Erotic Target Identity Inversions in Male Furries, Adult Baby/Diaper Lovers, and Eunuchs

Hsu, Kevin

doi:https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-4kwz-ps97

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Erotic Target Identity Inversions in Male Furries, Adult Baby/Diaper Lovers, and Eunuchs

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Sexual orientation is conventionally understood as relative attraction to men versus women. It has recently been argued that male sexual orientation in particular can be extended to include other dimensions of sexual attraction besides gender, such as sexual maturity and location. With respect to the dimension of location, most men are sexually attracted to other individuals and thus have external erotic targets, but some men are also or instead sexually aroused by the fantasy of being one of those individuals and thus locate an erotic target within their own body. Men with this internalized sexual attraction have an erotic target identity inversion (ETII), and they may be motivated to change their appearance and behavior to become more like their internalized erotic target. Autogynephilia is likely the most common ETII, and it occurs when a man’s sexual attraction to women is internalized such that he is sexually aroused by fantasizing about being a woman himself. There is also systematic evidence supporting two other ETIIs, one in men who desire limb amputation and the other in men sexually attracted to children. In both ETIIs, men’s preferred external erotic target (amputees or children) corresponds with their internal erotic target (fantasy of being an amputee or a child). The present research examined the extent to which ETIIs exist among three different populations of men who desire to change their appearance and behavior, perhaps for sexual reasons: male furries (Study 1; n = 334), adult baby/diaper lovers (Study 2; n = 148), and eunuchs and eunuch wannabes (Study 3; n = 75). Study 1 showed strong evidence for the idea that male furries are motivated by an ETII. Both sexual attraction to anthropomorphic animals and sexual arousal by the fantasy of being an anthropomorphic animal were nearly universal in that sample. Furthermore, male furries tended to be sexually aroused by fantasizing about being the same kinds of anthropomorphic animals to whom they were sexually attracted, with respect to gender and species. In contrast, results of Study 2 did not support the idea that male adult baby/diaper lovers are motivated by an ETII. Contrary to the concept of ETIIs, few in that sample reported sexual attraction to babies, although many did report sexual arousal by the fantasy of being a baby. Results of Study 3 were the least clear regarding the idea that eunuchs and eunuch wannabes are motivated by an ETII. Both sexual attraction to castrated men and sexual arousal by the fantasy of being a castrated man were commonly reported in that sample, and eunuchs and eunuch wannabes tended to be sexually aroused by fantasizing about being the same kinds of men to whom they were sexually attracted, with respect to castration form or genital modification. However, sexual attraction to castrated men was not as common as sexual arousal by the fantasy of being a castrated man. Thus, relative to Studies 2 and 3, Study 1 most clearly supports the concept of ETIIs and the notion that an erotic target’s location constitutes an important dimension of male sexual orientation. Despite their differences, all three studies found a high prevalence of sexual motivation and non-heterosexual identities in their samples of male furries, adult baby/diaper lovers, and eunuchs and eunuch wannabes.

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