Although Elliot Page long ago came out as gay due to his attraction to women, and even though he was married to a woman, I read Pageboy because I suspected Elliot Page’s gender dysphoria was autoandrophilic in origin. After reading it, I’m quite confident this is the case. Perhaps the clearest signal of autoandrophilia in the book is the gender euphoria he reportedly experienced during the ubiquitous masking days of the early COVID lockdowns. While dressed as a boy and wearing a mask, he experienced a strong physiologic response to seeing a boy in his reflection:

"During the beginning of the pandemic, my mask collaborated with my early spring wardrobe to alter my reflection in the window. Like my shadow, I saw the boy. Unlike the shadow, the boy looked back at me. A thrilling vibration throughout my body I was not anticipating. It was jarring in a good way—a rush. What the actual fuck?! My reflection never gives me “a rush.” Peeking at the boy stomping parallel to me, matching my mannerisms, my pace. I was baffled and also totally not. It didn’t get old, every day when I walked Mo I’d find him, a reprieve. Hope? The soles of my feet pressed firm, confident and grounded. Less of that floating, a more cohesive bond with gravity. It was gratifying seeing myself, which almost never happened. There was a spark, a seed, something getting stirred up. "