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{{Short description|Transsexualism typology}}
The '''Sex Orientation Scale''' ('''SOS''') was [[Harry Benjamin]]'s attempt to classify and understand various forms and subtypes of [[transvestism]] and [[transsexualism]] in people [[Sex assignment|assigned male at birth]], published in 1966.<ref name="benjamin1966">Benjamin, Harry (1966). ''The Transsexual Phenomenon.'' The Julian Press, {{ISBN|9780446824262}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Heath|first=Rachel Ann|title=The Praeger Handbook of Transsexuality: Changing Gender to Match Mindset|year=2006|publisher=Praeger|location=Westport, Conn. [u.a.]|isbn=978-0-275-99176-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YQldwi3LVYoC&q=%22Sex+Orientation+Scale%22+Harry+Benjamin&pg=PA4|page=4}}</ref> It was a seven-point scale (with three types of transvestism, three types of transsexualism, and one category for typical males); it was analogous to the [[Kinsey Scale]] as it relates to [[sexual orientation]], which also had seven categories.<ref name="Pomeroy1964">Pomeroy, Wardell (1975). The diagnosis and treatment of transvestites and transsexuals. ''[[Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy]]'' Volume 1, Issue 3, 1975 doi:10.1080/00926237508405291</ref>

Much like Kinsey's understanding of sexual orientation, Benjamin understood the nature of [[gender identity]] and [[gender expression]] not as a discrete scale, but as a [[spectrum]], a continuum with many variations. However the Benjamin scale does not reflect a modern understanding of gender identity,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kumar |first1=Anish |last2=Amakiri |first2=Uchechukwu |last3=Safer |first3=Joshua |title=Medicine as constraint: Assessing the barriers to gender-affirming care |journal=Cell Reports Medicine |date=15 February 2022 |volume=3 |issue=2 |page=100517 |doi=10.1016/j.xcrm.2022.100517 |pmid=35243420 |pmc=8861822 }}</ref> and is not useful as a contemporary diagnostic tool,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8 |journal=International Journal of Transgender Health |date=15 September 2022 |volume=23 |pages=S6-7 |doi=10.1080/26895269.2022.2100644 |last1=Coleman |first1=E. |last2=Radix |first2=A. E. |last3=Bouman |first3=W. P. |last4=Brown |first4=G. R. |last5=De Vries |first5=A. L. C. |last6=Deutsch |first6=M. B. |last7=Ettner |first7=R. |last8=Fraser |first8=L. |last9=Goodman |first9=M. |last10=Green |first10=J. |last11=Hancock |first11=A. B. |last12=Johnson |first12=T. W. |last13=Karasic |first13=D. H. |last14=Knudson |first14=G. A. |last15=Leibowitz |first15=S. F. |last16=Meyer-Bahlburg |first16=H. F. L. |last17=Monstrey |first17=S. J. |last18=Motmans |first18=J. |last19=Nahata |first19=L. |last20=Nieder |first20=T. O. |last21=Reisner |first21=S. L. |last22=Richards |first22=C. |last23=Schechter |first23=L. S. |last24=Tangpricha |first24=V. |last25=Tishelman |first25=A. C. |last26=Van Trotsenburg |first26=M. A. A. |last27=Winter |first27=S. |last28=Ducheny |first28=K. |last29=Adams |first29=N. J. |last30=Adrián |first30=T. M. |issue=Suppl 1 |pmid=36238954 |pmc=9553112 |s2cid=252127302 |display-authors=1 |doi-access=free }}</ref> especially due to its conflation of gender identity with sexual orientation.

Benjamin feared legal consequences for surgeons who performed [[sex reassignment surgery]], and focused on the patients being able to pass and unlikely to regret their decision when deciding whether to recommend someone for an operation—in addition to possessing an unchanging gender identity.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Velocci |first1=Beans |title=Standards of Care |journal=TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly |date=2021 |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=462–480 |doi=10.1215/23289252-9311060|s2cid=244064667 }}</ref>

==Sex Orientation Scale (S.O.S.)==
'''Sex and Gender Role Disorientation and Indecision (Males)'''
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Group !! Type !! Name !! [[Kinsey scale]]
|-
|1 || I || Transvestite (Pseudo) || 0–6
|-
| 1 || II || Transvestite (Fetishistic) || 0–2
|-
| 1 || III || Transvestite (True) || 0–2
|-
| 2 || IV || Transsexual (Nonsurgical) || 1–4
|-
| 3 || V || True transsexual (Moderate intensity) || 4–6
|-
| 3 || VI || True transsexual (High intensity) || 6
|-
|}

Benjamin noted, "It must be emphasized again that the remaining six types are not and never can be sharply separated."<ref name="benjamin1966"/>

Benjamin added a caveat:

{{quote|It has been the intention here to point out the possibility of several conceptions and classifications of the transvestitic and the transsexual phenomenon. Future studies and observations may decide which one is likely to come closest to the truth and in this way a possible understanding of the etiology may be gained."<ref name="benjamin1966"/>}}

Benjamin's Scale references and uses Alfred Kinsey's sexual orientation scale to distinguish between "true transsexualism" and "transvestism".<ref>{{cite book|last=Frayser|first=Suzanne G.|title=Studies in Human Sexuality: A Selected Guide|year=1995|publisher=Libr. Unlimited|location=Englewood, Colo.|isbn=978-1-56308-131-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZArPH0nFGo0C&q=%22Sex+Orientation+Scale%22+Harry+Benjamin&pg=PA368|author2=Whitby, Thomas|page=368}}</ref>

== Modern views ==
Contemporary views on gender identity and classification differ markedly from Harry Benjamin's original opinions.<ref name="Ekins2005">Ekins, Richard (2005). Science, politics and clinical intervention: Harry Benjamin, transsexualism and the problem of heteronormativity ''[[Sexualities (journal)|Sexualities]]'' July 2005 vol. 8 no. 3 306-328 doi: 10.1177/1363460705049578</ref> Sexual orientation is no longer regarded a criterion for diagnosis, or for distinction between transsexuality, transvestism and other forms of [[gender variance|gender variant]] behavior and expression. Modern views also exclude fetishistic transvestism from the spectrum of transsexual identity/classification, this type of transvestism is not related to gender expression or identity but is a distinctly sexual phenomenon most commonly practised by people who are neither transsexual nor homosexual. Benjamin's scale was designed for use with heterosexual [[trans women]], and [[trans men]]'s identities do not align with these categories.<ref name="Hansbury2008">Hansbury, Griffin (2008). The Middle Men: An Introduction to the Transmasculine Identities. ''[[Studies in Gender and Sexuality]]'' Volume 6, Issue 3, 2005 doi:10.1080/15240650609349276</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Classification of transgender people]]
* [[Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association]]
* [[Transgender]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111015004456/http://www.genderpsychology.org/transsexual/benjamin_gd.html Harry Benjamin's Gender Scale]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060717210820/http://www.symposion.com/ijt/benjamin/chap_02table.htm The Scale in the Harry Benjamin's book "The Transsexual Phenomenon"]

[[Category:Transgender studies]]
[[Category:Scales]]
[[Category:Sexology]]
[[Category:Cross-dressing]]

Benjamin scale - Revision history

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