Kiwisexual

Kiwisexuality is romantic attraction or sexual preference towards specifically transgender women experienced by cisgender men and cisgender women. Researchers are not precisely sure for the cause of Kiwisexuality but it is theorised that hormonal and environmental factors come into play.

Background
Kiwisexual people were first observed in New Zealand in 2007 by an independent study headed by Leo Mikaere and Dr. Jack Dales in a survey conducted by the pair to determine the percentage of the LGBT population in New Zealand. In each survey, the participant was encouraged to provide additional information regarding their romantic and sexual orientation to the research team. Mikaere and Dales noticed a significant amount of the respondents had noted their preference solely for transgender women. When inquiring further into this phenomena, Mikaere and Dales found no prior information or research relating to it. Observers of the phenomena in the research team colloquially and jokingly referred to it as kiwisexuality due to the country of original discovery. Since then the name has entered professional usage in its field of research. Until the study, Kiwisexuals were not found outside of New Zealand, though after the study both Dales and Mikaere began to identify themselves as Kiwisexuals outside of New Zealand after publicly stating that they had, “truly found themselves” to New Zealand press and thus giving more recognition and legitimacy globally to members of the nascent but small community.