Gynandromorphophilia (GAMP)

sexual attraction to trans women, femboys, crossdressers, and other genres of feminized males

Some males are really into MTFs.

Trans women tend to call these men “chasers”, which is short for “tranny chaser”. These days, the “tranny” part is usually left out, yet “chaser” remains.

The term “chaser” is often seen as pejorative by those it describes, so many males attracted to MTFs prefer to describe themselves as “trans-attracted”, “transfan”, “trans-oriented”, “transamorous”, or “trans-admirer”[1].

The technical term for this nonvanilla attraction is gynandromorphophilia[2], but it’s easier to use the acronym GAMP, which rhymes with “camp”.

GAMP Prevalence

Even though GAMP is fairly common as far as atypical sexual interests go, it hasn’t been studied much.

One study that surveyed men about their sexual fantasies found that 4.2% had an MTF in their favorite sexual fantasy, and 6.1% imagined being anally penetrated either by an MTF or a woman with a strap-on in their favorite sexual fantasy[3]. Uncoincidentally, internet searches using terms associated with erotic MTF media are highly correlated with searches for strap-ons[4].

Other sexologists found that 5.3% of the heterosexual men they studied were attracted to MTFs[5]. Sexologist Justin Lehmiller surveyed almost four thousand Americans and found that 2% of females and 7% of males surveyed often fantasized about sex with a trans partner. Porn-viewing stats also back up the idea that GAMP is a common interest: the “transgender” category was the fifteenth most-viewed category on Pornhub in 2019[6].

Overall, it seems that about 5% of males are particularly attracted to MTFs.

The NU GAMP Survey

A few years ago, researchers at Northwestern University conducted the largest study of GAMP men to date[7]. It had hundreds of GAMP males and included a straight male control group for comparison. Throughout this chapter, I will refer to this study as “the NU GAMP survey”. It’s a good one.

Researchers found that GAMPs were most attracted to MTFs whose faces, bodies, voices, and mannerisms were highly feminine[8]. On the other hand, the size of an MTF’s genitals and breasts didn’t matter as much[9].

The NU GAMP survey found that if GAMPs had to choose just one sexual partner, a bit over half would choose a female and about a third would choose an MTF[10]. Similarly, about a third would “definitely” consider a permanent relationship with an MTF[11].

The GAMPs in this study were twenty-five times as likely as the heterosexual control group to have past experience with MTFs[12], which suggests that the men who sexually pursue MTFs are almost always specifically attracted to them.

However, it seems that most GAMPs don’t have romantic experience with actual, real-life trans women. Approximately seven in eight GAMP males in the NU GAMP survey discovered their attractions to trans women through pornography rather than in person[13], and only about a fifth had been romantically involved with an MTF.

GAMPs are usually attracted to MTFs because they’re attracted to women and femininity. Although they like the presence of a penis alongside those feminine traits, the feminine cues generally need to be present to draw their attention.

Gynandromorphophilia Affects Sexual Identity

Since MTFs have a mixture of male- and female-typical characteristics, attraction to them complicates traditional notions of sexual orientation.

If a man is attracted to a “pre-op” trans woman, is his attraction straight because of the overall feminine aesthetic, gay because there’s another penis in the picture, or bisexual because traits associated with both sexes are present?

A gynandromorphophilic Japanese man pondered his attraction to MTFs (“kama”) and came to the following conclusion about his sexual orientation:

I am neither pure heterosexual nor homosexual. Am I bisexual?…I guess I am a kama lover. So, I’m a “kamasexual”.[14]

In other words, he wasn’t straight, gay, or bi—he was GAMP.

The NU GAMP survey found that it’s common for GAMP men to identify as bisexual because of their attraction to MTFs, or for het-identified GAMPs to have wondered if they were bi or gay before because of their attraction to MTFs[15]. In addition, the bi-identified GAMPs were more autogynephilic than the het-identified GAMPs, which suggests that autogynephilia contributed to their interest in men[16]. Even among GAMPs as a whole, autogynephilia was positively associated with sexual interest in men[17].

Sociologists have also observed a relationship between the details of men’s sexual interest in MTFs and their sexual identity[18]. They found that the straight-identified men they spoke with were most attracted to the over-the-top feminine presentation and sexual forwardness of some trans women, while the bisexual-identified men were especially attracted to the fact that trans women have both breasts and a penis[19].

Many of these bisexual men would perform fellatio on trans women. “If they can pull a cock out in my face, I’m in ecstasy”, reported one such man[20].

Given that bisexual GAMPs are more likely to be autogynephilic, and autogynephilia often creates a desire to sexually interact with penises, it may be the case that bisexual GAMPs are motivated by autogynephilia.

GAMP and AGP: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Gynandromorphophilia and autogynephilia are related. A male who is GAMP is also likely to have some degree of AGP, and vice versa.

Autogynephilia drives many males to feminize themselves. Since MTFs directly embody that gender transformation, some men’s attraction to them could represent an allosexual manifestation of the autogynephilic wish to be feminized.

GAMP and AGP both “stand on the same common root”[21]. For example, some GAMPs want to be feminized themselves but aren’t able to do so for social, constitutional, financial, or other reasons and instead satisfy their need for feminization vicariously through their attraction to feminized males[22]. Others start as admirers and later switch to crossdressing themselves.

As one trans woman explained, men who pursue trans women often fantasize about bottoming or being penetrated:

A lot of men…when they approach a transgender woman…a lot of them are looking for the experience of…bottoming, or being penetrated either anally or orally by a transgender woman. That is kind of what they want.[23]

This desire is so common that it’s arguably the norm in males who are attracted to trans women.

In the NU GAMP survey, fantasies of penetrating MTFs were popular, but fantasies of being penetrated by MTFs were even more so[24]. In addition, about a tenth of study participants fantasized about being with an MTF as a woman[25].

This apparent relationship between GAMP and autogynephilia also shows up in Brazil. Travestis (effeminate homosexual males who commonly work as prostitutes) report that one of the most common requests from male clients is to be anally penetrated[26]. While being penetrated, those clients often ask to be described as sexy and addressed with feminine names[27].

Almost 60% of GAMPs in the NU GAMP survey answered affirmatively to at least one question on the Core Autogynephilia Scale[28], a scale created by Blanchard to measure prior arousal to the thought of having female anatomy or being female[29]. A solid 34% of GAMPS scored higher than the average of the highest-scoring MTF group in Blanchard’s iconic “concept of autogynephilia” study[30]. By comparison, only 6% of the heterosexual male control group scored that high.

This difference between GAMP males and heterosexual males was especially clear when they were asked about crossdressing and questioning their gender identity. GAMPs were sixteen times as likely as conventional heterosexual males to have ever crossdressed[31]. GAMPs were also seventeen times as likely to have ever questioned their gender identity[32]. Among GAMPs who questioned their gender identity, about a quarter gave reasons emphasizing an aspect of autogynephilia, and about a tenth said they wanted to become an MTF[33].

The degree of self-reported femininity among GAMPs was strongly correlated with their autogynephilia and transvestism, suggesting that the fantasy of being a woman influenced the amount of femininity they reported[34].

Phallometric data also supports the notion that AGP and GAMP are related (see Figure 4.1.1). When autogynephilic males and GAMP males had their genital arousal measured in the lab, both groups responded most strongly to MTFs, slightly less to females, and far less to males[35]. In fact, the autogynephilic group was so GAMP that there weren’t even enough non-GAMP autogynephilic males to determine if they had distinct arousal patterns[36].

These phallometry studies also showed that it didn’t matter whether participants were thinking with their little heads or big heads: as with the genital arousal data, autogynephilic males and GAMP males both self-reported high arousal to media depicting females or MTFs, and low arousal to media depicting males[37]. This pattern of self-reported arousal also matched the self-reported arousal patterns of GAMPs in the NU GAMP survey[38].

Figure 4.1.1

[Note: you can see prettier, more colorful versions of these graphs in the original paper]

Samoan Men’s Attraction to Effeminate Males

Far out in the Pacific Ocean, inhabitants of the secluded island nation of Samoa recognize a “third gender” category for effeminate males known as fa‘afafine (pronounced “fah-fah-fee-neh”). Fa‘afafine are often raised as girls, learn to exist within a gender role similar to the one expected of females, and are valued members of Samoan society known for being helpful and contributing to family life[39].

In Samoa, it’s common for men to have sexual interactions with fa‘afafine. These are often one-time interactions[40], but they aren’t seen as gay like they might be in some Western countries. However, fa‘afafine are almost all androphilic (attracted to men). As with Western populations, they also show the fraternal birth order effect—the more older brothers a male has, the more likely that male is to be homosexual[41].

In recent years, scientists have been researching fa‘afafine and men’s attraction to them in order to learn more about male sexual orientation[42]. Due to cultural differences between Samoa and Western countries, these scientists use nonpornographic imagery along with equipment that tracks eye movement in order to infer the sexual preferences of study participants.

In studies that track viewing patterns, looking longer at a certain type of person tends to indicate attraction to that type of person[43]. For example, if participants view images of women longer than men, it indicates greater sexual attraction to women.

When scientists tracked the viewing patterns of Samoan men with sexual interest in fa‘afafine, their viewing times suggested they were similarly attracted to feminine males and women—or maybe even more attracted to feminine males than women[44]. This finding mirrored the pattern of GAMP genital arousal revealed in previous studies[45].

Other studies of Samoan men found that those who had sex with fa‘afafine leaned more bisexual than those who only had sex with women, and that bisexuality among fa‘afafine-attracted men related to the sexual acts they engaged in with fa‘afafine[46]. Prior experience with performing fellatio or being anally penetrated was associated with being more bisexual and less strictly gynephilic[47]. This pattern showed up in their viewing patterns as well as their self-reported sexual behavior and attractions.

Men who received fellatio but didn’t perform it themselves were much less likely to have a sexual history with men than were men who had performed fellatio on fa‘afafine[48]. The men who had performed fellatio on fa‘afafine also had more bisexual viewing patterns[49] and self-reported attractions[50] (although they still leaned slightly toward attraction to women).

The situation with insertive vs. receptive anal intercourse was similar: men who only played the insertive role during anal sex with fa‘afafine had less sexual history with men[51], less bisexual viewing patterns[52] and reported less bisexual attractions than the men who had engaged in receptive anal sex with fa‘afafine.

Among Samoan men, there seems to be a pattern whereby men who’ve performed oral sex on fa‘afafine or been anally penetrated by them show comparatively more interest in men than those who don’t. Similarly, American sociologists found that bisexual-identified men showed greater interest in interacting with a trans woman’s penis than heterosexual-identified men did[53].

This overall pattern accords with the relationship between autogynephilia and bisexuality found in the NU GAMP survey. There, researchers found that autogynephilia was fairly common in GAMPs and was associated with more attraction to men. Accordingly, bisexual-identified GAMPs were comparatively more autogynephilic than heterosexual-identified GAMPs[54].

Interestingly, almost half of the autogynephilic males in one phallometry study said their ideal female self would have a penis[55]. This autosexual interest in being a woman with a penis is fairly common among autogynephilic males. It represents an overlap between AGP and GAMP.

Autogynandromorphophilia (AGAMP)

If some GAMP males find women with penises more attractive than women with vulvas, and if gynandromorphophilia frequently co-occurs with an autosexual attraction to being a woman (autogynephilia), then some GAMP males will have an autosexual attraction to being a woman with a penis.

An attraction to being a woman with a penis is autogynandromorphophilia (AGAMP). This term is atrociously long, so if you talk about it in real life, it’s probably easiest to call it “autoGAMP”.

Blanchard had quite a few patients who were especially attracted to MTFs and wanted to become one. Those patients still had intense gender dysphoria and wanted access to feminizing medical interventions, but they didn’t want vaginoplasty. He called this orientation “partial autogynephilia”[56].

One of Blanchard’s patients was so gender dysphoric that she’d previously tried to cut off her penis. But once she encountered MTF pornography, she realized that’s what she wanted to be. Although she considered women’s bodies the most beautiful thing in existence, Blanchard quoted her as saying, “They haven’t got the right thing down there”[57]. Eventually, she hoped to become an MTF herself and date other MTFs.

Blanchard also found evidence that prior arousal from picturing oneself with a vulva was associated with gender dysphoria[58]. This is potentially useful information: if autogynephilic males have a penis in their fantasies instead of a vulva, they may be less susceptible to genital dysphoria.

Using Language That Treats Trans Attractions as Worthy

As a culture, if we want romantic relationships with trans people to be treated with the same respect that we afford heterosexual and homosexual relationships, then it needs to become normal and acceptable for people to be out about their trans attractions.

To that end, it would help if there were widely recognized sexual identity labels for the following types of attraction:

1. Attraction to feminized males (MTFs)

2. Attraction to masculinized females (FTMs)

3. Attraction to androgynous or nonbinary people

4. Attraction to gender-variant/trans people

The first two would be useful to describe people who like either FTMs or MTFs, but not both. The third would be useful for people who don’t prefer any specific genitals or biological sex but specifically like a mixture of female- and male-typical traits. The fourth would be useful as an umbrella term and would include the first three underneath it.

Currently, the most popular label for people who are attracted to trans people is “[tranny] chaser”, which has negative connotations both inside and outside the gender community. If “chaser” remains the dominant term for people who are attracted to trans people, then it’s unlikely that a truly sex-positive outlook toward attraction to trans people can develop within the gender community, let alone outside of it[59].

How are trans people supposed to be confident in their sexual worth if trans-attracted people are denigrated for being attracted to them—especially when trans people themselves use that same unflattering language?

It implies that trans people aren’t worth being attracted to, which is bullshit. There are plenty of trans people who are worth dating, marrying, or hooking up with.

Currently, only a small percentage of the broader population would be willing to date a trans person[60]. For evolutionary reasons, it’s unlikely that trans people will ever attract as much of the population as people who aren’t trans. However, I suspect that trans people innately appeal to a broader subset of the population than current cultural norms allow people to act upon.

As part of creating a culture that allows for transgender relationships to flourish, it would help to have new, sex-positive language that could help trans people and their admirers find each other and have more mutual understanding when they do.

Researching Trans-Attractions and Including Them in the LGBTQ Coalition

The language and cultural approach to trans attractions aren’t the only problem; our lack of empirical knowledge about them is, too.

• How many people are into trans women and trans men?

• How many people are specifically into an androgynous or nonbinary appearance?

• Which traits (or mixture of traits) make trans people attractive to others?

• How much does stigma factor into people’s willingness to date trans people?

The answers to these questions are still largely unknown because they haven’t been adequately studied yet.

Even the most-studied trans attraction, gynandromorphophilia, is still largely a mystery. This ignorance about trans attractions harms both trans people and the people attracted to them.

Heterosexual men who are attracted to MTFs commonly feel confused or ashamed by their attraction. They may wonder if liking a woman with a penis makes them gay, or if they should instead think of themselves as bisexual. Sexual identities like straight, bi, or gay don’t really get to the heart of their desires.

If more GAMP males knew that their attraction to trans women was likely a byproduct of their attraction to females, fewer would have these inner conflicts around sexual identity[61]. Fewer would feel confusion and shame about their sexual tastes, and more would be able to be open about their sexual interests.

With greater self-understanding, GAMP males could feel more comfortable with their sexuality, leave their sexual shame in the past, and realize they likely belong in the LGBTQ political coalition.

After all, gynandromorphophilia can motivate males to take on nonheterosexual identities such as bisexual, pansexual, or queer. GAMP also frequently co-occurs alongside the single most common cause of transgenderism, autoheterosexuality, which itself can motivate someone to identify with any of the letters in the LGBTQ coalition.

In Sum:

• Gynandromorphophilia (GAMP) is an attraction to feminized males/MTFs. It’s a sexual interest in a “woman with a penis” aesthetic.

• Gynandromorphophilia and autogynephilia are both nonvanilla variants of heterosexuality. It’s quite common for autogynephilic people to also be gynandromorphophilic, and vice versa. This frequent co-occurrence may be why GAMP males are far more likely to have crossdressed or questioned their gender identity than conventionally heterosexual males.

• GAMP males who want to bottom for feminized males are more likely to identify as bisexual or show interest in men than those who only want to top. They’re also more likely to be autogynephilic. Studies of Samoan men who have sex with fa‘afafine suggest that this association between attraction to men and interest in bottoming may arise independently of culture.

• Autogynandromorphophilia (AGAMP) is an attraction to being a feminized male. Although AGAMP can drive a desire for gender transition, that transition is unlikely to include vaginoplasty. It’s common for an autogynephilic male’s idealized female self to have a penis.

• GAMP males used to be called “tranny chasers”, but now they’re simply called “chasers”. Still, this term suggests this attraction is somehow less valid than other forms of attraction. This negative connotation is a problem, because treating gynandromorphophilia as a worthy attraction is necessary to create a sex-positive politics of transgenderism.

• Gynandromorphophilic males belong in the political coalition that advocates for the rights of sex minorities. GAMPs often have a nonheterosexual identity, and many of them are also autogynephilic—either of which qualifies them for inclusion in the LGBTQ coalition.

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[1] Milloy, “Trans Chasers: Exploitive ‘Admirers’ Who Harass Trans People.”; Tompkins, “‘There’s No Chasing Involved.’”

[2] Blanchard and Collins, “Men with Sexual Interest in Transvestites, Transsexuals, and She-Males.”

[3] Joyal, Cossette, and Lapierre, “What Exactly Is an Unusual Sexual Fantasy?,” 337.

[4] Ogas and Gaddam, A Billion Wicked Thoughts, 308.

[5] Hsu et al., “Who Are Gynandromorphophilic Men?,” 6.

[6] “The 2019 Year in Review – Pornhub Insights.”

[7] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, “Who Are Gynandromorphophilic Men?”

[8] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, 5.

[9] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, 5.

[10] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, 5.

[11] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, 6.

[12] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, 6.

[13] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, 5,6.

[14] Mitsuhashi and Hasegawa, “The Transgender World in Contemporary Japan,” 217.

[15] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, “Who Are Gynandromorphophilic Men?,” 5.

[16] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, 6.

[17] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, 6.

[18] Weinberg and Williams, “Men Sexually Interested in Transwomen (MSTW).”

[19] Weinberg and Williams, 380.

[20] Weinberg and Williams, 380.

[21] Mitsuhashi and Hasegawa, “The Transgender World in Contemporary Japan,” 222.

[22] Mitsuhashi and Hasegawa, 222.

[23] The REAL Reasons Men Like Trans Women | Kat Blaque.

[24] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, “Who Are Gynandromorphophilic Men?,” 5.

[25] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, 6.

[26] Kulick, “The Gender of Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes,” 578.

[27] Kulick, 584.

[28] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, “Who Are Gynandromorphophilic Men?,” 6.

[29] Blanchard, “The Concept of Autogynephilia and the Typology of Male Gender Dysphoria,” 623.

[30] Hsu, “Personal Communication,” December 14, 2021; Blanchard, “The Concept of Autogynephilia and the Typology of Male Gender Dysphoria,” 621.

[31] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, “Who Are Gynandromorphophilic Men?,” 6.

[32] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, 6.

[33] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, 6.

[34] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, 7.

[35] Hsu et al., “Sexual Arousal Patterns of Autogynephilic Male Cross-Dressers,” January 2017; Hsu et al., “Who Are Gynandromorphophilic Men?”

[36] Hsu et al., “Sexual Arousal Patterns of Autogynephilic Male Cross-Dressers,” January 2017, 7.

[37] Hsu et al., “Sexual Arousal Patterns of Autogynephilic Male Cross-Dressers,” January 2017, 6.

[38] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, “Who Are Gynandromorphophilic Men?,” 5.

[39] Vasey and VanderLaan, “Avuncular Tendencies and the Evolution of Male Androphilia in Samoan Fa’afafine.”

[40] Petterson et al., “Reconsidering Male Bisexuality.”

[41] Vasey and VanderLaan, “Birth Order and Male Androphilia in Samoan Fa’afafine.”

[42] Petterson, “Male Sexual Orientation: A Cross-Cultural Perspective.”

[43] Imhoff et al., “Vicarious Viewing Time.”

[44] Petterson and Vasey, “Samoan Men’s Sexual Attraction and Viewing Time Response to Male-to-Feminine Transgender and Cisgender Adults,” 879.

[45] Petterson and Vasey, 880–81.

[46] Petterson et al., “Heterogeneity in the Sexual Orientations of Men Who Have Sex with Fa’afafine in Samoa”; Petterson et al., “Reconsidering Male Bisexuality.”

[47] Petterson et al., “Heterogeneity in the Sexual Orientations of Men Who Have Sex with Fa’afafine in Samoa,” 7; Petterson et al., “Reconsidering Male Bisexuality,” 8–11.

[48] Petterson et al., “Reconsidering Male Bisexuality,” 5.

[49] Petterson et al., 19,21.

[50] Petterson et al., 18,20.

[51] Petterson et al., “Heterogeneity in the Sexual Orientations of Men Who Have Sex with Fa’afafine in Samoa,” 3.

[52] Petterson et al., 7.

[53] Weinberg and Williams, “Men Sexually Interested in Transwomen (MSTW),” 380.

[54] Rosenthal, Hsu, and Bailey, “Who Are Gynandromorphophilic Men?,” 6.

[55] Hsu et al., “Sexual Arousal Patterns of Autogynephilic Male Cross-Dressers,” January 2017, 7.

[56] Blanchard, “The She-Male Phenomenon and the Concept of Partial Autogynephilia.”

[57] Blanchard, 73.

[58] Blanchard, “Partial versus Complete Autogynephilia and Gender Dysphoria,” 305.

[59] Tompkins, “‘There’s No Chasing Involved.’”

[60] Blair and Hoskin, “Transgender Exclusion from the World of Dating,” 7.

[61] Petterson, “Male Sexual Orientation: A Cross-Cultural Perspective,” 257.