Candice Brown Elliott and "autogynephilia"

Candice Hellen Brown Elliott (born June 6, 1957) is an engineer, physics major, chief technology officer of a high-tech start-up, airplane pilot, and self-proclaimed "homosexual transsexual." She is a major contributor on the transkids.us hoax site, under the pseudonym "Cloudy." She also posts under the names "Kay Brown" and "Sillyolme."

Introduction to "The Invisible Transsexual"

 “The Invisible Transsexual” is an essay published by Candice Brown Elliott under the pseudonym “Cloudy” in late 2008. The essay supports a controversial two-type taxonomy of transsexual women promoted by psychologists associated with a conservative Toronto mental institution. The terminology and taxonomy are widely reviled by trans people and their allies.

“Homosexual transsexual” is a code word in sexology that means a mentally ill gay man who transitions in order to have sex with lots of straight men.

“Hon-homosexual transsexual” is a code word in sexology that means a mentally ill straight, bisexual, or asexual man who transitions in order to have sex with himself, as part of a paraphilic fantasy (caused by the disease “autogynephilia,” created in 1989).

This taxonomy appeals to two small subgroups of transgender people:

1. People who used to be called non-transsexual or pseudotranssexual but self-identify as transsexual.

2. People who would be considered “non-homosexual” by proponents of this term but self-identify as “homosexual transsexual.”

Candice Brown Elliott is part of the second subgroup. In fact, every person involved in the site transkids.us  where this essay first appeared has also turned out to be from the second subgroup when their true identities were confirmed.

Trans supporters of this taxonomy believe it improves their social standing, because these terms create a false hierarchy, from best to worst:

  • intersex
  • homosexual transsexual (formerly called "primary" or "true" transsexual)
  • non-homosexual transsexual
  • pseudotranssexual

Candice Brown Elliott repeatedly asserts in the essay below that she is a “homosexual transsexual”  based on her self-report.

candice brown elliott

When anonymous authors make arguments from authority based on their own biographical self-report, it becomes necessary to verify their claims.

Candice Brown Elliott has a Bachelor of Science in physics and is an engineer who holds numerous technology patents. She is a licensed pilot who owns two planes and is Founder, Chief Technology Officer and Chairman of Clairvoyante, a tech start-up she sold to Samsung in 2008. She claims she was asexual prior to completing transition at a gender clinic in her 20s and married a man when she was in her 40s. She was an activist in the 1980s and lived with various trans women prior to marriage.

Proponents of the term claim hallmarks of a “homosexual transsexual”  include “effortless femininity” and occupations like hairstylist, beautician, female impersonator, lingerie model, or prostitute. They claim hallmarks of a “non-homosexual transsexual”  include: computer programmer, businessman, scientist, and engineer.

It’s especially sad that Candice Brown Elliott embraces this bogus taxonomy simply because she doesn’t understand how she would be classified by its proponents. Perhaps when faced with the reality of how they would classify her, Candice Brown Elliott will come to realize how her writings hurt not only her and her own credibility, but also damage the community by lending credence to this oppressive nonsense.

The curious case of the purloined plane

A few days after this page went live, Candice Brown Elliott kicked out her roommate Susan Alexandria. The two had been pals since Alexandria was 15.

Alexandria then decided to steal one of Candice Brown Elliott's airplanes and fly it until she ran out of fuel in the dark, ditching it in a field in extreme northeast California. Alexandria then walked to a hotel, where she stayed until she was arrested the next morning.

I'll have more on the nature of the relationship, Alexandria's connection to the transkids.us hoax, and additional telling details about their strange relationship. Undaunted, Candice Brown Elliott began publishing more bizarre "science" posts a day or two later, still apparently believing that she is considered a "homosexual transsexual" by Bailey, Blanchard and Lawrence. I'm sure they will humor her as long as she is doing their bidding. The Alexandria incident shows that Candice Brown Elliott isn't the too sharp when it comes to common sense and gauging the stability of her allies. Kooks like Elliott are the bread and butter of the pathologizers like Bailey, Blanchard and Lawrence. They actively seek out these attention-craving eccentrics and exploit them as long as possible.

The image below tells it all.

candice brown elliott

LINK: The Invisible Transsexual
http://www.transkids.us/invisible.html

LINK: On the Science of Changing Sex
http://sillyolme.wordpress.com/

LINK: Lynn Conway news alert