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Originally Posted by Dark Horseman
Might need to dial back the Psychology 401 language a bit since it's kinda hard to follow. I am trying though. The argument that it's desirable because it's intangible, however, I think that breaks down when we exaggerate it: like why only women (men if homosexual) and not a cthulu alien thing or a jet? Or even, what about a victim that's just plain unattractive - like an ugly woman (before or after)? I think it's still always linked back to basic, built-in, instinctual lust.
The TG thing is also a big topic I've always wondered about. Almost every TG fan you see on forums or galleries have their own avatar transgendered and do a sort of roleplay with it. In contrast, most of the TF perusers generally act as voyeurs, i.e. "I'm just here to see porn". That audience is very different from many of the other fetishes in that it seems to be heavily focused on involving themselves.
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Sorry about the density, I've been trying to break it down into metaphorical terms but like most psychology it's very Theoretical. And not to digress since it is just a theory (and not a very empirical one at that), but would that really exclude those sorts of things, considering people have fetishes for inanimate objects, Xenos and slobs? People having kinks for transforming into cars or jets, or becoming hideous isn't exactly unheard of. Or maybe I just missed something there.
One of the things about psychology (especially the Lacanian brand) is that it starts it's premise with a simple enough assumption, that instinct is self-evident. We desire in order to desire. Humans possess lust because biology, and so on. It goes a little symbolic saying this desire's incompatibility with our conscious, self-aware part of ourselves puts a hole in our hearts, a lack (the Object a Petit) and we cram things in there, physically and symbolically, endlessly to try to make ourselves whole and satiate those drives. (This part is really debatable and kind of problematic, but it's what it hinges on) It doesn't debate lust, but rather moves the the question (or would in this case) to "Okay, people are horny and lonely and born incomplete, that's basically human nature. But WHY are humans attracted to certain things? What does this or tht say about the individual? How does Human Motivation handle the praxis of it's own instincts?" These are obviously more complicated questions to answer.
I agree in that basic, raw instinct is the starting point. That's why fetishes around turning into girls are more common than Planes or Statues. Instinct certainly proceeds desire. It's something from the inner Other, the voices and our instincts calling out to us forcins us to use language and symbols to make sense of it and give it a register. (Jargon speaking we're moving the Real into the Imaginary by moving the indescribeable into language, thereby taking away it's truama and horror and appreciating it in it's sublime pleasure)
The concept of Self-Inserts is a fascinating topic that I wish was explored more. Cinema Theory places us in the gaze of the camera as the viewer, Videogames play with people wanting to identify with the character, and deviant artists interact with virtual avatars and change them abundantly. Fanfiction authors do this too of course, but the way the TG community utilizes avatars is certainly something to be looked into.