XVII Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association Symposium
31 October - 4 November 2001, Galveston, Texas, U.S.A.

Transsexual Couples

ETTNER, RANDI U.S.A.
E-mail: rettner@aol.com

The sexual and romantic lives of people who have been hormonally or surgically reassigned, or both, is an area that has not been widely discussed by professionals. Of late, with an increase in the incidence of male to female vaginoplasty, some researchers have examined sexual physiological response in women with neovaginas. But the social and psychological components of the love lives of these persons remains obscured. This study will describe a phenomenon that is occurring more frequently and is seen by clinicians specializing in gender conditions: the couple where both members are transgendered. The rise in the incidence of such pairings, their formations and variations, as well as the erotic and affectional components of these unions will be explored. While studies of sexual behaviors rely heavily on self-report, and are therefore often riddled with methodological problems, not the least of which is validity, the individuals that comprise this study are psychotherapy clients. Owing to the mandate to attain psychotherapy prior to access to medical interventions, clinicians are privy to phenomenological material leading to qualitative examination of salient features of sexuality in transgendered couples, such as fantasy, dating rituals, sexual behavior, etc. The author will discuss these issues as well as the therapeutic meaning of these relationships as reparative to the self and as an antidote to shame.