Elaborating and Testing Erotic Target Identity Inversion Theory in Three Paraphilic Samples

Some men sexually attracted to types of persons (e.g., women) or things (e.g., animals) also have internalized sexual attractions: sexual arousal by the idea of being the type of person or thing to whom they are attracted. Consequently, some of these men develop erotic target identity inversions, in which they imitate, yearn to be, or identify as an instance of their erotic target. Erotic Target Identity Inversion Theory predicts that for every external erotic target to which men are attracted, a subset of men will develop an internalized sexual attraction, which may cause an erotic target identity inversion. We examined these predictions in Internet surveys of three samples of men with paraphilic sexual interests: 322 men attracted to amputees, 1501 men attracted to animals, and 402 men attracted to severely obese persons. All samples included substantial minorities of men reporting internalized sexual attractions and erotic target identity inversions specific to their external sexual attractions (e.g., men attracted to amputees who are also aroused by the fantasy of being amputees and wish to become amputees). The correlation between degree of each internalized sexual attraction and degree of its corresponding erotic target identity inversion was approximately 1.0 after correction for attenuation. In each sample, participants' specific internalized sexual attraction was positively correlated with autogynephilia, likely the most common internalized sexual attraction in men. Erotic Target Identity Inversion Theory can potentially explain a variety of otherwise puzzling phenomena, including transgender identity among female-attracted natal males and men seeking amputations of healthy limbs.

Self-Amputation in Patient with Body Integrity Dysphoria in Comorbidity with Gender Dysphoria: A Case Report

We present a rare, atypical case of a 24-year-old transgender male (assigned as a female at birth) admitted to the hospital after the planned self-amputation of his left hand. The patient described his motivation for this self-amputation as coming from deep-rooted and persistent feelings that this hand was not a part of his body. He identified himself as having, according to internet peer group definition, body integrity identity disorder. This condition is now referred to as body integrity dysphoria (BID). This patient was later diagnosed as having gender dysphoria and other conditions, including bipolar disorder and gaming disorder. The follow-up 2 years after self-amputation is presented, during which, despite antipsychotic and antidepressant treatment, the symptoms of BID remained unchanged and the high variability of other psychopathology was observed. This is an unusual case of BID simply because several other comorbidities are presented. Like many other rare clinical situations, this case also presents a particular challenge to our understanding of the dynamics and interrelationships between comorbidities, raising concerns and questions.