Cross-dressing+as+a+Sexual+Fetish

The definition of the term as it is being presented here relates to the way it is used in the BDSM community to describe a sexual fetish. Cross-dressing can be expressed in many ways, for example with specifiers such as forced feminization, dollification, or slut training, and it may also incorporate erotic humiliation. Conversely, there are many who do not consider cross-dressing to be humiliating or kinky at all, it is simply their preferred means of sexual arousal. It stands to reason that cis men who cross-dress might find that the reason they are more sexually aroused in women’s clothing because femininity taps into their sexuality more so than masculinity does.

The photos above illustrate a range of cross-dressing gender and/or sexual expressions. From left to right: Scarlett Johansson; a sissy maid outfit; Sailor Cruz; fishnet garter set; and Sigourney Weaver. Though female-bodied people cross-dress as well, it is not as taboo as it is for men (Curtis & Morris, 2015; Nanda, 2014). Society is much more tolerant of females or trans feminine individuals who wear masculine clothing than they are of males who wear feminine clothing, therefore they do not hide it as often and may not think of it as cross-dressing (British Psychological Society, 2012; Curtis & Morris, 2015; Nanda, 2014). Heasley (2005) considers men who cross-dress to be “informed active” straight men hiding in the shadows of masculinity. In other words, they are informed about sexuality and masculinity, usually understand and support feminism and gay rights, but are not comfortable putting themselves at risk of being perceived as gay in public, and tend to overemphasize masculinity around friends and others who do not know that they cross-dress. Many men who enjoy cross-dressing identify as straight, and are not comfortable with their sexual preference of dressing in feminine clothing being conflated with a preference for same-sex interactions (Curtis & Morris, 2015), or people assuming they have a mental health issue (British Psychological Society, 2012). Cross-dressing in Relation to Drag and Transgender Identities

Cross-dressing is a subculture that falls under the umbrella of both drag and transgender identities. Drag and transgender identities relate more to one’s gender experience and expression, though sexuality can of course be involved. Cross-dressing is different in that the act of presenting oneself as another gender tends to be expressed part-time, and is for the purpose of sexual pleasure or erotic satisfaction (Carroll, 2007; Curtis & Morris, 2015; Nanda, 2014).

In the above graphic (created by the author of this wiki), you can see the intersections between trans* and cross-dressing, and between drag and cross-dressing, as well as the intersection between all three identities/expressions. People who identify as trans* express their gender on a vast continuum, including but not limited to hyperfeminine or hypermasculine, a combination of feminine and masculine characteristics, and/or more androgynous or agender expressions (British Psychological Society, 2012). People who express their gender and/or sexuality through drag tend to present in a more stereotypical gender role that often exaggerates the typical gender characteristics (British Psychological Society, 2012). Therefore, the intersection of trans* and drag as shown above might be a hyperfeminine or hypermasculine gender expression. Individuals who cross-dress do so as a means of gender and/or sexual expression. Cross-dressing has a range of gender expression similar to trans* as described above, therefore the intersection of trans* and cross-dressing has a similarly wide range of gender expression. Likewise, the intersection of cross-dressing and drag might tend to be either hypermasculine or hyperfeminine in gender and/or sexual expression. The intersection of trans*, drag, and cross-dressing could encompass a wide range of gender and/or sexual expression.

Cross-dressing through the Lenses of Cognitive and Symbolic Anthropology

The study of the cross-dressing subculture can be viewed through Nanda’s Cognitive and Symbolic Anthropology lenses. Cognitive anthropology is an investigation of the rules and meanings motivating human behavior, rather than behavior itself. For example, most people are taught from birth onward how to dress so they can express gender in accordance with societal norms, with rules like dresses and pink being for females, and neckties and blue being for males. Similarly, symbolic anthropology is the study of the meaning that underlies actions and behavior within a specific culture. It is based on the belief that human behavior is symbolic, not arbitrary, and that behavior can be understood within the context of culture. An example cross-dressing through this lens might be that it symbolizing the desire to be a sexual object, since females in Western culture are so frequently objectified.

Changes in Terminology

While the term cross-dressing has long been used in the BDSM and trans* communities, it is becoming outdated (British Psychological Society, 2012). One reason is that the word “cross” reinforces the gender binary, which is becoming more and more understood to be an inaccurate means of describing gender. In other words, the word “cross” implies from one to the other, but since there are more than two genders, its meaning is not as as intuitive as it used to be when we thought that there were only two genders. With increased visibility and acceptance of trans people, cross-dressing in the trans* community is now seen more as an alignment gender expression, and some consider wearing the stereotypical clothes of their natally assigned gender role was the actual cross-dressing, and now they are just dressing. Also, with the increased understanding of the continuum of gender diversity, it follows that there is less of a tendency for natal females to cross-dress in a hypermasculine way, or natal males to cross-dress in a hyperfeminine way (British Psychological Society, 2012).

Pathologization of Cross-dressing

The most significant reason that people have traditionally cross-dressed in private is because of how pathologized it has been for so long, both socially and in the mental health field. There was a diagnosis of Transvestic Fetishism in the DSM-IV-TR, which was changed to Transvestic Disorder in the DSM-5 in an effort to depathologize the paraphilic disorders section, but many believe that this disorder should not be included in the DSM at all (Federoff, 2011; Wright, 2010). The previous diagnosis of Transvestic Fetishism required that the individual in question be assigned male at birth; the new diagnosis has no sex or gender requirement. The DSM-5 stresses that non-consent be present for diagnosis as a paraphilic disorder, which is problematic in the case of Transvestic Disorder, since there is only one party involved, and the notion of consent implies that there be another person involved. The DSM states that the diagnosis is applicable if their behavior causes them distress, but it does not state whether the distress is due to external factors such as social stigma, or to internal factors. If the former, it stands to reason that a better diagnosis might be adjustment disorder, or and anxiety or mood disorder. If the latter, the diagnosis should be specific to the individual’s symptoms, keeping in mind that the act of wearing another gender’s style of clothing not being symptomatic of anything in itself. The DSM diagnosis is based on research conducted with forensic samples, or people who have been incarcerated, which is a small percentage of the population who cross-dress and have never committed a crime or felt impaired or distressed. One of the aims of the DSM is to be generalizable (APA, 2013), and this is a glaring example of how it is not always that way, and in some cases could be damaging in that the new Transvestic Disorder diagnosis actually decreases accuracy and increases danger of harm caused by culturally incompetent clinicians (Wright, 2010). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The problematic narrative the DSM reinforces warrants emphasis because it perpetuates a bidirectional loop of pathologization. When the criterion of distress is included without specifying the origin, there is left too much room for assumptions that pathologize the individual, in effect reinforcing societal tendencies to pathologize nonconforming sexual and gender expressions. This loop of social reinforcement cycles between mental health professionals and the general public; for example, the DSM uses forensic samples to create the criteria used to diagnose anyone, not just those who have been incarcerated, by definition pathologizing individuals with egosyntonic atypical sexual and gender expressions. Basically what I’m saying is that the diagnosis of transvestic fetishism seems all too iatrogenic, i.e., is induced by diagnostic procedures. It would be hard to imagine anyone not experiencing distress at the thought of coming out as a cross-dresser, this would be an appropriate reaction to anticipated stigma and discrimination.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Psychological Stability of Individuals who Cross-dress

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The literature indicates that cross-dressers are no more psychologically disturbed than anyone else, and most cross-dressers do not feel they need to seek therapy because of their behavior (Carroll, 2007; Gallo, 2016). The most common reasons that cross-dressers seek therapy is when their behavior feels out of control or compulsive, which might not necessarily relate directly to cross-dressing, and in fact this can happen when trying to suppress cross-dressing (Gallo, 2016); they have a partner that is upset by the idea of cross-dressing; cross-dressing is necessary for arousal so they are experiencing dysfunction with a partner who they cannot or will not cross-dress with; or the cross-dresser realizes they want to transition (Carroll, 2007). It is important to emphasize cultural competency, and that treatment should focus on normalizing the behavior, reducing guilt and shame, and/or helping partners adjust instead of changing the behavior (Carroll, 2007; Gallo, 2016).

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">References

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.), p. 685- 705. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> Washington, DC: Author.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.), p. 572. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> Washington, DC: Author.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">British Psychological Society (2012). Guidelines and literature review for psychologists working therapeutically with sexual <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> and gender minority clients. Retrieved from www.bps.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/rep_92.pdf

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Carroll, R. (2007). Gender dysphoria and transgender experiences. In S. R. Leiblum (Ed.), Principles and Practice of Sex <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> Therapy (pp. 477-508). New York, NY: Guilford Press

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Curtis, M. & Morris, K. (2015). Cross-dressing as a meaningful occupation: A single case study. British Journal of <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> Occupational Therapy, 78(11), 706-712. doi: 10.1177/0308022615586568

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Gallo, M. (2016). A case study of cross-dressing: Using a strategic therapy lens in couple’s counseling. The Family Journal: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families, 24(1), 77-84. doi:10.1177/1066480715615630

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Heasley, R. (2005). Queer masculinities of straight men: A typology. Men and Masculinities, 7(3), 310-320. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;"> doi:10.1177/1097184X04272118