If you see a man dressed in women's clothes, you would probably think that he is disguising himself to pass as the opposite sex to attract another man to have sex with. When you hear of a cross-dresser what comes to mind? Is a cross-dresser the same as a transvestite? Do women cross-dress as men do?

As many questions as you may have, cross-dressers are often unsure of themselves and often question who they are and what led them to it. A cross-dresser is a person who wears clothes usually worn by the opposite sex. Some women dress as men, but very often it is men who dress up as women. Men cross-dress as an outlet for stress and may wear women's silk lingerie under their exterior male clothing to release tension.

Escape

Recent studies have concluded that cross-dressing also enables individuals to express another aspect of themselves and to develop a cross-gender identity. While cross-dressing may begin as a source of sexual arousal, many state that other factors become more important over time, such as achieving a feminine sense of self and temporarily escaping from masculine gender norms and stereotypes.

Research on heterosexual male cross-dressers finds that many of them began cross-dressing clandestinely before puberty, with some starting as early as pre-school during 'dolly house' play. Contrary to popular belief that cross-dressing is first initiated or encouraged by a parent, studies show that youths who decide to cross-dress never told anyone about their behaviour. It rarely begins in adulthood, but as adolescents grow older and have less parental control, they are able to cross-dress more completely and frequently.

Transvestite lesbian

A transvestite is a person who enjoys wearing the clothes of the opposite sex and they feel the need to take on and behave as a member of the opposite gender. Male transvestites will want to appear as female and may even wear extensive make-up.

Some sex researchers and contemporary historians believed that men, and especially women who cross-dressed in the past, did so to cover or pursue same-sex relationships. These women are said to have 'posed' or 'passed' as men and to have been in a lesbian relationship. Other women used the advantage of cross-dressing to escape narrow gender roles or to enter traditional male occupations. There are female cross-dressers who feel more comfortable dressed in traditional male clothing without any sexual association.

Gender discomfort

Most transvestites like being men and do not feel that they are a woman trapped in a man's body. They have no desire to change their gender by taking hormones or through surgery to remove their genitals.

However, those who feel uncomfortable about being male or who feel they are not male inside, are gender dysphoric which is a chronic feeling of discontent. Some women experience gender dysphoria and will attempt to change sex. When transvestites feel so uncomfortable with their gender they will take hormones and surgery to change gender and are then known as transsexuals.

In order to distinguish gender expression from sexual behaviour, German physician Magnus Hirschfeld coined the term 'transvestism' (Latin for cross-dressing) in 1910. Hirschfeld, a cross-dresser himself, argued that transvestites were not fetishists, but were overcome with a "feeling of peace, security and exaltation, happiness and well-being ... when in the clothing of the other gender".

Heterosexuals

Challenging the claim by other sexologists that cross-dressers were homosexuals and almost entirely men, Hirschfeld demonstrated that transvestites could be male or female and of any sexual orientation. In fact, most of the individuals he studied were heterosexual. Female cross-dressers continue to be ignored by researchers and the public. In the last decade, though, female cross-dressers have become more visible with the rise of a drag queen culture.

Cross-dressers in societies with strict gender roles are often misunderstood and maligned. As a result, many cross-dressers choose to hide this side and sometimes internalise a sense of shame and guilt. Those overloaded with guilt may seek counselling. Historically, these persons tormented by their cross-dressing habits were more likely than others to seek the assistance of doctors, leading many medical authorities in the 19th and 20th centuries to view cross-dressing as a mental illness.

Psychoanalytic literature explained cross-dressing as either a form of homosexuality or an escape from homosexuality resulting from castration anxiety.

Mentally sound

Not until the 1960s, when generally well-adjusted cross-dressers formed support groups and became more visible to researchers, did cross-dressing start to become less stigmatised and more accepted (net.doctor.co.uk). Today, cross-dressers are not considered mentally ill and psychologists have agreed that cross-dressing comes in the normal range of male sexuality unless it becomes a compulsive obsession.

If a man dresses completely as a woman, he is a transvestite. If he puts on a piece of feminine clothing then he is a cross-dresser. Transvestites often get upset by cross-dressers who get their thrills from cheap cross-dressing only in stockings and underwear. Cross-dressers, who want to go to public places, should dress convincingly to prevent ridicule, hostility and violent attacks. High-heels and sling-backs should not be worn unless the cross-dresser has experience in walking in women's shoes. Men should avoid the glittery cocktail dress which gives away the muscle definition in their legs as that of a male.

In the closet

A transvestite may not want his friends, relatives or his partner to know that he is a cross-dresser. It is agonising for transvestites to keep this part of their lives secret. They may eventually find it unbearable to keep the secret and will suddenly make confessions at work and to family only to be ostracised.

Heterosexual couples use cross-dressing to enrich their relationship. The man will dress up as a woman in party clothes and heavy make-up and take his woman out to dinner and dancing where they 'smooch' up on each other and return home aroused to make love. The female side that the man assumes is usually sensitive and loving and his female partner loves and enjoys the tender moments. On the contrary, a number of wives and girlfriends are not happy when their men dress as women and go out clubbing. When they return home, they want to make love while dressed and acting the female part.

However, no cross-dressing men should force women to engage in sexual intercourse with them.

Clothing stores

Cross-dressing and transvestism are known worldwide and are not against the law. It is what cross-dressers do, for example soliciting sex for money, that will cause them to be charged by the police in countries where prostitution is not legal. In more liberal societies, transvestites form support groups and set up clothing stores so they can get clothing easily. Advertisements are used to promote the shops as well as cross-dressing parties.

Not everyone will define and interpret cross-dressing the same way. Since 'transvestite' connotes a perversion and excludes female, gay, and bisexual male cross-dressers, as well as heterosexual men who cross-dress for non-sexual reasons, the term, transvestite, is rejected today by many trans-people in favour of cross-dresser. One opinion from Steve, (geraden.blog-city.com) is it is time for a blurring of the sexes, ‹no more masculine or feminine and let's be human being only. What do you say?