Beyond Gender: You Ask the Questions
New exclusive benefit for paid subscribers
Here's something I've been thinking about – you lot have brilliant questions. Really thoughtful ones. The kind that make me stop and think.
So I'm introducing an exclusive benefit for paid subscribers: the opportunity to submit questions for consideration for upcoming Beyond Gender podcast guests.
I'll be announcing upcoming guests here for everyone to see, but only paid subscribers will be able to submit questions in the comments. I'll review these questions for potential inclusion in the interview. This is your chance to help shape these important conversations.
Today: Bev Jackson
Today, we're interviewing Bev Jackson (@BevJacksonAuth on X), co-founder of LGB Alliance. Some of you will know her from her work at the very first UK Gay Liberation Front meeting in 1970 – she was the only woman there. These days she writes about sex-based rights and what's happening to LGB people in this whole gender mess.
If you're a paid subscriber, drop your questions below. What do you want to know? What should we dig into?
As a masculine gay man who was a stereotypically pansy little boy but grew out of it—as many of us do—I’m interested in unpacking the concept of the “homosexual transsexual” as described by Ray Blanchard.
As I understand it, Blanchard posits that some same-sex–attracted males transition not out of autogynephilic motivation, but because they believe their only route to intimacy with men is by presenting as women. In other words, they adopt a female identity to attract male partners—not because they fetishize being female, but because they feel there is no viable path to being loved as a gay man.
I question this. I cannot imagine a gay male destroying what makes him male and masculine in order to have sex with men. I suspect that many who fall into this category are from highly marginalized, often deeply homophobic environments. They may be effeminate and unaware that even feminine gay men can live openly and find love or sex with other men. Even if they are aware, the social penalties for coming out may be so severe that transitioning feels like the only survivable option.
I don't want to believe that “homosexual transsexuals” constitute a stable subculture. To me, they are victims of circumstance who deserve support—not affirmation of a mistaken belief that their sexual orientation requires medical transition.
That’s my view. I’d be curious to hear from researchers: What does current evidence say about this population? Has Blanchard’s typology held up under scrutiny or revision? And what kinds of interventions might better serve these individuals before they make irreversible decisions?