On the Sexualization of Androgyny and Youth

-Two Kinds of Androgyny-

Androgyny, simply put, is a presentation achieved through the combination of masculine and feminine attributes. One expression of this is through the combination of overtly sexed (though not necessarily sexual) elements: for instance, a hairy chest and legs in a dress, or lipstick and a pantsuit. These explicitly masculine or feminine characteristics are employed in contrast to one another, often through the use of articles of clothing that seem to contradict each other or the bodily attributes of the person wearing them. I’ll call this “sexed androgyny.” 

The other (and, in my view, more common) type of androgyny is an implied lack of sexual characteristics- for instance someone who is hairless, flat-chested, slender, with a tenor voice. In other words, a combination of masculine and feminine that cancel out to a sort of sexlessness (therefore, “sexless androgyny.”)

-Sexualization of Androgyny-

Even in a cis, gender-conforming setting, our genders dramatically influence our sexual lives and visa versa. The interactions between masculine and feminine, dominance and submission, etc. are arguably as integral to sex and sexuality as genitals. In other words, we want who we fuck and how we fuck them to reinforce our conceptions of our own gender and gender expression. Increasingly, we are comfortable playing with these roles, but deviation from the norm is still at best kinky, at worst abhorrent. This is how we end up with an entire profession devoted to women dominating men, for instance, and that this is seen as degrading to both parties. God forbid a man get pegged.

Within this paradigm, it’s not a mystery that androgyny (both sexed and sexless) becomes very readily sexualized. There are a number of reasons for this. To start with, trans-ness is often seen as inherently sexual, being that they it so “of the body.” In particular, individuals who exhibit sexed androgyny are more readily demonized, especially if that person is masculine-bodied expressing femininity. Transgender women and cross-dressing men are seen as perverted, for instance, whereas someone seemingly devoid of sex is less immediately problematic. There is also the taboo/familiar dichotomy with gender nonconformity, wherein one person can exemplify something both illicit enough to be exciting, while simultaneously “close enough” to not be threatening to the explorer’s (perhaps increasingly tenuous) hold on their sexual identity. 

-Androgyny and Youth-

Another complicating factor in the sexualization of trans-ness is the connection between androgyny and youth. Those attributes that we associate with sexless androgyny (namely, a lack of post-pubescent secondary sex characteristics) are very much the same as with youthfulness- little to no body hair, a flat chest, etc. Therefore the androgynous individual, lacking in characteristics that delineate their biological sex, also obscures their age. Sexless becomes also pre-sex. 

Someone who is of both indeterminate sex and age causes significant intrigue. We are also already looking for an excuse to “safely” sexualize youth; “teen” is a universally longstanding search on porn sites, and many a man has justified his attraction to teenagers with, “it’s legal” and, “(s)he’s not pre-pubescent.” Unavoidably, this sexualization of the sexless starts to brush up against the most deviant inclination of all, pedophilia. Being that pedophilia is (it should go without saying, rightfully) a massive taboo, the of-age androgynous person can become a playground for these fantasies. 

After all, an attraction to youthfulness is also a draw to the associated naivety and fragility. Part of the appeal is in the position of power that one can take on in relation to the “younger” person- protector or manipulator, for instance. The sexless androgynous person, in appearing physically younger than they are, can often also be expected to play the younger (or more submissive) role. 

-Outcomes-

I don’t believe there’s something inherently wrong with any of this, though there are potential hazards, of course. Problems arise when one is unaware of the role that they take on or enforce on others. These dynamics are fragile and can easily become degrading. Still, sexual power can be seemingly unequal while still under the consent and control of all parties, and it is entirely possible to embrace and co-opt one’s own sexualization.

More broadly, however, the rising fascination with trans people comes with a multitude of issues. Trans porn has risen dramatically in popularity over the last couple of years, and a huge surge in anti-trans rhetoric and lawmaking along with it. There is even a direct correlation: in the US, Republican states are the ones with the largest increase in trans porn consumption. The same people who are making concerted efforts to deny transgender people adequate healthcare or participation in public life will still happily jerk off to them. As is most often the case, sexual fixation does not correspond to legal protection or societal acceptance. 

Dec 31, 2023