Tuesday 4th February 2020 @ The Bell Pub, E1 7EX

Ashley Brown, King’s College London

Erotic Target Identity Inversions: Becoming Your Own Target of Desire

Erotic Target Identity Inversions (ETIIs) are poorly studied paraphilias characterised by individuals becoming the object of their own desire. Erotic target location (either located in the self or others) is theorised to be another dimension of sexuality. Historically, ETIIs have been studied in males who report become aroused by the thought of themselves acting as a woman (known as autogynephilia). Other ETIIs have been proposed, including autopedophilia (people with attraction to children becoming aroused to the thought of being a child) and autoandrophilia (the female equivalent of autogynephilia). The current talk will discuss results from a large online study of men and women in four proposed ETII groups: autogynephilia, autoandrophilia, autonepiophilia (for those interested in age play or ABDL), and autoanthropomorphozoophilia (those interested in pet play or fursuiting). In addition to providing information about these ETII groups, we will examine potential motivating factors, psychological correlates, and comorbidities. The controversy surrounding ETIIs, particularly in regards to the relationship between autogynephilia and gender identity, will also be discussed.

Ashley Brown is a PhD researcher from King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience. Originally from the US, she moved to London in 2017 to complete a project titled “The Psychological, Social, and Demographic Factors Associated with Atypical Sexual Interests”. Her work focuses on destigmatisation of atypical or paraphilic sexual interest groups, investigating new dimensions of sexuality, and examining the structure of sexual fantasies and behaviour. In addition to her research, she works at a local sexual health clinic and has previously given talks on the development of atypical sexual interests and clinical recommendations for health practitioners working with individuals with such sexual interests.