Sexual Dimorphism and Dissociation in the Psychology of Male Transsexuals

Fourteen cases of male transsexualism were studied with respect to certain sexually dimorphic behavior patterns. Twelve of them had completed surgery and the remaining 2 were awaiting surgery. The patients were administered a battery of tests and were interviewed over a 3-day period. Masculinity-femininity test scores indicated a high degree of verbal adherence to feminine stereotypes. Interview questions revealed that the patients had been labeled as “sissies” during childhood. Following puberty, they chose the receptor role in sexual relations, often disregarding their genitals completely. Preoperatively, 5 patients visualized themselves as females while having sexual relations as anal insertees, and 3 others while copulating as men with their wives. Postsurgically, none experienced phantom sensations where the penis had been. All 14 patients desired adoptive motherhood, with a preference for small children, though not newborn babies. In general, the group appeared to possess a feminine gender identity, except for a masculine threshold of erotic arousal in response to visual imagery and an unmotherly disengagement from the helplessness of the newborn.