What Do You Think About the Concept of Transmaxxing?

Open Discussion for our Premium Subscribers

Last week on Gender: A Wider Lens, Sascha Bailey introduced us to the concept of Transmaxxing. This idea seems to open up new pathways of thinking about the motivation behind some males’ desire to transition. Transmaxxing does not fit neatly into the HSTS (homosexual transsexuals) and AGP (autogynephiles, or men attracted to the idea of themselves as women) dichotomy that Ray Blanchard and Michael Bailey have discussed on this podcast before.

Through our work with parents of trans-identified boys and young men, the original HSTS and AGP dichotomy has seemed lacking for some time. For instance, there does seem to be an ROGD-style social contagion among boys, though, perhaps, not as common as with girls. But this idea of transitioning for “functional reasons” as Sascha described, definitely shed light on a whole other motivation growing out of the tech world.

As we started to dig into this, we found this recent Channel 4 documentary and wanted to share it with you, while giving you a place to discuss your thoughts on it.

Does this describe anyone you know? Does this make you more or less determined to protect female only spaces? Does this shed light on other issues in our modern culture? We have long said that some women and girls seek transition to “escape the male gaze.” What are the transmaxxers trying to escape? Can we (as society) offer alternatives—like embracing more variations of “manhood,” offering up better and more diverse male role models, pulling back on talk of toxic masculinity? What can we offer to parents, if their sons have latched onto this “solution”?

Please watch the clip and then share your thoughts in the comments!

Also, please note, that opening up discussion on this behavior, and wanting to understand it better, is not the same thing as endorsing it. Thanks!