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"Controversial ideas" by J. Michael Bailey
On 2 April 2003, Joseph Henry Press publicist Robin
Pinnel sent out promotional materials for The Man Who Would Be Queen by J. Michael Bailey, including the following attachment.
One of our investigators retrieved this from three attached files mentioned
by Pinnel and sent the following analysis:
What's really important about these documents is one was written by Bailey,
on his outdated little Mac, on December 3, 2002.
I decoded all three and was able to open them directly in Microsoft Word
and see all three authors stats and electronic signatures, as well as see
their thinking in their own words before the book went to press.
These docs are very damning, and really show some of the backroom thinking
that was going on. JHP and Bailey won't be able to back away from their own
words on what they "meant" and what they "intended" when
it's all right here in black and white!
[controversial ideas.doc]
The Man Who Would Be Queen
by J. Michael Bailey
This book is controversial. It is about feminine men, from before birth to
adulthood, to the rebirth experienced by those who decide to become women. Its
three sections include one on very feminine boys, one on gay men, and one on
transsexuals. These meld scientific studies with stories about real people.
Male femininity is a phenomenon that most people find interesting but which
has been ignored by science due to concerns ranging from social conservatism
to sensitivity (or less charitably, political correctness). For example, despite
widespread stereotypes that gay men tend to be feminine, research related to
the stereotype has only recently been conducted.
Here are some of the topics and questions the book addresses:
FEMININE BOYS
Do very feminine boys become gay men?
Yes they usually do. As adults, nearly all are attracted to men.
Are feminine boys born or made?
Scientific studies of rare conditions in which boys are changed into girls
soon after birth show that even the most extreme social manipulation can’t
make a feminine boy. They seem to emerge that way from the womb.
How often do feminine boys become transsexual adults?
Although most feminine boys become gay men rather than transsexuals, a
significant minority—perhaps 10%—of very feminine boys will choose
to become women.
Do feminine boys need therapy to make them happy and well-adjusted adults?
This is controversial, and participants in the controversy tend to ignore
the best points of the other side. On the one hand, treatment that focuses
on extinguishing feminine behavior may make the boys masculine at the expense
of shame and self-hatred. On the other hand, if we could make society completely
accept feminine boys, more of them might choose to change into women.
GAY MEN
Are gay men feminine, like [sic] stereotypes suggest, or are they masculine, like
social scientists have asserted for thirty years?
Yes. That is, gay men are a mixture of masculine and feminine traits. In
some respects, they are remarkably feminine, but in some others, they are
as masculine as straight men.
Gay men do in fact have feminine occupational and recreational interests,
and this affects the jobs they choose and the ways they spend their time.
Gay men are also feminine in their speech patterns—there is a “gay
voice”—and in their movement.
In some other ways, gay men are just like straight men. These include
many aspects of sexual behavior. For example, gay men and straight men
both enjoy casual sex—but gay men are able to have much more casual
sex, because their partners also enjoy it.
Do some gay men act feminine in order to be accepted by other gay men? Do
feminine and masculine gay men pair up as “husband and wife?”
No. Actually, gay men dislike feminine attributes in their romantic partners.
Virtually all gay men prefer masculine rather than feminine partners.
Are gay men born or made?
Born. The best evidence for this is the feminine boys who will become gay
men. These boys act that way despite, not because of, the social influences
that surround them.
Aren’t we all really bisexual, like the ancient Greeks?
No. Men tend to be attracted to either men or women, but not both. Furthermore,
the existence of feminine gay men transcends cultures and time.
TRANSSEXUALS
Are transsexuals women trapped in men’s bodies?
No. First of all, there are two very distinct types of males who become
females. (Few scientists, much less laypeople, have understood the difference
between them.) One of them—the type that likes only men—is naturally
feminine in many respects, but not in all. The other is not at all feminine
except as the result of effort.
What about men who become women only to be lesbians?
This is the second type of transsexual. They are primarily sexually attracted
to the image of themselves as women, but they also are attracted to women.
Are transsexuals born or made?
The feminine transsexual is born feminine. However, whether he elects to
become a woman depends on lots of social feedback. For example, will he
be more attractive as a man or as a woman? The other, non-feminine, type
of transsexual seems to develop his unusual sexual preference (for himself
as a woman) without any social input.
Are transsexuals happy once they become women?
For the most part, they are happier than they were as men. However, they
still do not lead conventional lives.
See the main page on Robin Pinnel for more materials put out by Joseph Henry Press.
References
Pinnel R. new book on homosexuality, transsexualism and science. via Indymedia.org, 2 April 2003.
http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/imc-atlanta-audio/2003-April/000188.html
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