It’s often assumed that transgender women are in almost every case attracted only to men and that transgender men are in almost every case attracted only to women.

In other words, the popular idea is that transgender women were more or less effeminate gay males prior to transitioning and that transgender men were more or less butch lesbian women.

Whilst that is of course true for some, it isn’t the case for all.

The Wikipedia page on “Transgender Sexuality” at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_sexuality explains: “Like other people, transgender people exhibit the full range of possible sexual orientations and interests, including the potential for a lack of sexual attraction.”

The Wikipedia article also reports and references the following interesting facts:

* 60% or more of transgender women are attracted to women and are thus essentially either bisexual or lesbian. The percentage of transgender women who are bisexual or lesbian is thus significantly higher than the rest of the population. In the UK, for example, apparently only 2% of women describe themselves as either bisexual or lesbian, although this does seem unusually low seeing as even in my own limited number of acquaintances I know numerous women who openly acknowledge their bisexuality.

* The vast majority of transgender men are attracted primarily or exclusively to women and are therefore predominantly heterosexual.

* 6% of transgender women say they are asexual, meaning they do not experience any feelings of sexual attraction for anyone of any sex or gender. This is also higher than the rest of the population, where only 1% of people identify themselves as being asexual.

* Overall, only 19% of transgender women – i.e. less than a fifth – identify themselves as heterosexual, i.e. as being attracted only to men. This is probably far less than most people would have imagined.

Some probable reasons for why 60% or more of transgender women are bisexual or lesbian are these:

1. Transgender women spend a lot of time studying natural born women in order to try to accurately copy or emulate them and this may result in feelings of attraction.

2. Women are generally more accepting, friendly, and supportive to transgender women than men are, so transgender women may start to develop romantic feelings for natural born women.

3. Many of the men who are attracted to transgender women are insensitive or rude or sexually obsessed, so transgender women may realise that it would be better for them to date women instead.

4. The fact of being transgender, including being open about one’s gender identity and also having explored one’s inner nature and psyche at quite some depth, may result naturally in more “openness” towards things in general than many cisgender people have, so they may feel more comfortable and confident about being bisexual or lesbian.

5. No-one can better understand and relate to the struggles and experiences of being a transgender woman than a transgender woman and so it is not too uncommon to find transgender women dating one another and forming “transgender-lesbian” relationships. Perhaps the most prominent example currently is that of Caitlyn Jenner and Sophia Hutchins.

In studying all this, it’s also necessary to keep in mind that one’s sexual orientation can change or intensify after a few months of starting hormone treatment, and one’s confidence and sense of freedom and overall liberation can – and ideally should – also increase.

Some transgender women were only ever attracted to women, during the time they were living as men and solely under the influence of testosterone . . . but after reducing or blocking their testosterone production and coming under the influence of estrogen they find that they are now only attracted to men, which makes a lot of sense from a biochemical perspective.

And to be asexual doesn’t necessarily mean to be averse to romance.

There are more romantic but non-sexual relationships and partnerships amongst even cisgender people than one might suppose. There can be heteroromantic, homoromantic, and biromantic, asexuals. This is real but it is rare. And because it’s so rare, asexuals – whether transgender or cisgender – require a great degree of self-acceptance to be able to accept that they are not too likely to ever find their “other half.” A strong sense of self is therefore needed, in order to be able to live life alone with true happiness, contentment, and peace of mind.

SOURCES: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_sexuality, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/04/bisexual-women-rise-celebrities-go-public-sexuality/, https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/sexuality/bulletins/sexualidentityuk/2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asexuality, https://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/articles/2015/05/04/asexuality-the-invisible-orientation