“Transsexual” is a pretty dated term and this article is from 2012.
Might want to find something more recent and without that language to post instead.
Hijacking top comment to also add that there are words for men who are attracted to femininity outside of the bounds of cisgender women: gynesexual (older term, less inclusive due to implication of a vagina) and finsexual (newer term, more inclusive and drops implication of a vagina).
It is quite likely that many of those men actually fall into these categories even if they have not accepted that about themselves as of yet. Others are bisexual, and even others are pansexual, and haven’t “come out” as it were.
Especially if this is relying on self-reporting and how often men want to appear straight, the number of men who are wrestling with such feelings but still put down “straight” is probably quite high.
even if they have not accepted that about themselves
They also may not even know. The whole thing is a political minefield and trying to join in any conversation without knowing all the words tends to trigger a massive overreaction from allies and bigots alike.
I mean it’s why I hate people who self apply the term “ally” because a lot of “allies” do more harm than help.
Allyship is to be determined by those who need allies, not the people who talk big and claim to be allies while doing fuck-all.
If someone from a minority community decides I am an ally to their cause and calls me an “ally” then I am an ally, not because I self applied a bullshit label to make myself feel better about cisgender white guilt or something.
I would argue that one can be a self professed ally and still be an ally, even if you did it wrong.
Sometimes, just being willing to stand up and say “those people there? Those are my people, and I stand with them” is a powerful thing, even if the person saying it ends up being a fuckwit overall.
So, even folks that claim alliance to an oppressed group can end up a net positive just by inflating numbers, even when their specific views and actions aren’t well considered otherwise.
I get where you’re coming from though!
You make a pretty solid case yourself, pardner.
Hijacking your thread to ask a linguistics question: what is the source and meaning of the fin prefix here?
Coined in July of 2014 on tumblr:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150324190159/pride-flags-for-us.tumblr.com/tagged/androsexual
The “fin” prefix means “feminine in nature” and so the opposite where you’re attracted to people “masculine in nature” is minsexual. This confuses a lot of people because normally a prefix isn’t also an acronym, it’s usually from a root word.
So, I think it’s a good replacement for gynesexual/androsexual, despite the slightly confusing nature of its origin.
Thank you! Not gonna lie, that was underwhelming. Also, I really hope the double f and double m variants don’t stick, because that is a hot mess. While the new terms clarify language and improve communication, the doubles just make communication hard and imprecise.
Yeah I agree on that, the doubles make it way more confusing, and its confusing enough to people since the prefix is an acronym while people are scanning dictionaries trying to figure out a root word that doesn’t exist.
Thank you! I actually learned about those two terms recently, I appreciate you putting those out here!
My husband is finsexual and it’s nice to have a more accurate word for it :)
I consider myself straight, but ‘finsexual’ seems to be the most accurate. I’ve never heard the term before, but isn’t straight still accurate here?
I thought “trans” was short for transsexual? Could someone bring me up to speed here?
In what way is it outdated?
trans is short for “transgender.”
Is this incorrect, then? (See: “Etymology 2”)
It is correct, but the former has become a slur over time, nor does “transexual” match because it’s not about who you desire, it’s about who you are. Heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, finsexual are all about what kind person(s) you desire sexually. It’s a mismatch and it is now a slur.
So it means transgender. Unless you’re an asshole.
Huh, I would think the “-sexual” was referring to your sex. Odd. I guess it became guilty by association with those other, similar-sounding words.
“Transsexual” makes me think of this guy:
Top 3, if not THE top, character introductions of all time.
Wouldn’t a “transsexual” be someone who has a strong sexual preference for transgender people?
That’s not what the historic definition of the word is, but I don’t know if people are trying to reclaim it and redefine it so I can’t speak on that.
I do know that it is seen as offensive generally.
No its not dated, generally transgender is used instead but many trans folks still use transsexual especially those that have undergone bottom surgery.
Let me clarify - I think it’s being used in an outdated way in this article.
Is there any category of porn that is not watched mostly by straight men?
Does erotica count as porn? That category may be the only one that is predominately consumed by women, but I haven’t looked into stats or anything.
Well duh, trans people are a very small minority. I think we could go further and come close to saying all porn across the board is mostly consumed by straight identifying men… With perhap the exception of gay porn, but even there who knows (hence saying straight identifying men).
This is actually a pretty bad reading of this article (which is also outdated, but the results are still consistent with how we measure today more or less). Yes, there is a statistical imbalance of which groups of people consume porn media, but to use that as an explanation exclusively ignores what we can tell from a culture where porn with trans women is produced for straight men.
And, it’s also a problem to ignore that yes, it is straight men, not closeted queer men. Pretty much all porn is misogynistic and produced with the intent to fulfill some sort of sexual fantasy for straight men, but straight men are also socialized to value sex in terms of power and asserting their power. In a culture where trans women (trans and gnc people in general, but the topic here is trans women) are actively victimized by an explicitly genocidal system, why do you think so many straight men enjoy fantasies that involve trans women and consuming inherently dehumanizing and demeaning pornographic content involving trans women?
Additionally, think about how this relates to the rates at which black cis men or east-asian cis women are fetishized, and what the demographics are of the consumption of that pornographic material are. Yes, there are simply more straight, white, cis men who consume porn, but porn is also produced in a culture that happens to privilege cishet white men more than anyone else, and those men think that they deserve to assert power over others through sex.
Edit: I won’t be responding to men who are just pissed and want to spew #notallmen nonsense. If you’re actually invested in gender studies and sociology surrounding this subject, feel free to DM and I can provide a reading list. The response below is no more informed than a Grok result, and I reckon that was in part how it was produced; do not take it as informed.
I went and read the article so much more ridiculous than I thought:
The article its self is so stupid. Saying the dumbest shit:
Although men with such interests are usually stereotyped as being gay, this could not be further from the truth. In fact, research has found that the vast majority (73%) of men who have sex with male-to-female transsexuals identify as straight or bisexual
Although men with such interests are usually stereotyped as being gay, this could not be further from the truth.
Okay, so now we’re ignoring bi people as being a little same sex attracted? Wtf do these people think being gay means??? This is lala land stupid shit.
Likewise, persons who run trans porn sites have reported that most of their clients are straight men and that they have next to no gay audience at all [3].
Leading into quotes from consumers of said websites:
“An exoticness, a uniqueness, something that can’t be obtained elsewhere. They’re just totally unique in their sexuality in that they’re both…men and women and at the same time, neither men nor women. To me that’s my fascination.” [2]
“I like the girls with a little something extra, you know what I mean.” [2]
Yeah, if you’re jerking off to someone’s male aspects or that “something extra” that’s same sex attracted - aka in common parlance: ghheeeey.
Like the “something extra” is a penis. That’s gay. I can’t believe these ridiculous people who would claim otherwise.
Yeah, sex is a subtle and diverse spectrum and all - but same sex attraction is same sex attraction. If we’re going to stop saying what we mean, or going to pretend things are what they aren’t…then we can’t communicate on any of this, and shouldn’t talk.
Bi is a little gay. Looking at trans porn involving penises, is pretty gay. Pretty same sex attracted. Which means gay.
…and then so much of what you complained about wasn’t even in the article. Like hell dawg, what’s up with that?
Looking at trans porn involving penises, is pretty gay. Pretty same sex attracted. Which means gay.
Only if you believe that transwomen aren’t women. Transwomen are not men, they are women, so men being attracted to them are not necessarily attracted to the same sex.
Wow, you wrote all of this and then talked about a bunch of pseudoscience in the other comment, and you didn’t even read my fucking comment, I seriously can not with you people anymore. I specifically mentioned in my comment that the article was outdated, and you wrote this.
All of this and it’s obvious you haven’t so much as read Gender Trouble, let alone anything relevant to this topic besides some obviously liberal assimilationist talk that ignores both queer history and queer scholarship that explores the cultural production and reproduction of gender and sex.
Why pretend to care if you don’t? Unreal.
“You people”
I’m not a fan of Judith Butler’s hyper specificity, no, and I don’t pretend Gender Trouble (which is also a bit dated) is the be all and end all of queer studies. Also no one said anything about assimilation - I said communication… Which ultimately everyone has to do.
Anyways, uptight leftist with a quick temper when disagreed with (reproducing a culture much?), I’ll leave you to it.
P.S Do Liberals often complain to you about Capitalism forcing people into porn? Really - try to be a bit more coherent with your insults next time.
Always interesting when discussing porn and someone immediately tells on themselves.
Like this isn’t the 1980s, you can can watch the only fans of a trans person masturbating, no one’s forcing you to click “muscle man destroys that bussy” again.
“For straight men sex is about power and dominance” okay, cool we’re just going to generalize about whole demographics now. Go on, say something about asian drivers of some shit. Go biggot it up elsewhere with this stuff.
Also, sorry, if you’re jerking off to trans porn (which is usually people with penises): You’re NOT straight! Like get real, a dude jerking off to a dick is NOT straight it’s like the definition of being gay… And also porn is about fetishizing. That’s just how it is, everyone on earth has something hot about them. That called being human.
We’re all just intelligent animals, at best this conversation is two birds chirping at each other… And most people aren’t even clicking trans categories. This isn’t most “straight” men. It’s a small minority.
What’s more trying to villify them just represses these closetted queers and self-hating Republicans more. Just accept them. It stops them being so evil if we can help them stop self-hating.
…and what about BDSM anyways? Why is that porn okay if you’re so freaked out about some trans person playing sub for their partner whilst some queer guy pretending to be straight sits on the cuck chair hating himself.
It’s a fantasy world. Let people have/do their weird ass porn, don’t pretend that it has some existential crisis of morality attached (so pearl clutching). I love it how sex positivity and being against kink shaming immediately gets thrown at the window when someone starts imposing their morality.
People having their little favourites in quiet desperation - who gives a shit? It’s part of how people fall in love develope empathy for people they claim to see as dirty… Have self realizations about who they are. Who humanity is. It’s happened throughout time.
Humans who can’t accept human patterns are hilarious. Anyways, I’ll let you get back to your morality panic parade or whatever this is. Don’t forget you’re saving the planet! …such a self-worth turn on!
P.S Just remember that thing you like, whatever it is - is dirty and wrong too… And makes you orgasm for some reason. That’s how sex work. You’re just participating in the species culture in your own way. It all comes down to the same thing - engorged overstimulation. But maybe you’re having trouble none of my business.
*The one valid complaint here might be that Capitalism and anti-trans cultures force trans people into porn. But that’s a problem with Capitalism… Which I’ll note: you didn’t mention. Redistributive politics should outrank recognition (identity) politics. Because it’s the true cause of most of what people complain about. In closing: complaining about human nature and historical/sexual/cultural patterns kinda silly, complaining about Capitalism… Is more likely to actually produce something that meaningful changes things.
I bet there’s so many guys that are saying, "See honey, I told you! " right now
Trans women are women, so what’s the writer’s point here? That it’s somehow gay to watch trans porn?
I’m the first person to say I don’t understand how the nuances of sexuality work. If I had to make a guess, I’d say that humans aren’t actually attracted to “Male” or “Female”, so much as they are attracted to “Masculine” and “Feminine”. regardless of the relative body parts that may or may not be under their clothes.
It says nothing at all about their sexuality, because it’s nobody’s business but their own.
attracted to Masculine and Feminine
me, a bisexual: and vice versa.
Talking to old-headed guys is a weird phenomenon.
- Would you kiss a trans woman?
“No, that’s gay.”- Then would you kiss a trans man?
“No, that’s gay.”(Well that, and also we should’ve stopped seeing homosexuality as a moral failure by 1000AD)
I don’t think I saw anything in the article about trans women specifically.
The implication is that men who consume trans porn are gay.
If the article is about straight dudes, what the hell is that twink doing in the picture?
OK
And I believe I’ve read that the majority consumed in the US is in the ultra-conservative south.
Real muscular ones too!
I believe all the Trans hate in the US is based on post nut regret by the politicians who really enjoyed it.
Anyone who has looked for nsfw stuff on reddit eill have observed this bizarre phenomenon
bizarre phenomenon
Is it bizarre for straight men to enjoy women sexually?
Performative
I wouldn’t call straight men consuming trans porn a bizarre phenomenon.
My personal life isn’t performative.
