Abstract
In many different cultures, some men express sexual interest in male-to-feminine (MtF) transgender individuals, but others do not. We examined whether, in Samoa, men who are sexually interested in fa’afafine (Samoan MtF transgender individuals) (MSF; N = 40) differed from men who were exclusively sexually interested in women (MSW; N = 41) in terms of their self-reported sexual attraction and viewing times responses to images of MtF transgender individuals who were feminine (e.g., had feminine hairstyles, makeup) but had not undergone gender-affirming surgeries (e.g., breast augmentation), cisgender women, and cisgender men. MSF reported that images of MtF transgender individuals were sexually attractive, although somewhat less attractive than images of cisgender women. In contrast, MSW reported that images of cisgender women were sexually attractive, but images of MtF transgender individuals were not. The groups did not differ in their sexual attraction ratings of men, which were uniformly low. MSF viewed MtF transgender individuals and cisgender women for a similar length of time and viewed both longer than cisgender men. In contrast, MSW viewed cisgender women longer than MtF transgender individuals and they viewed MtF transgender individuals longer than cisgender men. The present study indicates that responses to MtF transgender individuals vary among Samoan men who share a sexual preference for women.
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Notes
Transgender refers to individuals whose gender identity and presentation does not match the ones they were assigned at birth (e.g., transgender women or individuals who identify as neither women, nor as men, but as a non-binary gender). Because the identities adopted by these individuals vary across different cultural contexts, we employ the term MtF transgender individuals when our discussions do not pertain to a specific cultural context.
Gynandromorphophilic men are sexually attracted to MtF transgender individuals with penises. In most instances, this interest is neither exclusive, nor preferential.
Additionally, there may be less need undergo surgical procedures if there are fewer social incentives for doing so. In Western cultures, transgender women may feel social pressure to present in a gender conforming manner (i.e., in a stereotypical feminine manner). However, many MtF transgender individuals belong to a separate gender category and they are not socially expected to pass as women or to fully conform to female-typical social roles (Murray, 2000).
The period between image presentation and participant response, which is typically referred to as a “viewing time” may reflect the time required to respond to the task of rating attraction (Imhoff et al., 2010; Imhoff, Schmidt, Weiß, Young, & Banse, 2012). Thus, the term “response time” may be a more accurate reflection of the measure. However, to remain consistent across studies, the term “viewing time” is used here.
Due to cultural mores and Samoan law, nude imagery could not be used.
Gynephilia refers to sexual attraction and arousal to adult females. Androphilia refers to sexual attraction and arousal to adult males. Ambiphilia refers to sexual attraction and arousal to both adult males and adult females.
This transformation was done primarily to control for individual differences in participants viewing times. But, for ease of comparison, the same data treatment was used for both measures.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Alatina Ioelu, Trisha Tuiloma, Paul Ah Kuoi, Samoan Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development, Samoan Immigration, and all of the individuals who agreed to participate in our study. Various stages of this research were supported by the University of Lethbridge; by a SSHRC Doctoral Scholarship to LJP; and by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Discovery Grant.
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This research was approved by an institutional human participants research ethics board. A Samoan Research Visa was obtained from Samoan Immigration with the support of the Samoan Fa’afafine Association.
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Petterson, L.J., Vasey, P.L. Samoan Men’s Sexual Attraction and Viewing Time Response to Male-to-Feminine Transgender and Cisgender Adults. Arch Sex Behav 50, 873–884 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01905-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01905-6