What Is Autogynephilia? An Interview with Dr Ray Blanchard

[TheCatsServant]

Interesting article in Quillette on autogynephilia.

quillette.com/2019/11/06/what-is-autogynephilia-an-interview-with-dr-ray-blanchard/

I think this is a classic example of, if the only tool you have got is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail.
What I mean is, he's a psych, so naturally he looks for a psychological cause for being trans.
My impression is that if anything, he's describing a symptom of the real problem, rather than a cause.

You have to look at the whole picture. Trans people I personally know also suffer from narcissism, hoarding disorder, phantom but acute pain (don't know the medical term for it), PTSD, depression, autism and insomnia.
There is very promising research around some possible physical causes of autism and depression now (NB please don't jump off on one, I'm not saying that all autism or all depression can be cured with a pill, merely that I've recently read about research on this topic).

Does the law even permit research around possible physical causes of trans feelings?

That's an interesting article.

But what always strikes me with Ray Blanchard, is he never sees this through the eyes of feminism. Unsurprisingly, probably. But as an extension, through the eyes of women.

I haven't seen him dwell, particularly, on why men get sexually aroused when presenting as women, but only if they are fetishising what they believe to be women's subservience.

I mean it's right there, in the second comment underneath the article.

Well I have certainly “suffered” from autogynephilia myself. I didn’t take it to extremes, but definitely was attracted to the idea of myself as a female. I wanted to have sex with men, as a woman-substitute, taking the woman’s role. I wanted to be completely dominated and serve a real man’s every desire.

'Taking the women's role' - is synonymous with being dominated and serving men.

I'm not a massive expert on any of these things, but it seems to me, that BDSM, puppy fetishism, nappy wearing, etc, they all rely on power being the pivot on which the arousal rests. And the pretend relinquishing of it.

Actual, genuine humiliation, like forgetting your lines on stage, or losing your company millions of pounds because of a stupid error, is never a turn on, is it?