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THREAD: just published my latest (& perhaps last) debunking #autogynephilia essay: "Autogynephilia, Ad Hoc Hypotheses, and Handwaving." feel free to share it & give it lots of "claps" (up to 50, I think)! it's a long read, but I'll share excerpts below... https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff
...I've written about this zombified theory many times before – a few of my most pertinent essays are found in this link. unfortunately, even though it's been disproven, people keep citing & promoting it. so I have taken one last proverbial stab at it... https://juliaserano.blogspot.com/2018/03/autogynephilia-theory-that-ignores_10.html
...the latest essay is a follow up to my previous essay "Making Sense of #Autogynephilia Debates", which explains a lot of the basics, plus why some ppl still find the theory compelling even though most scientists & sexologists have moved on... https://medium.com/@juliaserano/making-sense-of-autogynephilia-debates-73d9051e88d3?sk=10f1e36e74a3ef8dfe4a8c1ed7cc611c
...in contrast, this new essay delves into a handful of esoteric points & arguments that proponents of #autogynephilia often bring up in order to "handwave away" the overwhelming counter-evidence against the theory. so strap in, here we go! https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff
...in my years as a scientist, I have never before encountered a theory that had more ad hoc hypotheses attached onto it after the fact in desperate attempts to keep the theory viable...
...for instance, in order for #autogynephilia theory to work, Blanchard proposed there were no such thing as bisexual & asexual trans women, even though there clearly are...
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff #trans #transgender #asexual #bisexual #LGBTQ #science #sexuality
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff #trans #transgender #asexual #bisexual #LGBTQ #science #sexuality
...it doesn't stop there: to explain why trans women often experience a sharp decrease in female/feminine embodiment fantasies (FEFs) over time, Blanchard actually proposed that trans women form "pair bond" with their own gender identities. I swear, you can't make this shit up...
...FYI, I refer to the sexual fantasies themselves as FEFs, because they're experienced by trans & cis ppl, AMAB & AFAB ppl, to varying degrees. I have an academic paper coming out about this. but in the meantime, here is an earlier book chapter about it: http://juliaserano.blogspot.com/2015/05/reconceptualizing-autogynephilia-as_26.html
...so where was I? oh yes, ad hoc hypotheses! like these ridiculous ones by Anne Lawrence, which attempt to explain away trans women who don't have FEFs by suggesting that #autogynephilia can happen pre-puberty and/or be "romantic love"...
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff
...there are other ad hoc hypotheses covered in the article. but let's instead move onto the section on revisionist history! which can go in two directions. here's an example of #autogynephilia proponents ignoring a decade's worth of counter-evidence...
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff
... #autogynephilia proponents also often act as though the theory was once widely accepted until those "blasted meddling trans activists" came onto the scene. but this isn't true either, as I describe via literature searches...
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff
...then I get into attempts by AGP proponents to handwave away all the evidence that contradicts the theory. I begin with Anne Lawrence's Letters to the Editor scourge, that many of us are familiar with. but I think I may be the first to chronicle it in its entirety...
...gonna take a break for now, back soon! in the interim, please share the piece & give it lots of "claps" (up to 50!) to appease the algorithm gods. this article is freely available thanks to my Patreon supporters, so please consider supporting me there: https://www.patreon.com/juliaserano
okay, resuming THREAD! the bulk of my new article is committed to debunking #autogynephilia proponents' handwaving over the nature of FEFs. this is a giant "moving the goalpost" maneuver. but since it's so common, I set out to show how they are wrong...
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff
...I devote an entire section to the question: Can cisgender people truly experience “autogynephilia”/FEFs? The answer is very clearly yes! Because the only way you can tell is by asking ppl questions about whether they've had such fantasies/patterns of arousal. & it turns out...
...that cisgender ppl very clearly have FEFs! the following results are from Moser (2009), one of several studies I cite in my essay demonstrating that cisgender FEFs are rather common...
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff #trans #transgender #LGBTQ #autogynephilia #science #psychology
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff #trans #transgender #LGBTQ #autogynephilia #science #psychology
...also, turns out that "cross-sex" embodiment fantasies are quite common too! (this is a quoted passage from my previous essay). so, rather than viewing this as a "trans woman-specific paraphilia" (as #autogynephilia proponents are wont to do), we should instead view them as...
...simply sexual fantasies that occur in many people, for a variety of reasons. I have recently detailed a few of those reasons in an academic paper in press (aka, forthcoming!). in the meantime, here is a book chapter where I provide a brief overview... http://juliaserano.blogspot.com/2015/05/reconceptualizing-autogynephilia-as_26.html
...once we recognize that 1) these are just sexual fantasies that ppl have for many reasons, and 2) the only way we can know whether someone has had them is by asking/surveying them, it becomes clear that #autogynephilia proponents are engaging in circular logic...
...and the number of ppl who seemingly "have" #autogynephilia/FEFs us entirely dependent on what questions you ask & how strict the criteria you set! Blanchard set a very low bar, which is why a majority of both cis & trans women seem to have them... #trans #transgender
...if #autogynephilia proponents insist that cis women can't possibly have FEFs, they could make the survey questions/criteria more strict, but that would, by necessity, mean that less trans women experience FEFs, & Blanchard's "two-types" become even less tenable...
...the latest pro-AGP tactic is to insist that trans women's FEFs are more "extreme" or "bizarre" than anything cis women experience, which ignores 1) actual cis women's fantasies & 2) if we define #autogynephilia solely as "extreme" FEFs, then very few trans women have it!
...gonna take a quick breather, be back soon! don't forget to share the piece & give it lots of "claps" (up to 50!) to appease the algorithm gods. this article is freely available thanks to my Patreon supporters, so please consider supporting me there: https://www.patreon.com/juliaserano
...resuming THREAD! section 5 of the essay is called "Are FEFs capable of causing gender dysphoria in anyone?" because many ppl seem to think so, even though there is absolutely direct evidence for this...
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff #trans #transgender #autogynephilia #science
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff #trans #transgender #autogynephilia #science
...as I & many other critics of #autogynephilia have pointed out, Blanchard's entire theory is based upon confusing correlation with causation. he never even bothered considering far more likely alternate explanations! (see previous essay for the likely reasons for this)...
...it seems clear in 2020 that Blanchard's proposed causation is wrong. here is a brief overview. but since #autogynephilia proponents desperately cling to it, I spend many paragraphs pointing out how utterly unscientific & pathologizing it is... https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff
...once again, a reminder of just how brazen an attempt of moving the goalposts it is to go from " #autogynephilia is the cause of gender dysphoria in *all* lesbian, bisexual, asexual #trans women" to "um, well, you can't prove that it doesn't turn *some* people #transgender"...
...I make several arguments that illustrate how inane the argument that "FEFs turn people trans" is. here is but one of them. there are others that don't involve popsicles, I promise...
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff
...it would be preposterous to propose that having certain sexual fantasies is what "turns people" cisgender or heterosexual. it just as preposterous to propose that sexual fantasies "turn ppl transgender". unless of course, you view being transgender as a "bad outcome"...
... #autogynephilia proponents often argue that trans women's FEFs are unique (ie, AGP) because they are "compulsive." but this is a really bad line of reasoning, as it is steeped in the idea that being transgender and/or being female is a "bad thing." but it is not...
...in summary, the belief that FEFs are capable of "turning ppl transgender" is not based in science. it is based on a presumption that being trans is a "bad outcome" that must have been caused by some prior "bad event" (such as sexual fantasies)...
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff
...the final section is about what I call the "Dregerian narrative" and how it functions as a broad ad hominem attack on trans women, or more specifically, anyone who can be constructed or depicted as an "autogynephile"...
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff
https://medium.com/@juliaserano/autogynephilia-ad-hoc-hypotheses-and-handwaving-cecca4f6563d?sk=d2c06947ce29a261371fd43ed15743ff
gonna pause here (likely for the night), but before I go, I will re-up this reply to someone who effectively called me a "liar" yesterday. that tweet accusing me of being a "liar" has since been liked by Bailey & Cantor. I swear you can't make this shit up https://twitter.com/JuliaSerano/status/1245465330274557952
...and here are the receipts. these guys are *really into* calling trans women liars...
