(no subject)

[dreamer_easy]

The cover story of the latest edition of the Journal of Consciousness Studies is the eye-catching "Phantom Penises in Transsexuals: Evidence of an Innate Gender-Specific Body Image in the Brain" (abstract here). Now, the phenomenon of "phantom limbs" in amputees is well-known; 60% of men who have had their penises removed experience this, but only 30% of male-to-female transsexuals experience it after their operation. Which is interesting enough, but 60% of female-to-male transsexuals also report experiencing a vivid "phantom penis", including phantom erections - in may cases, since childhood. This leads the researchers to speculate there's a "hard-wired" image of the body, including its physical sex, in the brain. Extremely interesting stuff.

ETA much later: a 2010 followup disputes their calculations.

Comments

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

Also, regarding phantom erections, phantom orgasms, etc.: this has also just made me connect the dots between two other things I read.

One was an account of a pre-op MtF describing what an orgasm feels like, and saying that it matched descriptions she heard from women more than descriptions of male orgasms.

The other was testimony by women who had nerve damage or were paraplegics, and whose erogenous zones transferred themselves to other parts of their bodies, resulting in orgasm from stimulation of some body part that you'd think you wouldn't need for sex.

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

If someone patents that latter, they're going to make a fortune.