Are Traps Gay?
a serious answer to a silly question
Here, in chapter 4.0 of Autoheterosexual: Attracted to Being the Other Sex, I answer a very important question.
On the internet, one question animates discussion more than almost any other:
“Are Traps Gay?”
This irreverent, nonsensical question is one of the most entertaining ways to have conversations about sex, gender, sexuality, and the connections among them. The answers to it are usually as silly as the question itself.
Trap is a slang term for a feminized male with an intact penis. It can refer to MTF transvestites, “pre-op” trans women, and those in between. The term implies a level of passing that would make their birth sex come as a surprise.
Some trans people identify as traps. Others aspire to the level of passing that “trap” implies. But the mainstream view among trans people is that “trap” is a pejorative term.
People usually interpret the question “Are traps gay?” in one of three ways:
Are feminized males sexually attracted to men?
If a male is inadvertently attracted to a feminized male, is that attraction homosexual in nature?
If a male is consciously or particularly attracted to feminized males, does that attraction mean he is homosexual?
The answers, in brief, are:
Most of the time, no.
No.
No.
Let’s take these one at a time.
Are Feminized Males Attracted to Men?
Are some feminized males attracted to men? Yes, some are. But they’re in the minority.
Most MTFs in Western, individualistic countries are autogynephilic rather than homosexual (see Chapter 5.4).
Recall that autogynephilia often drives an attraction to being a woman with a man. This contextual attraction to men—meta-androphilia—is based in cross-gender embodiment rather than a direct, conventional attraction to the male form.
When meta-androphilia makes a male attracted to being a woman with a man, even if apparently homosexual behavior results, the underlying psychology differs from conventional homosexuality.
In a behavioral sense, it’s gay. But psychologically, it’s not. If a male is predominantly attracted to men because it allows them to play a feminine sex role, is it really gay?
Is It Gay for a Male to Be Inadvertently Attracted to a Feminized Male?
If a male is inadvertently attracted to someone because they appear female or feminine, that attraction is connected to their interest in women.
Some may argue that even though such a male initially thought they were attracted to someone of the female sex, the fact that the object of attraction was biologically male is evidence that they are technically gay—at least a little bit. After all, they are both of the same sex, which makes the attraction homosexual, right?
Not really. At most, it’s only incidentally gay.
Male homosexual attraction involves straightforward sexual attraction to men and male bodies, so an otherwise heterosexual male getting attracted to someone of the same sex who appeals to their interest in women and femininity hardly fits the bill.
Is It Gay for a Male to Be Particularly Attracted to a Feminized Male?
What about the case where a male is specifically attracted to feminized males?
They are aware that the other person is a male with an intact penis, so surely this situation counts as homosexual attraction, right?
Probably not. Studies suggest that this kind of attraction is a variant of heterosexuality[i].
When trans-attracted males had their genital blood flow measured in the lab, they were mostly aroused by females and MTFs and far less so by males[ii]. This result indicates that these trans-attracted males were likely attracted to the feminized aspects of feminized males; it wasn’t the maleness itself that drew their attention.
Autogynephilic male crossdressers showed a similar pattern to trans-attracted males when they were tested in the lab[iii]. They were into females and feminized males but less interested in men. This pattern suggests that autogynephilia and trans-attraction might be related.
Overall, the evidence suggests that when males are especially attracted to MTFs, it’s likely a form of heterosexuality, not homosexuality.
Although trans-attracted males like the mix of female and male sex traits that MTFs have, the female-typical traits usually need to be present for trans-attracted males to be attracted to MTFs.
So…Are Traps Gay?
No.
Most traps became traps because they are autoheterosexual, so traps themselves are usually not gay.
Males who are attracted to traps are typically much more interested in women than men. In addition, attraction to traps is associated with autoheterosexuality. Therefore, males who are attracted to traps are unlikely to be homosexual.
In short, traps are not gay.
[i] Hsu et al., “Who Are Gynandromorphophilic Men?”
[ii] Hsu et al., 4.
[iii] Hsu et al., “Sexual Arousal Patterns of Autogynephilic Male Cross-Dressers,” January 2017, 6.