Friday, August 7, 2026

What motivates writers of erotic transgender romance?

There is an interesting conversation going on over at Crossdream Life, where I asked this about the transgender romance sub-genre:
"What has surprised me, however, is how many of the story-lines are driven by  the MTF  protagonist's fascination for - or attraction to - men. Many of the books give detailed descriptions of the main male character's personality, physique and appearance. Many of these books, if not a majority, are transgender or crossdreamer romances, where the crossdreamer's attraction to - or desire for - a cis man is the whole point. Then there is, of course, science, magic and crossdressing that let them become the person this man desires.


"In these books the men are not faceless and they do not function as a device for the confirmation of the crossdreamer's femininity only.

"Many of the books are also stories about accepting a suppressed identity, and not forced feminization of unambiguous cis men. Many of the authors are trans women, closeted or openly so. I might be completely wrong about this, but something tells me that these authors do not come from the transfeminine part of the gay community.

"So I am wondering:  Have I been wrong the whole time? Have I simply been blind to existing transgender romance literature, simply because I was not that interested? I am definitely more into women, to put it that way. Or has something changed, in the sense that a new generation of writers are genuinely androphilic? If so, what has made this happen now, and not before?"
The discussion has made me adjust my understanding. MTF TG fiction writers are as likely to androphilic (man loving) and/or bisexual in their orientation as they are to be gynephilic (loving women).

In the discussion princesitanatty made me aware of a  very interesting source of relevant information, namely Jenny Raven's interviews with TG erotica writers, including Jane Futa, Julia G. Slater, Lady Alexa, Lilly Lustwood, Kenzie McKay, Diane Woods, Yummi Cox, Nikki Crescent and many more.

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