What are Feminine Embodiment Fantasies (FEFs)?

Feminine Embodiment Fantasies (FEFs)

Updated: AUGUST 10, 2020

Feminine embodiment fantasies are fantasies or lucid dreams about having a feminine body. These fantasies, which are typically sexual in nature, are most commonly experienced by men or male-to-female transgender people. However, they may be experienced by a person of any gender. People having feminine embodiment fantasies may fantasize about having a woman’s body or a variation on their own body with some feminine elements, such as breasts.

Feminine embodiment fantasies are sometimes called female embodiment fantasies. They can also be shortened to the acronym FEFs. The term has replaced the term autogynephilia. While both terms have similar meaning, feminine embodiment fantasies do not pathologize these persistent sexual fantasies.

More About Feminine Embodiment Fantasies (FEFs)

There are a wide variety of feminine embodiment fantasies. Some people may fantasize about always having a feminine body. Others may fantasize about their body being made more feminine through surgery. They may imagine themselves masturbating and enjoying their feminine body, having other people giving their feminine body sexual pleasure or using their feminine body to give pleasure to others. Sometimes feminine embodiment fantasies are not sexual. People who have these fantasies may simply imagine themselves going about their days with a feminine body.

Feminine embodiment fantasies are usually persistent, occurring several times through a person’s life. They may lessen over time though, especially for transgender people who achieve feminine bodies through gender reassignment.

Feminine embodiment fantasies are very normal. It makes sense for straight men, lesbians, and transgender people attracted to women to have feminine embodiment fantasies, as they involve feminine body parts that are often sexually attractive. Male-to-female transgender people and cisgender women may also find they are having feminine embodiment fantasies because they are attracted to the body they wish they had.

As with all fantasies, people who have feminine embodiment fantasies do not necessarily want the feminine body they are fantasizing about. While they might desire a feminine body, they may also be perfectly happy with their own body. Fantasizing about having a feminine body may simply turn them on. Gender dysphoria may trigger feminine embodiment fantasies in some people. However, people who do not feel a sense of gender dysphoria are unlikely to develop this condition because they fantasize about having a feminine body.