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“Controversial ideas” (2003) by J. Michael Bailey

On April 2, 2003, Joseph Henry Press publicist Robin Pinnel sent out promotional materials for The Man Who Would Be Queen by J. Michael Bailey, including the following attachment.

One of our investigators retrieved this from three attached files mentioned by Pinnel and sent the following analysis:

What’s really important about these documents is one was written by Bailey, on his outdated little Mac, on December 3, 2002.

I decoded all three and was able to open them directly in Microsoft Word and see all three authors stats and electronic signatures, as well as see their thinking in their own words before the book went to press.

These docs are very damning, and really show some of the backroom thinking that was going on. JHP and Bailey won’t be able to back away from their own words on what they “meant” and what they “intended” when it’s all right here in black and white!

[controversial ideas.doc]

The Man Who Would Be Queen
by J. Michael Bailey

This book is controversial. It is about feminine men, from before birth to adulthood, to the rebirth experienced by those who decide to become women. Its three sections include one on very feminine boys, one on gay men, and one on transsexuals. These meld scientific studies with stories about real people.

Male femininity is a phenomenon that most people find interesting but which has been ignored by science due to concerns ranging from social conservatism to sensitivity (or less charitably, political correctness). For example, despite widespread stereotypes that gay men tend to be feminine, research related to the stereotype has only recently been conducted. 

Here are some of the topics and questions the book addresses:

FEMININE BOYS

  • Do very feminine boys become gay men?
    • Yes they usually do. As adults, nearly all are attracted to men.
  • Are feminine boys born or made?
    • Scientific studies of rare conditions in which boys are changed into girls soon after birth show that even the most extreme social manipulation can’t make a feminine boy. They seem to emerge that way from the womb.
  • How often do feminine boys become transsexual adults?
    • Although most feminine boys become gay men rather than transsexuals, a significant minority—perhaps 10%—of very feminine boys will choose to become women.
  • Do feminine boys need therapy to make them happy and well-adjusted adults?
    • This is controversial, and participants in the controversy tend to ignore the best points of the other side. On the one hand, treatment that focuses on extinguishing feminine behavior may make the boys masculine at the expense of shame and self-hatred. On the other hand, if we could make society completely accept feminine boys, more of them might choose to change into women.

GAY MEN

  • Are gay men feminine, like stereotypes suggest, or are they masculine, like social scientists have asserted for thirty years?
    • Yes. That is, gay men are a mixture of masculine and feminine traits. In some respects, they are remarkably feminine, but in some others, they are as masculine as straight men.
      • Gay men do in fact have feminine occupational and recreational interests, and this affects the jobs they choose and the ways they spend their time.
      • Gay men are also feminine in their speech patterns—there is a “gay voice”—and in their movement.
      • In some other ways, gay men are just like straight men. These include many aspects of sexual behavior. For example, gay men and straight men both enjoy casual sex—but gay men are able to have much more casual sex, because their partners also enjoy it.
  • Do some gay men act feminine in order to be accepted by other gay men? Do feminine and masculine gay men pair up as “husband and wife?”
    • No. Actually, gay men dislike feminine attributes in their romantic partners. Virtually all gay men prefer masculine rather than feminine partners.
  • Are gay men born or made?
    • Born. The best evidence for this is the feminine boys who will become gay men. These boys act that way despite, not because of, the social influences that surround them.
  • Aren’t we all really bisexual, like the ancient Greeks?
    • No. Men tend to be attracted to either men or women, but not both. Furthermore, the existence of feminine gay men transcends cultures and time.

TRANSSEXUALS

  • Are transsexuals women trapped in men’s bodies?
    • No. First of all, there are two very distinct types of males who become females. (Few scientists, much less laypeople, have understood the difference between them.) One of them—the type that likes only men—is naturally feminine in many respects, but not in all. The other is not at all feminine except as the result of effort.
  • What about men who become women only to be lesbians?
    • This is the second type of transsexual. They are primarily sexually attracted to the image of themselves as women, but they also are attracted to women.
  • Are transsexuals born or made?
    • The feminine transsexual is born feminine. However, whether he elects to become a woman depends on lots of social feedback. For example, will he be more attractive as a man or as a woman? The other, non-feminine, type of transsexual seems to develop his unusual sexual preference (for himself as a woman) without any social input.
  • Are transsexuals happy once they become women?
    • For the most part, they are happier than they were as men. However, they still do not lead conventional lives.

See the main page on Robin Pinnel for more materials put out by Joseph Henry Press.

References

Pinnel R (April 2, 2003). new book on homosexuality, transsexualism and science. via indymedia.org http://lists.indymedia.org/mailman/public/imc-atlanta-audio/2003-April/000188.html

Bailey JM (December 3, 2002). Controversial ideas (PDF)