Yes; people in general are really really shockingly bad at self-reporting. People don’t know why they do things; they just notice themselves doing things and then tell a self-serving story about why they did the right things.
There was also a period of time when I embraced the word “pervert” and viewed my desire to be female as some sort of sexual kink. But after exploring that path, it became obvious that explanation could not account for the vast majority of instances when I thought about being female in a nonsexual context.
I trust that Julia Serano is telling the truth about her subjective experiences. But “it became obvious that explanation could not account for” is not an experience. It’s a hypothesis about human psychology. I don’t expect anyone to get that kind of thing right based on introspection alone!
Again, it’s very important to emphasize that I’m not saying that non-exclusively-androphilic trans women who deny autogynephilia are particularly delusional. I’m saying that basically everyone is basically that delusional about basically everything!
Yes; people in general are really really shockingly bad at self-reporting. People don’t know why they do things; they just notice themselves doing things and then tell a self-serving story about why they did the right things.
For example, prominent trans activist (and autogynephilia theory critic) Julia Serano writes (Whipping Girl, p. 84):
I trust that Julia Serano is telling the truth about her subjective experiences. But “it became obvious that explanation could not account for” is not an experience. It’s a hypothesis about human psychology. I don’t expect anyone to get that kind of thing right based on introspection alone!
Again, it’s very important to emphasize that I’m not saying that non-exclusively-androphilic trans women who deny autogynephilia are particularly delusional. I’m saying that basically everyone is basically that delusional about basically everything!