-51456-1 \|page=121 }}</ref> Gay author ] has criticized the idea that gay men should necessarily be attracted to trans men, arguing that ] is based on biological sex, not gender identity.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/02/andrew-sullivan-the-nature-of-sex.html \|title=The Nature of Sex \|date=February 2019 \|magazine=] Intelligencer \|access-date=2019-08-08}}</ref>
	In "Diary of a Drag Queen" ] describes four types of men interested in him while he was cross-dressed: heterosexual men who wanted the presumed superior oral services of another male, homosexuals who were only interested in his genitals, other cross dressers, and men who were intrigued by the mixture of masculinity and femininity he represented. Relatively little has been written about the sexual preference for feminized men. When describing what makes them feel sexually attracted, different people refer to different aspects. One aspect of the appeal has been reported to be their exoticism. Also, "they are often both hyperfeminine in appearance and sexual aggressive".<ref name = Escoffier2011>Escoffier, J. (2011). Imagining the she/male: Pornography and the transsexualization of the heterosexual male. ''Studies in Gender and Sexuality, 12,'' 268–281.</ref> There is a tendency for ] men to describe being attracted to individual people who are transgender rather than to transgender people overall. Other tendencies are reported description of being attracted to what transgender women represent (a challenge to the traditional male/female dichotomy) and the explicit focus on the transgender body and appearance: "I like women with dicks. I like tits and I like dicks....Something erotic about getting fucked by someone who is a woman."<ref name = Operario2008/>

			=== Terminology ===<!-- MOS:HIDDENLINKADVICE: The following terms redirect here, and should be retargeted if the section name changes:
	According to ], "Tranny chasers are the big bugaboo in the crossdressing community, because their very existence suggests that crossdressers are not all as straight as they claim to be. Chasers are willing to give crossdressed men the kind of attention they desire, and that attention (a drink, a compliment) validates the crossdresser's experience, and completes the fantasy of feeling like a woman."<ref>Helen Boyd, ''My husband Betty: love, sex, and life with a crossdresser'', , Seal Press, 2003, ISBN 1-56025-515-3</ref> According to Jeffrey Escoffier of the Centre for Gay and Lesbian Studies of CUNY, sexual interest in male-to-female transsexuals first emerged in 1953, associated with the then famous transition of ].<ref name=Escoffier2011/> It was after expressing transsexualism via surgery became more feasible over the 1960s that ] came to be re-conceptualized as distinct from ] and ]. In a survey of men who engage in sex with male-to-female transsexuals, 73% identified their ] as straight or bisexual.<ref name = Operario2008>Operario, D., Burton, J., Underhill, K., & Sevelius, J. (2008). Men who have sex with transgender women: Challenges to category-based HIV prevention. ''AIDS and Behavior, 12'' 18-26.</ref> It is because gynandromorphophiles can identify with any of those terms, HIV prevention efforts and research ought not overly depend on those identities.
			"gynandromorphophilia", "gynandromorphophilic", "gynemimetophilia", "gynemimetophilic" -->
			{{see also\|Trans chaser}}
			A variety of casual terms have developed to refer to people who are attracted to transgender people. These terms include ''trans-attracted'',<ref name="slate">{{cite web \|last1=Milloy \|first1=Christin Scarlett \|title=Meet the Chasers, "Admirers" Who Really, Really Want to Date Trans People \|url=https://www.slate.com/human-interest/2014/10/trans-chasers-exploitive-admirers-who-harass-trans-people.amp \|website=Slate Magazine \|access-date=24 August 2019 \|language=en \|date=2 October 2014 \|archive-date=24 August 2019 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190824011656/https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/10/trans-chasers-exploitive-admirers-who-harass-trans-people.amp \|url-status=dead }}</ref> ''trans-oriented'',<ref name="slate" /> '']'',<ref name="baker04" /> ''trans admirer,''<ref name="slate" /> and ''trans catcher''.<ref name="baker04" /> The terms '']'', ''transamorous'' and ''transsensual'' have also emerged, but have not seen much usage.<ref name="tompkins" />

			The terms '']''<ref name="tompkins" /><ref name="baker04" /> (often shortened to ''chaser'')<ref name="slate" /> and ''tranny hawk''<ref name="baker04">Baker, Paul (2004). ''Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang.'' Continuum International Publishing Group, {{ISBN\|978-0-8264-7343-1}}{{page needed\|date=March 2021}}</ref> have been used, although '']'' is considered a slur by many.<ref name="bbc2010">Staff report (4 January 2010). '']''</ref><ref name="nyt2010">Lennard, Natasha (7 April 2010). '']''</ref> The term ''chaser'' is predominantly used to describe cisgender men who are solely sexually interested in ],<ref name="slate" /> but it is sometimes used to refer to those interested in ] as well.<ref name="tompkins" /><ref name="slate" /> Transgender people often use the term in a pejorative sense, because they consider chasers to value them for their trans status alone, rather than being attracted to them as a person.<ref name="tompkins">{{cite journal \|last1=Tompkins \|first1=Avery Brooks \|title='There's No Chasing Involved': Cis/Trans Relationships, 'Tranny Chasers,' and the Future of a Sex-Positive Trans Politics \|journal=Journal of Homosexuality \|date=4 May 2014 \|volume=61 \|issue=5 \|pages=766–780 \|doi=10.1080/00918369.2014.870448 \|pmid=24294827 \|s2cid=9316028 }}</ref> However, some claim this term in an affirming manner.<ref name="green">{{cite web \|last=Green\|first=Eli \|title=LGBTTSQI Terminology & Definitions\|url=http://www.trans-academics.org/lgbttsqiterminology.pdf \|work=Trans academics \|author2=Eric Peterson \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329030053/http://www.trans-academics.org/lgbttsqiterminology.pdf \|archive-date=2014-03-29 \|access-date=8 May 2014}}</ref> Sociologist Avery Tompkins of ] in ] argued in an article in the ''Journal of Homosexuality'' that sex-positive trans politics cannot emerge if terms such as "tranny chaser" inform discussion of attraction to transgender people.<ref name="tompkins" />
⚫	Erotic materials created for people attracted to trans men have become more visible ~~in recent years~~, ~~largely~~ due to pornographic actor ].<ref name="Richardson">Richardson, Niall (2010). ''Transgressive Bodies: Representations in Film and Popular Culture.'' Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN ~~9780754676225~~</ref> ] writes that cisgender gay men ~~often~~ ~~enjoy~~ ~~sexual relations~~ with trans men~~. Green writes,~~ "~~Plenty of penis-less transmen engage in sex with penis-equipped gay men and these non-trans partners~~ are often surprised to find that a penis is not what defines a man, that the lack of a penis does not mean a lack of masculinity, manliness, or male sexuality."<ref>{{cite book \|title=Becoming a Visible Man\|last=Green \|first=Jamison \|year=2004 \|publisher=] \|location=] \|isbn=0-826-51456-1 \|page=121 \|url=http://~~books.google~~.com/~~books?id=yoXHVSqJ8skC&dq=Becoming+a+Visible+Man&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UZlrU_zWNKGwygHb~~-~~IHgDA&ved~~=~~0CDsQ6AEwAA~~ \|~~deadurl~~=no \|~~accessdate~~=8 ~~May~~ ~~2014~~}}</ref>

			In some scientific literature, the terms ''gynandromorphophilic'' (noun: '']'')<ref name="Hsu">{{cite journal \|last1=Hsu \|first1=K. J. \|last2=Rosenthal \|first2=A. M. \|last3=Miller \|first3=D. I. \|last4=Bailey \|first4=J. M. \|date=March 2016 \|title=Who are gynandromorphophilic men? Characterizing men with sexual interest in transgender women \|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283261392 \|format=PDF \|journal=Psychological Medicine \|volume=46 \|issue=4 \|pages=819–827 \|doi=10.1017/S0033291715002317 \|pmid=26498424 \|s2cid=5600381}}</ref><ref name="Blaney-Krueger2014" /><ref name="Patterson-2020">{{cite thesis \|last1=Petterson \|first1=Lanna J. \|last2=Science \|first2=University of Lethbridge Faculty of Arts and \|title=Male sexual orientation: a cross-cultural perspective \|date=2020 \|hdl=10133/5763 }}</ref> and ''gynemimetophilic'' (noun: '']'')<ref name="Money-Lamacz-1984">{{cite journal \|last1=Money \|first1=John \|last2=Lamacz \|first2=Margaret \|title=Gynemimesis and gynemimetophilia: Individual and cross-cultural manifestations of a gender-coping strategy hitherto unnamed \|journal=Comprehensive Psychiatry \|date=July 1984 \|volume=25 \|issue=4 \|pages=392–403 \|doi=10.1016/0010-440X(84)90074-9 \|pmid=6467919 }}</ref><ref name="Blaney-Krueger2014">{{cite book \|last1=Blaney \|first1=Paul H. \|last2=Krueger \|first2=Robert F. \|last3=Millon \|first3=Theodore \|title=Oxford Textbook of Psychopathology \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VoEZBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA592 \|date=19 September 2014 \|edition=3rd \|publisher=Oxford University Press \|location=New York \|isbn=9780199811779 \|page=592 \|oclc=900980099}}</ref> are used for men who are attracted to trans women who possess a combination of male and female physical characteristics. The term ''andromimetophilic'' (noun: ]) describes an attraction to trans men.<ref>{{Cite book \|last=Denny \|first=Dallas \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zJBvR-Zy7LgC&q=andromimetophilia&pg=PA401 \|title=Current Concepts in Transgender Identity \|date=1998 \|publisher=Taylor & Francis \|isbn=978-0-8153-1793-7 \|language=en}}</ref>
	==Academic views==

			The terms '']'' and '']'' have been used to describe attraction to ] people.<ref name="skoliosexual">{{cite news\|last1=Michelson\|first1=Noah\|title=What's a Skoliosexual?\|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/skoliosexual-zucchini-and-10-other-sexual-identity-terms-you-probably-dont-know_us_561bf841e4b0082030a35f80\|newspaper=HuffPost\|access-date=16 July 2017\|date=16 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news\|last1=Anderson-Minshall\|first1=Jacob\|title=Is Fetishizing Trans Bodies Offensive?\|url=https://www.advocate.com/current-issue/2017/5/18/fetishizing-trans-bodies-offensive\|access-date=14 October 2017\|work=The Advocate\|date=18 May 2017\|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web \|title=What Does Skoliosexual Mean? \|url=https://gayety.co/skoliosexual-unpacking-this-controversial-term \|website=Gayety \|access-date=19 February 2023 \|date=3 August 2022}}</ref> The terms '']'' and '']'' (as well as '']'') may be used to indicate that ] people are among the types of people to which one is attracted.<ref name="skoliosexual" />
	Some academics characterize attraction to transgender people as a medical diagnosis to be managed<ref name="barrett">Barrett, James (2007). ''Transsexual and Other Disorders of Gender Identity: A Practical Guide to Management.'' Radcliffe Publishing, ISBN 9781857757194</ref> or a type of ].<ref name="laws">{{cite book

	\| url = http://books.google.com/books?id=yIXG9FuqbaIC
			== From transgender people ==
	\| title = Sexual Deviance, Second Edition: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment
			] (right), a transgender woman; a trans for trans married couple, photographed in 1941]]
	\| isbn = 9781593856052
			Transgender people may experience sexual and romantic attraction to other transgender people. This attraction is sometimes called "trans for trans"<ref>{{cite magazine\|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/06/27/the-invention-of-the-trans-novel-imogen-binnie-nevada\|title=The Invention of the Trans Novel\|magazine=]\|last=Burt\|first=Stephanie\|date=27 June 2022\|access-date=6 December 2022}}</ref> or T4T attraction. The word T4T comes from ] ] and ] transgender people used to find other transgender people to date and have sex with.<ref>{{Cite journal \|last1=Awkward-Rich \|first1=Cameron \|last2=Malatino \|first2=Hil \|date=2022-02-01 \|title=Meanwhile, t4t \|journal=] \|volume=9 \|issue=1 \|pages=1–8 \|doi=10.1215/23289252-9475467 \|s2cid=247431891 \|issn=2328-9252\|doi-access=free }}</ref> Another term for T4T is "transromantic," though it is rarely used.<ref>{{Cite book \|last=Decker \|first=Julie Sondra \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vTSCDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22trans+men%22+%22attraction+to%22&pg=PT48 \|title=The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality * Next Generation Indie Book Awards Winner in LGBT * \|date=2015-10-13 \|publisher=Simon and Schuster \|isbn=978-1-5107-0064-2 \|language=en}}</ref>
	\| author1 = Richard Laws

	\| first1 = D
			There are a variety of reasons why transgender people might date or prefer dating other transgender people. Some transgender people prefer dating and having sex with other transgender people for both emotional and physical safety reasons, as cisgender people are more likely to enact gender-based ].<ref>{{Cite web \|last=Sparks \|first=Kevin \|date=2019-04-24 \|title=T4T: When Trans People Date Each Other \|url=https://parlourtalk.com/blog/t4t-when-trans-people-date-each-other/ \|access-date=2022-10-24 \|website=Parlour Talk \|language=en-US}}</ref> Others feel that dating and having sex with other transgender people is "liberating", as it allows more gender euphoria, emotional safety, and freedom to explore gender presentation without the need to prove or explain the validity of their identity.<ref>{{Cite web \|date=2020-11-17 \|title=How Queer Sex Liberated Me {{!}} Britni de la Cretaz \|url=https://catapult.co/stories/25406-how-queer-sex-liberated-me-essay-britni-de-la-cretaz \|access-date=2022-10-24 \|website=Catapult \|language=en}}</ref> Others may simply find other transgender people more attractive than cisgender people. Lastly, T4T dating can also be a form of political identity, i.e., a form of ] focused on advocating for transgender people within a society that may ].<ref>{{Cite journal \|last1=Adair \|first1=Cassius \|last2=Aizura \|first2=Aren \|date=2022-02-01 \|title="The Transgender Craze Seducing Our "; or, All the Trans Guys Are Just Dating Each Other \|url=https://doi.org/10.1215/23289252-9475509 \|journal=] \|volume=9 \|issue=1 \|pages=44–64 \|doi=10.1215/23289252-9475509 \|s2cid=247415902 \|issn=2328-9252}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal \|url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/tsq/article/9/1/84/294558/Necessary-Bonding-On-Black-Trans-Studies-Kinship \|access-date=2022-10-24 \|journal=] \|doi=10.1215/23289252-9475537\|title="Necessary Bonding" \|year=2022 \|last1=Lundy-Harris \|first1=Amira \|volume=9 \|pages=84–100 \|s2cid=247433604 }}</ref>
	\| last2 = O'Donohue

	\| first2 = William T
			As an example of a T4T couple, in 2022, Canadian actors ] and ] attended the ] Art + Film Gala as a couple. Martin captioned their photograph with "My King" and "#t4t."<ref>{{Cite web \|date=2022-11-07 \|title=Elliot Page and Mae Martin Appear to Make Their Red Carpet Couple Debut \|url=https://www.glamour.com/story/elliot-page-mae-martin-appear-to-make-their-red-carpet-couple-debut \|access-date=2023-07-28 \|website=Glamour \|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web \|last= \|title=Elliot Page Steps Out with Mae Martin for Gala in L.A. as Friends React: 'Cannot Handle This Pic' \|url=https://people.com/movies/elliot-page-steps-out-with-comedian-mae-martin-los-angeles-gala-photos/ \|access-date=2023-07-28 \|website=Peoplemag \|language=en}}</ref>
	\| date = 2008-01-07}}</ref> Others note that stigma against attractions to transgender people can erase transgender identities and deny transgender sexualities, and argue that such attractions should be destigmatized.<ref name="tompkins" />

			In the context of FTM for FTM relationships, a ] dynamic can be part of the ] process, as it may lead to experiences of ]. In 2022, '']'' studied the correlation claimed that a Daddy/boy dynamic between trans people "can be read as gender labor; affective and intersubjective work that produces gender".<ref>{{cite journal \|last1=Adair \|first1=Cassius \|last2=Aizura \|first2=Aren \|title="The Transgender Craze Seducing Our "; or, All the Trans Guys Are Just Dating Each Other \|journal=] \|date=February 1, 2022 \|volume=9 \|issue=1 \|pages=44–64 \|doi=10.1215/23289252-9475509 \|url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/tsq/article-abstract/9/1/44/294557/The-Transgender-Craze-Seducing-Our-Sons-or-All-the \|access-date=29 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal \|last1=Awkward-Rich \|first1=Cameron \|last2=Malatino \|first2=Hil \|title=Meanwhile, t4t \|journal=] \|date=February 1, 2022 \|volume=9 \|issue=1 \|pages=1–8 \|doi=10.1215/23289252-9475467 \|url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/tsq/article/9/1/1/294561/Meanwhile-t4t \|access-date=29 January 2024}}</ref>

	==See also==		==See also==
	* ]		* ]
	* ]		* ]
	* ]		* ]
		⚫	* ]

	==References==		==References==
	{{~~reflist~~}}		{{Reflist}}

	==Further reading==		==Further reading==
	* Tracie O'Keefe, Katrina Fox, eds., ''Trans ~~people~~ in ~~love~~'', Routledge, 2008, ISBN 0-7890-3572-3		* Tracie O'Keefe, Katrina Fox, eds., ''Trans People in Love'', Routledge, 2008, {{ISBN\|0-7890-3572-3}}

	{{Paraphilia}}
	{{LGBT slang}}		{{LGBT slang}}
	{{Gender and sexual identities}}		{{Gender and sexual identities}}

⚫	]
⚫	]
	]		]
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Latest revision as of 19:04, 25 December 2024

Romantic or sexual attraction to transgender people

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Sexual attraction to transgender people has been the subject of scientific study and social commentary. Psychologists have researched sexual attraction toward trans women, trans men, cross dressers, non-binary people, and a combination of these. Publications in the field of transgender studies have investigated the attraction transgender individuals can feel for each other. The people who feel this attraction to transgender people name their attraction in different ways.

Cisgender men attracted to transgender women primarily identify as heterosexual and sometimes as bisexual, but rarely as homosexual, and may even regard their attraction as its own sexual orientation and invent their own terms for it. Transgender individuals often call their attraction to other transgender people T4T and may consider it both a sexual identity and a form of political identity.

From cisgender people

Overall

A 2019 study asked 958 online participants, mostly young adults in Canada and the United States, which gender identities they would be interested in dating. In the sample, 3.3% of heterosexual men, 1.8% of heterosexual women, 11.5% of gay men, 28.8% of lesbian women, and 51.7% of bisexual, queer, and non-binary people (grouped together for analysis) reported they would be interested in dating a transgender person, and the remainder were not interested. Both gay men and lesbian women were much more willing to date a trans person whose gender matched their orientation (i.e. gay men were more willing to date trans men than trans women and lesbian women were more willing to date trans women than trans men).

Trans women

In their sociological study, Martin S. Weinberg and Colin J. Williams interviewed 26 men sexually interested in trans women (MSTW). 13 identified themselves as heterosexual, and 13 as "bisexual or probably bisexual". The authors opined "These labels only superficially describe their sexual interest," and noted that the expressed interest in trans women was sometimes used as a basis for denying a more stigmatized self-identity. As an example, they described a case who "said that he was 'bisexual' rather than 'gay' because he was able to think of the trans women as women".

As part of HIV prevention research in 2004, Operario et al. interviewed 46 men in the San Francisco area who had sex with transgender women, but found "no consistent patterns between how men described their sexual orientation identity versus their sexual behavior and attraction to transgender women". Of the sample, 20 of them described themselves as being straight or heterosexual. Some men were definitive about this declaration, while others were hesitant and wondered if they should consider themselves bisexual.

A Northwestern University study recruited 205 men interested in trans women. In that online survey, 52.9% identified as straight, 37.3% as bisexual, and 2.6% as gay, and 7% as something else. Also, 55.9% said their ideal partner would be a cisgender woman, and 34.7% said it would be a trans woman. The study authors concluded that "The interest in trans women appears to be a distinct sexual interest separate from heterosexual men's attraction to women for the majority of men, but there is a substantial minority who may experience it as their sexual orientation."

A 2016 study that used the penile plethysmograph demonstrated that the arousal patterns, genital and subjective, of cisgender men who report attraction to transgender women who have "female-typical physical characteristics (e.g. breasts) while retaining a penis" are similar to those of straight men and different from those of gay men. The study showed that these men are much more aroused to female than to male stimuli. They differed from both the groups of straight and gay men, however, in also displaying strong arousal to stimuli featuring trans women, to which they responded as much as to the cisgender female stimuli. Of the men attracted to trans women, 41.7% identified as bisexual, with the remainder identifying as straight. The bisexuals among them did not display significantly more arousal to male stimuli than their heterosexual counterparts, though they did report a higher number of male sex partners.

Trans men

In 2015, The Palgrave Handbook of the Psychology of Sexuality and Gender described a lack of research exploring others' attraction to trans men or nonbinary FTM persons. This is because much of sexual research often centers the "experiences and perspectives of heterosexual males," who generally have sex with trans women rather than trans men.

The traditional understanding of lesbian does not convey attraction to trans men. A lesbian whose partner transitions to a trans man generally identifies as queer rather than lesbian. Similarly, a heterosexual man whose partner transitions to male would generally use the "queer" label as well.

Erotic materials created for people attracted to trans men have become more visible, especially due to pornographic actor Buck Angel. Trans activist Jamison Green writes that cisgender gay men who are partnered with trans men "are often surprised to find that a penis is not what defines a man, that the lack of a penis does not mean a lack of masculinity, manliness, or male sexuality". Gay author Andrew Sullivan has criticized the idea that gay men should necessarily be attracted to trans men, arguing that sexual orientation is based on biological sex, not gender identity.

Terminology

From transgender people

Transgender people may experience sexual and romantic attraction to other transgender people. This attraction is sometimes called "trans for trans" or T4T attraction. The word T4T comes from Craigslist personals and forums transgender people used to find other transgender people to date and have sex with. Another term for T4T is "transromantic," though it is rarely used.

There are a variety of reasons why transgender people might date or prefer dating other transgender people. Some transgender people prefer dating and having sex with other transgender people for both emotional and physical safety reasons, as cisgender people are more likely to enact gender-based violence. Others feel that dating and having sex with other transgender people is "liberating", as it allows more gender euphoria, emotional safety, and freedom to explore gender presentation without the need to prove or explain the validity of their identity. Others may simply find other transgender people more attractive than cisgender people. Lastly, T4T dating can also be a form of political identity, i.e., a form of separatism focused on advocating for transgender people within a society that may discriminate against them.

As an example of a T4T couple, in 2022, Canadian actors Elliot Page and Mae Martin attended the LACMA Art + Film Gala as a couple. Martin captioned their photograph with "My King" and "#t4t."

In the context of FTM for FTM relationships, a Daddy/boy dynamic can be part of the gender affirmation process, as it may lead to experiences of gender euphoria. In 2022, Transgender Studies Quarterly studied the correlation claimed that a Daddy/boy dynamic between trans people "can be read as gender labor; affective and intersubjective work that produces gender".

References

Blair, Karen L.; Hoskin, Rhea Ashley (1 July 2019). "Transgender exclusion from the world of dating: Patterns of acceptance and rejection of hypothetical trans dating partners as a function of sexual and gender identity". Journal of Social and Personal Relationships. 36 (7): 2074–2095. doi:10.1177/0265407518779139. S2CID 149760233.
"Will Straight Men and Women Date a Trans Person? | Psychology Today". www.psychologytoday.com. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
^ Weinberg, Martin S.; Williams, Colin J. (13 July 2010). "Men Sexually Interested in Transwomen (MSTW): Gendered Embodiment and the Construction of Sexual Desire". The Journal of Sex Research. 47 (4): 374–383. doi:10.1080/00224490903050568. PMID 19544216. S2CID 24525426.
Operario, Don; Burton, Jennifer; Underhill, Kristen; Sevelius, Jae (January 2008). "Men Who Have Sex with Transgender Women: Challenges to Category-based HIV Prevention". AIDS and Behavior. 12 (1): 18–26. doi:10.1007/s10461-007-9303-y. PMID 17705095. S2CID 31831055.
Rosenthal, A. M.; Hsu, Kevin J.; Bailey, J. Michael (January 2017). "Who Are Gynandromorphophilic Men? An Internet Survey of Men with Sexual Interest in Transgender Women". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 46 (1): 255–264. doi:10.1007/s10508-016-0872-6. PMID 27858199. S2CID 27994757. GAMP is best considered an unusual form of heterosexuality rather than a separate sexual orientation. ... By this understanding of 'sexual orientation,' GAMP does not qualify. GAMP men in this study were indifferent between their self-reported sexual arousal by women and by GAMs; both were highly arousing to them.
^ Hsu, K. J.; Rosenthal, A. M.; Miller, D. I.; Bailey, J. M. (March 2016). "Who are gynandromorphophilic men? Characterizing men with sexual interest in transgender women" (PDF). Psychological Medicine. 46 (4): 819–827. doi:10.1017/S0033291715002317. PMID 26498424. S2CID 5600381.
"PHOTOS: Transgender Models Unveil Sexy New PETA Ad at NYFW". PETA. 13 September 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
^ Richards, Christina; Barker, Meg-John (28 April 2015). The Palgrave Handbook of the Psychology of Sexuality and Gender. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-34589-9.
^ Tate, Charlotte Chucky; Hagai, Ella Ben; Crosby, Faye J. (4 June 2020). Undoing the Gender Binary. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-60531-1.
Richardson, Niall (2010). Transgressive Bodies: Representations in Film and Popular Culture. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7546-7622-5
Green, Jamison (2004). Becoming a Visible Man. Nashville, Tennessee: Vanderbilt University Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-826-51456-1.
"The Nature of Sex". New York Intelligencer. February 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
^ Milloy, Christin Scarlett (2 October 2014). "Meet the Chasers, "Admirers" Who Really, Really Want to Date Trans People". Slate Magazine. Archived from the original on 24 August 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
^ Baker, Paul (2004). Fantabulosa: A Dictionary of Polari and Gay Slang. Continuum International Publishing Group, ISBN 978-0-8264-7343-1
^ Tompkins, Avery Brooks (4 May 2014). "'There's No Chasing Involved': Cis/Trans Relationships, 'Tranny Chasers,' and the Future of a Sex-Positive Trans Politics". Journal of Homosexuality. 61 (5): 766–780. doi:10.1080/00918369.2014.870448. PMID 24294827. S2CID 9316028.
Staff report (4 January 2010). Paper guilty of transsexual slur. BBC News
Lennard, Natasha (7 April 2010). Transgender Film Draws Protests at Festival Site. The New York Times
Green, Eli; Eric Peterson. "LGBTTSQI Terminology & Definitions" (PDF). Trans academics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
^ Blaney, Paul H.; Krueger, Robert F.; Millon, Theodore (19 September 2014). Oxford Textbook of Psychopathology (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 592. ISBN 9780199811779. OCLC 900980099.
Petterson, Lanna J.; Science, University of Lethbridge Faculty of Arts and (2020). Male sexual orientation: a cross-cultural perspective (Thesis). hdl:10133/5763.
Money, John; Lamacz, Margaret (July 1984). "Gynemimesis and gynemimetophilia: Individual and cross-cultural manifestations of a gender-coping strategy hitherto unnamed". Comprehensive Psychiatry. 25 (4): 392–403. doi:10.1016/0010-440X(84)90074-9. PMID 6467919.
Denny, Dallas (1998). Current Concepts in Transgender Identity. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-8153-1793-7.
^ Michelson, Noah (16 October 2015). "What's a Skoliosexual?". HuffPost. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
Anderson-Minshall, Jacob (18 May 2017). "Is Fetishizing Trans Bodies Offensive?". The Advocate. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
"What Does Skoliosexual Mean?". Gayety. 3 August 2022. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
Burt, Stephanie (27 June 2022). "The Invention of the Trans Novel". The New Yorker. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
Awkward-Rich, Cameron; Malatino, Hil (1 February 2022). "Meanwhile, t4t". TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly. 9 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1215/23289252-9475467. ISSN 2328-9252. S2CID 247431891.
Decker, Julie Sondra (13 October 2015). The Invisible Orientation: An Introduction to Asexuality * Next Generation Indie Book Awards Winner in LGBT *. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-5107-0064-2.
Sparks, Kevin (24 April 2019). "T4T: When Trans People Date Each Other". Parlour Talk. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
"How Queer Sex Liberated Me | Britni de la Cretaz". Catapult. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
Adair, Cassius; Aizura, Aren (1 February 2022). ""The Transgender Craze Seducing Our [Sons]"; or, All the Trans Guys Are Just Dating Each Other". TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly. 9 (1): 44–64. doi:10.1215/23289252-9475509. ISSN 2328-9252. S2CID 247415902.
Lundy-Harris, Amira (2022). ""Necessary Bonding"". TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly. 9: 84–100. doi:10.1215/23289252-9475537. S2CID 247433604. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
"Elliot Page and Mae Martin Appear to Make Their Red Carpet Couple Debut". Glamour. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
"Elliot Page Steps Out with Mae Martin for Gala in L.A. as Friends React: 'Cannot Handle This Pic'". Peoplemag. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
Adair, Cassius; Aizura, Aren (1 February 2022). ""The Transgender Craze Seducing Our [Sons]"; or, All the Trans Guys Are Just Dating Each Other". TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly. 9 (1): 44–64. doi:10.1215/23289252-9475509. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
Awkward-Rich, Cameron; Malatino, Hil (1 February 2022). "Meanwhile, t4t". TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly. 9 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1215/23289252-9475467. Retrieved 29 January 2024.

v t e Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) slang
List	Aro Ace Bareback Banjee Bear Beard Beat Bi-curious Butch and femme Boi Top, bottom and versatile Bottom surgery Breeder Bugchasing Bulldagger Butch Castro clone Chicken Chickenhawk Chub Chubby chaser Cottaging Cruising Daddy Down-low Drag Dyke En femme En homme Fag (Faggot) Fag hag Fag stag Female queen F2M/FTM Femboy Femme Flagging (hanky code) Friend of Dorothy Fruit Fruit fly Gay-for-pay Gaydar Gaymer Genderfuck Gold star Glory hole Heteroflexibility Lesbian until graduation Lipstick lesbian M2F/MTF Muffing Non-op Packing Party and play Passing Poppers Post-op Pre-op Queen RLE Same gender loving Shemale Soft butch Scissoring SRS Stone butch Stealth Swish T Tea-room TERF Top surgery Trache shave Trade Tranny Trans chaser Transition Travesti Tribbing Troll Twink U-Haul lesbian Unicorn hunting Womyn-born womyn
Related	Polari LGBTQ linguistics Terminology of homosexuality
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