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In behavioral science, androphilia and gynephilia are sexual orientations: Androphilia is sexual attraction to men and/or masculinity; gynephilia is sexual attraction to women and/or femininity. Ambiphilia describes the combination of both androphilia and gynephilia in a given individual, or bisexuality. The terms offer an alternative to a gender binary homosexual and heterosexual conceptualization of sexuality.Diamond M (2010). Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. In Weiner I. B., Craighead E. W. eds. The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology, Volume 4. p. 1578. John Wiley and Sons, .
The terms are used for identifying a person's objects of attraction without attributing a sex assignment or gender identity to the person. They may be used when describing intersex, transgender, and non-binary people.Turban J., de Vries A. L. C., Zucker K. J., & Shadianloo S. (2018). Transgender and Gender non-conforming Youth. The International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions, p. 3. Accessed 31 August 2022.
The term androsexuality is occasionally used as a synonym for androphilia.Tucker N (1995). Bisexual politics: theories, queries, and visions. Psychology Press,
Androphilic is also sometimes used to describe certain and androgen receptors.Calandra RS, Podestá EJ, Rivarola MA, Blaquier JA (1974). Tissue androgens and androphilic proteins in rat epididymis during sexual development Steroids, volume 24, issue 4, pp. 507-518
Sigmund Freud used the term gynecophilic to describe his case study Dora.Kahane C (2004). Freud and the passions of the voice. In O'Neill J (2004). Freud and the Passions. Penn State Press, He also used the term in correspondence.Freud, S (1908). Letter from Sigmund Freud to Sándor Ferenczi, March 25 1908. Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing. Accessed 31 August 2022. Quote: "I have often seen it so: a woman unsatisfied by a man naturally turns to a woman and tries to invest her long-suppressed gynecophilic component with libido."
The variant spelling gynophilia is also sometimes used.John Money (1986). Venuses Penuses: Sexology, Sexosophy, and Exigency Theory. Prometheus Books,
Rarely, the term gynesexuality has also been used as a synonym.Chodorow N (1999). The Reproduction of Mothering: Psychoanalysis and the Sociology of Gender. University of California Press,
Definition is primarily an issue of theory, not merely classification, since classification implies a theory, no matter how rudimentary. Kurt Freund et al. (1984) used Latinesque words to classify sexual attraction along the dimensions of sex and age:
Gynephilia. Sexual interest in physically adult women
Androphilia. Sexual interest in physically adult malesHowitt D (1995). Introducing the paedophile. In Paedophiles and sexual offences against children. J. Wiley,
The use of homosexual transsexual and related terms have been applied to transgender people since the middle of the 20th century, though concerns about the terms have been voiced since then. Harry Benjamin said in 1966:
....it seems evident that the question "Is the transsexual homosexual?" must be answered "yes" and "no." "Yes," if his anatomy is considered; "no" if his psyche is given preference.What would be the situation after corrective surgery has been performed and the sex anatomy now resembles that of a woman? Is the "new woman" still a homosexual man? "Yes," if pedantry and technicalities prevail. "No" if reason and common sense are applied and if the respective patient is treated as an individual and not as a rubber stamp.Benjamin H (1966). The transsexual phenomenon. The Julian Press, Inc.,
Many sources, including some supporters of the typology, criticize this choice of wording as confusing and degrading. Biologist Bruce Bagemihl writes "...the point of reference for "heterosexual" or "homosexual" orientation in this nomenclature is solely the individual's genetic sex prior to reassignment (see for example, Blanchard et al. 1987, Coleman and Bockting, 1988, Blanchard, 1989).Blanchard R (1988). Nonhomosexual gender dysphoria. Journal of Sex Research, volume 24, pp. 188-193, Coleman E & Bockting WO (1988). "Heterosexual" prior to sex reassignment—"homosexual" afterwards: A case study of a female-to-male transsexual. Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality, volume 1, issue 2, pp. 69–82, Blanchard R (1989). The concept of autogynephilia and the typology of male gender dysphoria. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, volume 177, issue 10, pp. 616–623, These labels thereby ignore the individual's personal sense of gender identity taking precedence over biological sex, rather than the other way around."Bagemihl B (1997). Surrogate phonology and transsexual faggotry: A linguistic analogy for uncoupling sexual orientation from gender identity. In Queerly Phrased: Language, Gender, and Sexuality. Livia A & Hall K (eds). Oxford University Press, p. 380 ff, Bagemihl goes on to take issue with the way this terminology makes it easy to claim transsexuals are really homosexual males seeking to escape from stigma. Leavitt and Berger stated in 1990 that "The homosexual transsexual label is both confusing and controversial among males seeking sex reassignment.Leavitt F & Berger JC (1990). Clinical patterns among male transsexual candidates with erotic interest in males. Archives of Sexual Behavior, volume 19, issue 5, pp. 491–505, , Morgan Jr AJ (1978). Psychotherapy for transsexual candidates screened out of surgery. Archives of Sexual Behavior, volume 7, pp. 273–282, , Critics argue that the term "homosexual transsexual" is "heterosexism", "archaic",Wahng SJ (2004). Double Cross: Transamasculinity Asian American Gendering. In Trappings of Transhood. In Aldama AJ (ed.) Violence and the Body: Race, Gender, and the State. Indiana University Press, and demeaning because it labels people by sex assigned at birth instead of their gender identity.Leiblum SR & Rosen RC (2000). Principles and Practice of Sex Therapy, third edition. Guilford Press of New York, p. c2000, Benjamin, Leavitt, and Berger have all used the term in their own work. Sexologist John Bancroft also recently expressed regret for having used this terminology, which was standard when he used it, to refer to transsexual women. He says that he now tries to choose his words more sensitively.Bancroft J (2008). Lust or Identity? Archives of Sexual Behavior, volume 37, issue 3, pp. 426–428, , , Sexologist Charles Allen Moser is likewise critical of the terminology.Moser C (2010). Blanchard's Autogynephilia Theory: A Critique. Journal of Homosexuality, volume 57, edition 6, issue 6, pp. 790–809, , ,
Use of androphilia and gynephilia was proposed and popularized by psychologist Ron Langevin in the 1980s.Langevin R (1982). Sexual Strands: Understanding and Treating Sexual Anomalies in Men. Routledge, Psychologist Stephen T. Wegener writes, "Langevin makes several concrete suggestions regarding the language used to describe sexual anomalies. For example, he proposes the terms gynephilic and androphilic to indicate the type of partner preferred regardless of an individual's gender identity or dress. Those who are writing and researching in this area would do well to adopt his clear and concise vocabulary."Wegener ST (1984). Male sexual anomalies: the data (review of Sexual Strands) APA Review of Books, volume 29, issues 7–12, p. 783, Volume 29, Issues 7–12, p. 783.
Psychiatrist Anil Aggrawal explains why the terms are useful in a glossary:
Androphilia – The romantic and/or sexual attraction to adult males. The term, along with gynephilia, is needed to overcome immense difficulties in characterizing the sexual orientation of trans men and trans women. For instance, it is difficult to decide whether a transman erotically attracted to males is a heterosexual female or a homosexual male; or a transwoman erotically attracted to females is a heterosexual male or a lesbian female. Any attempt to classify them may not only cause confusion but arouse offense among the affected subjects. In such cases, while defining sexual attraction, it is best to focus on the object of their attraction rather than on the sex or gender of the subject.Aggrawal A (2008). Forensic and medico-legal aspects of sexual crimes and unusual sexual practices. CRC Press,
Sexologist Milton Diamond, who prefers the term gynecophilia, writes, "The terms heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual are better used as adjectives, not nouns, and are better applied to behaviors, not people." Diamond has encouraged using the terms androphilic, gynecophilic, and ambiphilic to describe the sexual-erotic partners one prefers (andro = male, gyneco = female, ambi = both, philic = to love). Such terms eliminate the need to specify the subject and focus instead on the desired partner. This usage is particularly advantageous when discussing the partners of transsexual or intersexed individuals. These newer terms also do not carry the social weight of the former ones."
Psychologist Rachel Ann Heath writes, "The terms homosexual and heterosexual are awkward, especially when the former is used with, or instead of, gay and lesbian. Alternatively, I use gynephilic and androphilic to refer to sexual preference for women and men, respectively. Gynephilic and androphilic derive from the Greek meaning love of a woman and love of a man respectively. So a gynephilic man is a man who likes women, that is, a heterosexual man, whereas an androphilic man is a man who likes men, that is, a gay man. For completeness, a lesbian is a gynephilic woman, a woman who likes other women. Gynephilic transsexed woman refers to a woman of transsexual background whose sexual preference is for women. Unless homosexual and heterosexual are more readily understood terms in a given context, this more precise terminology will be used throughout the book. Since homosexual, gay, and lesbian are often associated with bigotry and exclusion in many societies, the emphasis on sexual affiliation is both appropriate and socially just."Heath RA (2006). The Praeger handbook of transsexuality: Changing gender to match mindset. Greenwood Publishing Group, Author Helen Boyd agrees, writing, "It would be much more accurate to define sexual orientation as either 'androphilic' (loving men) and 'gynephilic' (loving women) instead."Boyd H (2007). She's not the man I married: My life with a transgender husband. Seal Press, p. 102, Sociomedical scientist Rebecca Jordan-Young challenges researchers like Simon LeVay, J. Michael Bailey, and Martin Lalumiere, who she says "have completely failed to appreciate the implications of alternative ways of framing sexual orientation."Jordan-Young RM (2010). Brain storm: the flaws in the science of sex differences. Harvard University Press,
Gender in non-Western cultures
Some researchers advocate use of the terminology to avoid bias inherent in Western conceptualizations of human sexuality. Writing about the fa'afafine demographic, sociologist Johanna Schmidt writes:
Kris Poasa, Ray Blanchard and Kenneth Zucker (2004) also present an argument that suggests that fa'afafine fall under the rubric of 'transgenderal homosexuality', applying the same birth order equation to fa'afafine's families as have been used with 'homosexual transsexuals'. While no explicit causal relationship is offered, Poasa, Blanchard, and Zucker's use of the term 'homosexual transsexual' to refer to male-to-female transsexuals who are sexually oriented towards men draws an apparent link between sexual orientation and gender identity. This link is reinforced by mention of the fact that similar birth order equations have been found for 'homosexual men'. The possibility of sexual orientation towards (masculine) men emerging from (rather than causing) feminine gendered identities is not considered.Schmidt J. (2010). Migrating Genders: Westernisation, Migration, and Samoan Fa'afafine. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., p. 45. .
Schmidt argues that in cultures where a third gender is recognized, a term like "homosexual transsexual" does not align with cultural categories.Schmidt J (2001). Redefining fa'afafine: Western discourses and the construction of transgenderism in Samoa. Intersections: Gender, history and culture in the Asian context, issue 6.
She cites the work of Paul Vasey and Nancy Bartlett: "Vasey and Bartlett reveal the cultural specificity of concepts such as homosexuality, they continue to use the more 'scientific' (and thus presumably more 'objective') terminology of androphilia and gynephilia (sexual attraction to men or masculinity and women or femininity respectively) to understand the sexuality of fa'afafine and other Samoans." Researcher Sam Winter has presented a similar argument:
Terms such as 'homosexual' and heterosexual (and 'gay', 'lesbian', 'bisexual', etc.) are Western conceptions. Many Asians are unfamiliar with them, there being no easy translation into their native languages or sexological worldviews. However, I take the opportunity to put on record that I consider an androphilic transwoman (ie one sexually attracted to men) to be heterosexual because of her attraction to a member of another gender and a gynephilic transwoman (ie one attracted to women) as homosexual because she has a same-gender preference. My usage is contrary to much Western literature (particularly medical) which persists in referring to androphilic transwomen and gynephilic transman as homosexual (indeed as homosexual transsexual males and females, respectively).Winter S (2010). Lost in Transition: Transpeople, Transprejudice and Pathology in Asia. In Chan PCW (ed.) The Protection of Sexual Minorities Since Stonewall: Progress and Stalemate in Developed and Developing Countries. Routledge,
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