Blanchard's Transsexualism Typology - Transsexual Community Reaction

Transsexual Community Reaction

The concept began receiving attention outside of sexology when sexologist Anne Lawrence, a physician and sexologist who self-identifies as autogynephilic, published a series of web articles about the concept in the late 1990s. When Bailey published The Man Who Would Be Queen in 2003, which based its portrayal of male-to-female transsexual people on Blanchards taxonomy, an enormous controversy resulted. Transsexual activist Lynn Conway started an investigation into the publication of Bailey's book by the United States National Academy of Sciences and along with other activists leveled accusations of misconduct against Bailey. Northwestern University investigated Bailey, but did not reveal the findings of that investigation and did not comment on whether or not Bailey had been punished. According to a summary of the controversy written by intersex researcher and bioethics professor Alice Dreger, two of the four women who accused Bailey of misusing their stories were not mentioned anywhere in the book.

According to Leavitt and Berger, "transsexuals, as a group, vehemently oppose the homosexual transsexual label and its pejorative baggage." Trans man Aaron Devor wrote, "If what we really mean to say is attracted to males, then say 'attracted to males' or androphilic... I see absolutely no reason to continue with language that people find offensive when there is perfectly serviceable, in fact better, language that is not offensive." Still other transsexual people are opposed to any and all models of diagnosis which allow medical professionals to prevent anyone from changing their sex, and seek their removal from the DSM.