Evan Urquhart

This is true but I think Natalie is sidestepping something that I find genuinely confusing: Can you ever say that someone who feels an attraction to a non-passing trans person, however fleeting, is still straight (or gay)? Or is that verboten? https://twitter.com/ContraPoints/status/1086351169054797825 …

To my way of thinking, there are two directions of approach, and there's a lot I like about both of them. The first takes as it's starting place the assumption that some people are straight, some are gay, and then probes the boundaries of what that could mean.

If we start by assuming that A: for some people attraction is based on looks and B: secondary sex characteristics are a big component of how someone looks then we naturally arrive at C: Passing is central when we talk about who is attracted to what sorts of trans people.

But there's another way of approaching the question. This says, basically, first we should admit that human sexuality is messy and context specific, and there's no need to start from an assumption of straight (or gay) purity.

If we're talking about real world sexuality, then maybe it's a little besides the point to come up with hypothetically pure straight men and ask if their attraction to hypothetically perfectly passing trans women is straight. Maybe it's even a little insulting to everyone.

Contra has a philosophical bent, and in philosophy these edge cases and thought experiments are important. "If the straightest man ever sees a non-binary AFAB who is presenting femme under a full moon IS HIS ATTRACTION STRAIGHT???"