How would you describe the attraction to trans people?

[CherryZips]

About those men and women attracted to trans people. How would you describe their attraction? Is it an orientation or a fetish?

I never really believe the claim that all "transfans" (is that an acceptable term?) are really just closet gay people. I think most have a specific interest in those on the trans spectrum. Am I wrong in thinking that?

I know I find dressing erotic, which would be considered a fetish. But then I kind of think its more than that its part of my sexual identity. So someone attracted to that - is that a fetish or an orientation? I guess that's mistakenly trying to see the world through words rather than people's behaviour. Sorry this post is particularly vague.

[Ash Leland]

Hm...that's something I've wondered about, actually, particularly since I experience an inverted form of it- I'm a genetic male and I like the idea of being a woman in a relationship. When I'm attracted to a guy, I visualize myself as his girlfriend. This has been a pretty solid constant in my life and I know there are people who are attracted to trans people almost exclusively. As you said, it may be a purely symantic issue, but I think it's an orientation (if we're defining an orientation as a persistent preferrence with infrequent variation).

[Jilmac]

This is just my opinion but I believe that it's a fetish if the person is sexually attracted, but orientation if the attraction is purely from friendship, tolerance, or curiosity.

[AnnaCalliope]

I used to get sexually turned on by dressing, but now I dress because I feel female inside and want the outside to match.

As to answer your question, it could go any number of directions. Some people would consider being attracted to a TG/CD a fetish, others might consider it an orientation thing. I know a lot of men find post-op transwomen more attractive than GGs, for varying reasons that I've never been able to fully comprehend. A lot of my GG friends have asked the same question, "Why do guys find trannies so interesting? I mean, I have everything she has, and its all factory installed parts". My theory has always been that a lot of transwomen act in that truly girly, giddy nature that guys adore. There's a lot of happy and exciting energy there that guys are attracted to, because we as TSs have spent the majority of our lives stuck acting male and can finally be the woman we were always meant to be. We actually take pride in being treated like a lady.

From my SO's perspective, she just likes people that break the gender mold. She's bisexual, and prefers to date men who are somewhat effeminate, and girls who are very tomboyish. The idea of a truly macho man or a overly feminine woman disgust her. Its a balance thing. She's a very dominant woman in public, but can be very submissive and girly behind closed doors, and prefer her partners have a combination of male and female attributes.

Edit -- A lot of the guys who date transwomen still claim to be heterosexual and have no interest in ever dating or being sexually involved with another male; even if said TS is still pre-GRS. I sometimes think its a guilty pleasure sort of thing, straight males are mesmerized by transwomen, because there's a great deal of mystery in their mind as to how another guy could be so attractive as woman.

[danielle swenson]

I sometimes think its a guilty pleasure sort of thing, straight males are mesmerized by transwomen, because there's a great deal of mystery in their mind as to how another guy could be so attractive as woman.
Interesting thought.... well said!

[NathalieX66]

What I thought was an attraction to trans people was nothing more than profound jealousy & envy. They are able to cross the borders, and for me I held back.

Nowadays I refuse. I am just simply......me.

I have no interest in other transfolks, sexually or romantically....I just want to be like them.

[joannemarie barker]

well I like clean cut guys in nice suits and sometimes rugged guys in jeans and then sometimes CDs,because they are pretty,they wear clothes I love and unlike ggs have the right body for me underneath..no mystery there :)

[DonnaT]

My guess would be orientation, unless they self proclaim a fetish. I wouldn't presume it to be a fetish otherwise.

[ReineD]

If it's purely a sexual attraction, it is likely more a fetish than orientation. Fetish if they see you as your natal gender and are only attracted to you because you're wearing opposite gender clothes, or orientation if they see you as your presented gender and they just like what they see. :2c:

If it's an attraction as a friend, it is likely because the person has an open mind and likes you for who you are and not for what you wear.

Edit - I have another thought. Over the years I've seen many posts from CDs and TSs who've had profiles on TG dating sites and they've gotten lots of attention of a sexual nature from men who, according to the members here, seem to lose interest if the TS seeks SRS. Alice Novic (http://aliceingenderland.com/Manhunt.html), among others, believes these admirers are not "pure straight men" as she puts it, and further they are attracted because they are CDs in denial who haven't given themselves permission to express themselves, for a variety of reasons. So for these men, I don't know if it's fetish or orientation more than vicariously living through the TG, or indulging in repressed, latent homosexuality.

[Sapphire]

I guess that for some of us there may co-exist an attraction to TGs that is at odds with our otherwise heterosexual orientation. Perhaps it is based on an expectation of a level of acceptance unlikely to be matched within the context of a normal male/female coupling – or possibly it goes deeper. The dynamics of Eros are anything but straightforward. What matters is the ethicality of how we manage what it is that makes us different.

[AllieSF]

All of the above, except that the attraction is a fetish. I understand that anything can be a fetish, but I think it boils down to what a person is like to begin with and sometimes what they are looking for. To an open person who accepts and even enjoys diversity, we are just another interesting part of life for them. I know, because I am curious, love diversity and love learning new things and having new experiences. The other attraction is sexual with some mystique and the thrill of testing new waters thrown into the mix. Others are just looking for fun. I really don't care about the sexual orientation of a person as they may self-label who they are. They may claim to be straight and yet want a sexual experience with a male dressed as a woman. Does it really matter when you want to meet that person and you are satisfied that they are someone you want to meet?

[sometimes_miss]

Some people are only straight, some are only gay, and there are some in the middle. Some like S/M, some like bondage, some don't. It's a very varied world. You won't know if you like them until you meet them, and then, even if you have a lot in common with someone, doesn't mean you'll be compatible with them.

[Annaliese2010]

It's primarily sexual. I'll take all the attention I can get...um...from GG women, that is...and other fem M2F TG Lezzies of course (but not male xdrssers).