Autonomic responses of transsexual and homosexual males to erotic film sequences

Penile volume and galvanic skin responses to nude female and male film sequences were studied in 40 transsexual patients, 44 patients requesting treatment for homosexual impulses, and 60 heterosexual students. Student controls and homosexuals showed significantly greater galvanic skin responses to the preferred than to the nonpreferred sex. Transsexuals tended to show larger galvanic skin responses to females than did male homosexuals. No strong relationships were found between penile volume and galvanic skin responses to the preferred sex. It is concluded that transsexual patients differ significantly from homosexual patients in autonomic responsivity, which may have diagnostic usefulness.     

Heterosexual and homosexual gender dysphoria

This study investigated why more males than females complain of dissatisfaction with their anatomical sex (gender dysphoria). New referrals to a university gender identity clinic were dichotomously classified as heterosexual or homosexual. There were 73 heterosexual and 52 homosexual males; 1 heterosexual and 71 homosexual females. The average heterosexual male was 8 years older at inception than the homosexual groups. The heterosexual males reported that their first cross-gender wishes occurred around the time they first cross-dressed, whereas the homosexual groups reported that cross-gender wishes preceded cross-dressing by 3–4 years. Some history of fetishistic arousal was acknowledged by over 80% of the heterosexual males, compared to fewer than 10% of homosexual males and no homosexual females. The results suggest that males are not differentially susceptible to gender dysphoria per se, but rather that they are differentially susceptible to one of the predisposing conditions, namely, fetishistic transvestism.     

Heterosexual and homosexual coercion,sexual orientation and sexual roles in medical students

Rape has been conceptualized on a dimension of normal male behavior. The Koss and Oros (1982) study used a questionnaire that allowed men to respond only as sexual aggressors of women, and women only as victims of men. Medical students' responses to a modified questionnaire, in which both sexes reported being aggressors and/or victims, revealed that relatively comparable proportions of men and women were victims of coercive experiences: 35% of women and 30% of men experiencing constant physical attempts to have sexual activity. Forms of coercion not involving threat or use of force were more common, more exclusively heterosexual, and carried out by more equivalent percentages of men and women. 15% of women and 12% of men felt initially coerced into sexual activity but then enjoyed it. Threat or use of force to attempt to or to obtain intercourse were employed by 4% of men and 2% of women and experienced by 5% of both sexes. Half the male victims and female aggressors and a quarter of the male aggressors and female victims who reported such coercion stated it was homosexual. The ratio of homosexual/heterosexual feelings reported by male, but not female, students correlated with the degree of the homosexual coercion they both carried out and experienced. The degree of sexual coercion carried out by men and women correlated with their masculine sex role scores, suggesting, if the dimensional concept of rape is valid, that rape is on a continuum with masculine rather than male behaviors.     

Psychosocial development of heterosexual,bisexual, and homosexual behavior

Relationships with overt adult Kinsey Scale scores (K) indicate that early sexual experiences are most closely related to K, followed in order by gender related and familial variables. A developmental model emphasizing social learning is presented. Interviewees were 7669 American white males and females.Elevated K (more homosexual scores) was found for females who had few girl companions at age 10 and few male companions at 16, had learned to masturbate by being masturbated by a female, had intense prepubertal sexual contact with boys or men, found thought or sight of females, but not males, arousing by age 18, had homosexual contact by age 18, higher K at 17, and higher first-year homosexual behavior frequency.Elevated K (more homosexual scores) was found for males who reported poorer teenage relationships with their fathers, had more girl companions at age 10, fewer male companions at 10 and 16, avoided sports participation, learned of homosexuality by experience, learned to masturbate by being masturbated by a male, had intense prepubertal sexual contact with boys or men, had neither heterosexual contact nor petting to orgasm by age 18, found thought or sight of males, but not females, arousing by age 18, had homosexual contact by age 18, higher K at ages 16 and 17, and had higher first-year homosexual behavior frequency.Behavioral bisexuals, those scoring between 2.0 and 4.0 on the K scale on the basis of overt behavior (0.7% of females, 1.2% of males), reported more arousal to heterosexual stimuli than did exclusive heterosexuals.     

Heterosexual experience,marital status,and orientation of homosexual males

The penile volume responses of homosexual males to pictures of nude women and men were measured and related to the subjects' marital status and experience of heterosexual intercourse. Single subjects with no experience of heterosexual intercourse and married subjects with a history of intercourse with only their wives showed significantly greater response to pictures of men compared to pictures of women than did single subjects with experience of heterosexual intercourse and married subjects with experience of intercourse with women additional to their wives. It was concluded that extensive experience of heterosexual intercourse with one partner did not reduce homosexual responsiveness as measured by subjects' penile response to pictures of nude men and women. It was further concluded that some homosexual males showed physiological evidence of a degree of bisexuality in addition to the behavioral evidence that they sought heterosexual physical relationships.This investigation was supported in part by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.     

Are Transvestites Necessarily Heterosexual?

A survey of 372 male cross-dressers gathered data about present and childhood experiences and attitudes in light of the growing knowledge about transvestism. This article focuses on data related to sexual orientation, particularly in relationship to the definition of transvestism in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association. It is argued that transvestism is not necessarily a heterosexual phenomenon.     

Heterosexual experience and isosexual behavior in laboratory-housed male stump-tailed macaques (M. arctoides)

Three feral-born male stump-tailed macaques were housed together for 9 years from prepubertal age. The animals were then transferred to another laboratory and housed individually. They were pair-tested with each other (isosexual tests) and with females (heterosexual tests) for the first time in their adult lives. The study revealed that these males preferred females as sexual partners. They preferred each other as groom partner. The heterosexual experience did not drastically alter sociosexual behavior between the males.     

Sexual fantasies of heterosexual and homosexual men

Heterosexual men and homosexual men rated how arousing different sexual fantasies were and how often they had used these fantasies over the previous year. Within each group, sensual and genital same-orientation fantasies were more arousing than either public-sex or dominance-submissive fantasies, which in turn were more arousing than aggressive-sex fantasies. For both heterosexual and homosexual men the extent to which a fantasy was arousing correlated with the person's experience of the activity depicted in the fantasy. The frequency of use of a fantasy correlated positively with its arousal level but not always subtantially so. The results are discussed in the context of the mediating role of fantasy in human sexual arousal.     

Treatment of homosexual and heterosexual sexual dysfunction in male-only groups of mixed sexual orientation

Males complaining of erectile and ejaculatory dysfunctions were treated in a structured therapy program. Twenty-one males of heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual orientation were divided into five groups, with two male therapists for each group. Patients were those usually considered difficult to treat in that 16 had a primary sexual dysfunction with an average duration of 6 years. Extensive evaluations were made before therapy, at the completion of therapy, and at 2-months follow-up. Pre-therapeutic, post-therapeutic, and follow-up measurements indicated that the program was highly successful.     

Birth order and sibling sex ratio in two samples of Dutch gender-dysphoric homosexual males

Two studies were undertaken to confirm the previous findings that homosexual men in general tend to have a later than expected birth order and that extremely feminine homosexual men also tend to have a higher than expected proportion of brothers (i.e. a highersibling sex ratio). Subjects in Study 1 were Dutch, adult and adolescent, biological male patients with gender dysphoria (persistent and recurrent desires to belong to the opposite sex), who were undergoing treatment with feminizing hormones. These comprised 83 patients who reported sexual attraction to other males (the homosexual group) and 58 who reported sexual attraction to females or equal attraction to males and females (the nonhomosexual group). Subjects in Study 2 were Dutch adolescent male patients at another hospital. The homosexual group consisted of 21 gender-dysphoric homosexual teenagers referred to a gender identity clinic for children and adolescents. The control group were 21 adolescent males referred to the child psychiatry department of the same hospital for reasons other than gender identity disorder, homosexuality, or transvestism. These were individually matched to the homosexual subjects on age and sibship size. In both studies, the homosexual group had a significantly later average birth order than the comparison group. In Study 1, the homosexual group had a significantly elevated sibling sex ratio; this was not tested in Study 2 because of its small sample size. These studies add to the mounting evidence that late birth orders are common to all homosexual samples and that elevated sibling sex ratios are an additional characteristic of extremely feminine ones.     

Heterosexual marriage of homosexual males: some associated factors.

Three matched groups of predominantly homosexual men were compared using Weinberg and Williams' questionnaire. Two of the groups contained men who were currently heterosexually married and men who had been heterosexually married; the third group was unmarried controls. Reasons for marriage were reviewed and found to be a combination of situational factors and, to a greater extent, of the expectations of those men who married of a more negative societal reaction against homosexuality. Implications of these findings for therapy are briefly discussed.     

Retrospective distortion in homosexual research

Two possible levels of bias have been reported with regard to recall of human sexual behavior. A third level is postulated, that of bias in line with societal expectations. Looking at Australian and Swedish homosexual men, significant differences were found in recall of opposite-sex childhood play expectations independent of relationships with parents. It is concluded that sex-role rigidity and attitudes toward homosexuality may play an important part in these differences.     

Clinical patterns among male transsexual candidates with erotic interest in males

Male-to-female transsexuals who reported an erotic interest in males showed different patterns of sexual activity. Sexual history was used to categorize a transsexual sample into three groups: 44% abstained from sexual activity (Inactive group), 19% were sexually active but avoided using their penis in sexual activity (Avoidant group), and 37% were sexually active and derived pleasure from their penis (Pleasure group). The groups were compared for differences in gender identification, developmental patterns, and personality. Transsexuals in the Avoidant group showed patterns of traits and experiences that generally conformed to characteristics of the nuclear transsexual. They were dissimilar from the other two groups on measures of feminine functioning, heterosexual history, and fetishism. Transsexuals who interact with males in ways that are viewed as more classically homosexual shared more in common with the transsexual group which abstained from sexual activity with males. Both groups displayed more masculinity in development and more evidence of emotional disturbance. The implications of these findings for diagnosis and treatment are discussed.     

Gender Identity Outcome in Female-Raised 46,XY Persons with Penile Agenesis,Cloacal Exstrophy of the Bladder,or Penile Ablation

This review addresses the long-term gender outcome of gender assignment of persons with intersexuality and related conditions. The gender assignment to female of 46,XY newborns with severe genital abnormalities despite a presumably normal-male prenatal sex-hormone milieu is highly controversial because of variations in assumptions about the role of biological factors in gender identity formation. This article presents a literature review of gender outcome in three pertinent conditions (penile agenesis, cloacal exstrophy of the bladder, and penile ablation) in infancy or early childhood. The findings clearly indicate an increased risk of later patient-initiated gender re-assignment to male after female assignment in infancy or early childhood, but are nevertheless incompatible with the notion of a full determination of core gender identity by prenatal androgens.     

Sadism and other paraphilias in normal controls and aggressive and nonaggressive sex offenders

Penile circumference responses (PCRs) to a visual age/gender erotic preference battery were analyzed from 60 normal controls and 227 sexual offenders. Sixty offenders were classified as sexual aggressives on the basis of their behavior and damage to their victims. The mean PCR to sadism slides (visual portrayals of nonsexual violence against fully clothed females) was significantly larger for the sexually aggressive group compared to the sexual nonaggressive offender and normal control groups. There were no significant differences in mean victim damage scores between the sexual aggressives who responded significantly to the sadism slides and those who did not. Thus, PCRs were not useful in identifying more from less dangerous sexual aggressives. The incidence of a clinically significant PCR to any of the four paraphilic categories included in the assessment battery was 28, 60, and 65% in the normal controls, sexual nonaggressives, and sexual aggressives, respectively. For sadism, it was 5, 8, and 45% respectively, for these groups. Pedophilia had a low incidence of co-occurrence with other paraphilias whereas sadism, transvestism/fetishism, and the courtship disorder paraphilias had a high incidence of co-occurrence.Supported by a research grant from Alberta Hospital Edmonton.     

Behavior patterns of child molesters

Despite intense interest in the problem of child sex abuse, base rates for different offense characteristics are poorly defined. The likelihood of otherwise uncorroborated allegations of sexual abuse could be assessed in light of known frequencies of alleged behaviors, if such were available. This paper reviews the current literature on the topic of the specific behaviors of child molesters, along with other epidemiological characteristics, and provides new data drawn from experience with 229 convicted child molesters.This study was supported in part by a grant from the St. Paul Ramsey foundation and by the Intensive Treatment Program for Sexual Aggressives.     

Parameters of sexual contact of boys with women

The incidence of sexual contact with boys by women was found more prevalent than had been contended in the clinical literature. Male penitentiary inmates reported higher heterosexual contact as children than did college men. The effects upon the boy and his later adult sex life were generally reported as not traumatic, although coercion by the woman tended to be associated with a bad feeling about the experience at the time and a negative effect upon adult sex life. The majority of women were friends, neighbors, baby sitters, and strangers to the boy. Intercourse and genital touching were the predominant forms of sexual activity. Prison women who reported having such contact were significantly higher than the prison women who did not report contact on the Mini-Mult Schizophrenia and Hypomania scales and significantly lower on the Lie scale. Educational levels of the men and their parents were inversely associated with history of sexual contact.     

Deficient erotic gender differentiation in pedophilia: A follow-up

Divided 262 phallometrically diagnosed pedophiles into heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual groups, according to the sex of their victims. Each group was then divided into 3 subgroups according to degree of admitting to an erotic preference for children. They were compared among each other and with 47 self-professed heterosexual and 20 self-professed homosexual male volunteers phallometrically diagnosed as having an erotic preference for physically mature partners. The comparison was in regard to phallometrically assessed erotic gender differentiation. Results demonstrate that gender differentiation of even the fully admitting heterosexual pedophiles was significantly weaker than that of the heterosexual controls, and the gender differentiation of the fully admitting homosexual pedophiles was significantly weaker than that of both groups of controls. Gender differentiation of the nonadmitting heterosexual pedophiles was significantly weaker than that of the heterosexual pedophiles who fully admitted to their paraphilia. This was demonstrated to be caused by the nonadmitters suppression of responses.     

Effeminacy. I. A quantitative rating scale

Although effeminacy is recognized to be a complex and important phenomenon, until now it has been only scantily studied, and has not been clearly defined or measured. In this paper, we review the literature and present an Effeminacy Rating Scale that quantifies the behavioral fragments comprising the overall clinical picture of effeminacy. We also present data obtained in a trial of the scale on a sample of 16 homosexual and 16 heterosexual males. The scale was found to have a high interrater reliability (0.93) and can therefore be used to study effeminacy quantitatively.Reprint requests should be sent to Dr. Alan F. Schatzberg, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Belmont, Massachusetts 02178.