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PaperclipPerfector  4d ago (text post)   20846 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of June 2, 2025

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You didnt mention the matching, I agree that is some evidence. Though they also find that 30% of mtf have phantom penises after bottom surgery, what do you think is happening here? If the phantom penis is caused by a body image where it should be there, then shouldnt the mtf be at ~0? They dont report any other results, but in my experience these things get a lot more complicated.

Though they also find that 30% of mtf have phantom penises after bottom surgery, what do you think is happening here? If the phantom penis is caused by a body image where it should be there, then shouldnt the mtf be at 0?

Again, I'm underwhelmed by the study/paper (which is a shame, because it's an interesting topic, which hasn't gotten much systematic study), but A) one also wonders why phantom limb or cismale phantom penis sensation rates aren't either 0% or 100% and B) I'm guessing that stumbling blocks in the brain "remapping" nerve endings after anatomy is transformed is different than the brain's response to amputation, making post-vaginoplasty phantom penis sensation worthy of study, but not dispositive of some sort of "latent female internal body image." (After all, the claimed rate is half that of cismen.) Low rates of transmale post-mastectomy phantom breast sensation (10% of transmen the study, vs 1/3 or more in ciswomen) would be more significant.

For another perspective on vaginoplasty and phantom penis sensations, here's a case report from the same year (pdf - includes surgical photos), in which Japanese vaginoplasty surgeons claim phantom penis sensations are sometimes experienced in the first few weeks after surgery, but one patient needed a revision surgery to remove excess erectile tissue. Ramachandran and McGeoch didn't include how long their MTF survey responders experienced phantom penis sensations, increasing the possibility of that finding being a red herring.

Im not sure I understand the things remaining after strikethrough, or at least the justification for it. "one also wonders why phantom limb or cismale phantom penis sensation rates aren't either 0% or... half that of cismen." Why is the half expected? "Low rates of transmale post-mastectomy phantom breast sensation (1/3 or more in ciswomen) would be more significant." Was that number supposed to have a cite?

Ramachandran and McGeoch didn't include how long their MTF survey responders experienced phantom penis sensations

We also dont know how long cis males getting penectomy experience them - if it fades over time, then its presumably a different phenomenon from the pre-op trans version, and the similar number just coincidence.

The strike-through is unintentional, due to me using the "approximately" symbol.

I don't know, but I'd default to guessing that post-penectomy phantom penis sensations are as persistent as any other post-amputation phantom sensation, absent a reason to think otherwise.

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