Some experts argue that autogynephilia, a man’s sexual arousal from the idea of being a woman, is a significant factor in male-to-female transgenderism. However, despite this claim, leading transgender medical groups and activists have been hesitant to acknowledge the issue.

The Daily Caller reported Sunday that the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), which is considered the leading medical organization for transgender issues, removed the term autogynephilia from its standards of care between 1998 and 2001. Proponents of the transgender movement have criticized the term, citing its inaccuracy and potential to stigmatize individuals who identify as transgender.

According to researchers and transgender individuals, autogynephilia (AGP) challenges the prevailing narrative promoted by supporters of transgender ideology that gender transitions are not sexual in nature. They argue that a significant number of transgender individuals are heterosexual men who experience sexual arousal when presenting themselves as female and wearing women’s clothing, the report said.

Dr. Ray Blanchard, a Canadian psychiatry professor who coined the term autogynephilia in the late 1980s, argues that it is the driving force behind the vast majority of male-to-female transsexual cases. He also notes that most of the opposition to the classification of AGP comes from transgender activists and their allies in the mental health field rather than from medical institutions, said the news outlet.

“Acknowledging the existence of autogynephilia creates certain problems,” Blanchard told the outlet. “First, it challenges the conceptualization of male-to-female (MTF) trans as normal, ordinary women who happen to have been born in the wrong body. It threatens the rationale they may have used for terminating their marriages, for risking alienating their children, and sometimes for experiencing a career setback.”

I wonder if Blanchard was right? He suggested that most late transitioning MTFs were afflicted with autogynephilia of one type or another.

But the shame associated with AGP leads them to construct a magical female inner essence so they can live in denial.

Just a suggestion.

— Debbie Hayton 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 (@DebbieHayton) March 4, 2019

“Secondly, the autogynephilia explanation of nonhomosexual gender dysphoria is probably a harder sell to the general public than the fairytale version,” he noted as well.

“I think it is important to understand, however, that some AGP individuals, with or without gender dysphoria, recognize themselves in clinical descriptions of AGP, and some are even relieved to learn that there are other men just like themselves. Furthermore, one of the very best scholarly works on autogynephilia was written by a postoperative [male to female] transsexual who is herself AGP, Dr. Anne A. Lawrence, MD,” Blanchard offered.

Dr. Michael Bailey, a psychology professor at Northwestern University who has conducted research on the biology of sexual orientation, agrees with Blanchard’s assertion that autogynephilia is the main driving force behind the majority of male-to-female transgender cases, The Daily Caller reported.

“Autogynephilia occurs in a small minority of natal males and is sexual arousal by the fantasy of being, or the act of imitating, women,” Bailey said. “In some subset of males with AGP — we don’t know how large — gender dysphoria develops.”

“Some AGP males are content with occasional cross-dressing and masturbatory fantasies,” Bailey told the outlet. “This gender dysphoria can be severe and can motivate men to seek serious life changes, such as leaving their families to gender transition.”

The outlet noted further that Debbie Hayton, who transitioned from male to female at around the age of 40 after experiencing lifelong autogynephilia, shares the view that the condition is the main motivator for the majority of male-to-female transsexuals.

“Psychological disorders are not our fault, but when they are linked to sexuality, they can trigger negative emotions such as shame, guilt and fear,” Hayton told the news outlet. “People don’t want that, so they deny the condition.

“When you accept that you have AGP, you need to take responsibility for your condition. This is a psychological disorder that can be treated, but we need to accept that our condition has an impact (often negative) on other people. The alternative born-in-the-wrong-body idea is attractive because it makes us a victim of an unfortunate circumstance,” Hayton said.