“I Use All the Parts I’m Given”: A Qualitative Investigation of Trans Masculine and Nonbinary Individuals’ Use of Body during Sex

Abstract

Objectives: The study investigates how trans masculine and nonbinary individuals describe the use of their bodies during sexual activities. Methods: Three hundred and sixty-one trans masculine and nonbinary individuals were asked to describe their use of body during sex through an online survey. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis. Results: Eleven subthemes emerged that were organized in 4 overarching themes: Relational Factors; Behavioral Factors; Sexual Roles; and Transgender Related Factors. Some differences emerged between trans masculine and nonbinary participants. Conclusions: Although some of our participants described a lack of sexual activity, our participants overall described a wide range of activities.

Keywords:

• Transgender sexuality
• nonbinary
• trans masculine
• body dysphoria

Notes

1 The term trans masculine is inclusive of all transgender people who were coercively assigned female at birth and who identify within a male spectrum (Reisner et al., 2013).

2 The term nonbinary is inclusive of all transgender people who identify outside of the strict man-woman gender binary. Nonbinary individuals may identify as neither man nor woman, having a gender other than man or woman, having multiple genders, or not having a gender (Liszewski et al., 2018).

3 We acknowledge that the word transsexual is a dated term, that may cause offence or elicit negative feelings for some individuals in the trans community. It was used to refer to transgender individuals who typically went through a medical transition (i.e., hormone replacement therapies and surgeries). We use the term here specifically in the context of theories that define transgender typologies based on sexual orientations. We include these outdated theories to illustrate how sex research and clinical practice were negatively biased and influenced by these theories.

4 Sexual stimulation of the auditory canal.