Do you know exactly what the description transsexual or transgender means? Do you know what a shemale or ladyboy is? What is the difference between a transvestite and a drag queen?
Why don't you know? You should do, because there are more people like this around than you would ever guess. They spend their lives surfing the frontiers of sexuality and - guess what - you could learn a lot from them.
Straight out, I'd better say that asking any questions in this area are probably deeply offensive to the people involved. Asking the things you would love to know will hurt people, and you won't get a straight answer anyway. If you are sitting next to someone with sexual roots in this area, be thankful for anything they might volunteer but keep your curiosity to yourself. After all, you are 'normal' and would be very upset if a casual acquaintance asked about the mechanics of your sex life, wouldn't you?
Health warning over, what can I tell you? Firstly, anyone who has studied even the smallest part of human sexuality knows that there are no hard rules. There is no great chasm separating male and female, no innate mandate that this collection of sex organs is good and permitted, while that one is anathema. Sexuality is a sliding scale. Most of us tend towards one end of the scale or the other, but all of us could shuffle sideways a little in the right conditions. Don't believe me? Consider this: prison life is dominated by hard, muscular males who would rip your head off if you suggested they were gay. If you are a weak, young or attractive male and get locked up with these folk, you will absolutely convinced that they are not gay (because they say so) but you will have to accommodate them anyway. Because a refusal often offends, and because they are not going to let you escape your duty. On the other hand, you will have plenty of time to contemplate who is more gay, the straight on top, or the straight underneath him.
Although people can slip into this central zone of sexuality from either end, the transition we hear most about is the one that starts from the male position. Does your man get off wearing stockings and a suspender belt? Would you even know, if you have never let him try? Dressing him as a girl and using him as one might be a big turn-on for both of you...
There is a whole male culture of cross-dressing, often solitary cross-dressing, where straight or gay men dress themselves in full female clothes, pose in front of a mirror or web cam and eventually get themselves off. Why not? (I wonder where they get their sexy heels. Do they try them on in the shop? Wouldn't that be embarrassing?)
The next graduation on the scale involves men who want to live as women. This is by far the best known stop on our sexual journey. These people, let's call them shemales, go all out to appear as attractive women and - most importantly - their companions of choice are more-or-less straight males. Shemales put a lot of effort into their lifestyle, and most accept some medical help. They can feminize themselves with hormone treatment. This reduces their male characteristics of body hair, muscle form, voice timbre, and makes them feel more feminine. It also starts them growing breasts. Their nipples enlarge and become much more sensitive, and they can usually manage teenage breasts through hormone therapy alone. Many of them resort to increasing their bust size by implant surgery. In order to feel reallyfeminine, some go as far castration, and I have read reports that in addition to being prettier and more feminine, they are lucky enough to have female orgasms as well.
A huge section of our porn industry is devoted to shemale sex. Males are entranced by shemales, and a shemale sex worker will never be out of a job. Why is this? Do you think men are so interested because they can apparently have a normal girl on their arm, while secretly wanting to take her home and play with the contents of her panties? Mmh - you could be right, but only partly. The real reason is shemales are so desired, it that they are very much smarter than the average woman when it comes to understanding men and what they like. Look and learn, girl. They dress and behave as high-class tarts, because they get more men that way. And there is an added bonus for the men who pick them up. They might look like stunning women, but they still think like men once they are in bed. They want just as much sex, just as often as he does!
By all means look down on them, if it makes you feel better. Men are simple creatures and easily fooled, but any real woman can easily distinguish a shemale from a female. You would be able to sort out the girls pictured here, wouldn't you?
The next step is one that is taken only by serious women who feel they are trapped in a male body. These are fully transgender people, for whom life as a man is a nightmare. They crave the full transition to womanhood, and are prepared to make the major psychological change required.
The physical bit is straightforward. Turning a set of male genitalia into a vagina is a well-known surgical technique. The difficult thing for these brave people to handle is the massive socio-hormonal change that follows.
Absolutely no-one undertakes this change simply to experience male on female sex. Males may go nuts over shemales, but they are likely to view a transgender woman simply as a woman with an even more incomprehensible personality than most. The new women are often very confused themselves. In the months after their operation, they are commonly strongly attracted to women rather than men. To outsiders that seems a very contrary reaction, but who would know if they haven't surfed that particular wave?
There are a couple of things I have not mentioned. First, female to male transitions. Well, they do happen. There are women who undergo sexual reassignment surgery to be men. It is not at all common, and I have no bankable explanation. You could hazard a guess that many lesbian couples include a 'male' woman who does not feel the need to change her bits and pieces in order to conform to a stereotype. Good for her!
The other thing I did not discuss is - what do shemales do? Simple answer: everything you can think of, except vaginal sex. If you ask an experienced man who makes better sex, a shemale or a 'real' female, be prepared for a disappointment. Not only do shemales innately know more about dressing to please men, they also have an inside track on how to blow his mind in bed.
Never mind, you can always study a bit harder. Oh, and did you pick the female and shemale pictures above? Yes, that's right. They're all shemales, but you knew that, didn't you?
By-line
Jacqueline lives in Far North Queensland, on the shore of the Coral Sea. She keeps herself busy with her cats and garden, and by writing books - some of which are far too naughty for her own good. You can find out more about
Jacqueline and her books at www.jacquelinegeorgewriter.com
Jacqueline lives in Far North Queensland, on the shore of the Coral Sea. She keeps herself busy with her cats and garden, and by writing books - some of which are far too naughty for her own good. You can find out more about
Jacqueline and her books at www.jacquelinegeorgewriter.com
