Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 07:07, 11 October 2004

Cross-dressing is the act of wearing the clothing of the opposite gender. Technically, a cross-dresser is any person who cross-dresses, for any reason. However, within certain contexts, some consider it inappropriate to label certain types of cross-dressing as such.

Within the transgender context, transvestite, CD and TV are synonymous with cross-dresser. Also within the transgender context, there are different types of cross-dressers (e.g., drag queens). Cross-dressing is one type of transgender behavior. Some, but not all, cross-dressing is transsexual in nature. Especially in cases of females wearing traditionally male outfits, many cases of cross-dressing are driven by practicality rather than a desire to violate taboos or sexual fetishism.

Usage

The usage of the term cross-dressing largely depends on the context. While it is correct to state that anyone who wears clothing of the oppose gender is cross-dressing, that person may be offended at the label of cross-dressing due to its transsexual connotations. For example, male goths may wear visible make-up, long hair and lace blouses, and even skirts and dresses. Within the goth subculture this is not viewed as cross-dressing. Further confusing the issue, some people use the term cross-dresser to refer exclusively to people who wear clothes of the opposite gender who are not transvestic fetishists or doing drag. When labelling an individual a cross-dresser, it is important to understand the context.

Within the transgender context, the following terms describe specific types of cross-dressers. This list of labels is not exhaustive; there are many other types of people who cross-dress that do not have such a label.

• A drag queen is a male-bodied person who performs in female drag: a costume of extremely gaudy dresses and shoes, large wigs, et cetera, or that imitates famous female film or pop-music stars.
• A drag king can be the counter-part of the drag queen — female-bodied persons performing a male or pseudo-male role. It can, however, also denote the complete cross-dressing spectrum of female-bodied persons; also some female bodied people undergoing gender reassignment therapy self-identify as drag kings, so in fact a person identifying as drag king can come from almost the whole of the transgender spectrum. This use of "drag king" is considered inaccurate by some people.
• A transvestic fetishist is a person, typically a heterosexual male, who cross-dresses as part of a sexual fetish. It is often difficult to distinguish between fetishism that happens to have female clothing as an object and transgender behaviour that includes sexual play.
• Female masking is a special form of cross-dressing where female clothing and behaviour are combined with female head or face masks, typically made from latex.
• Passing is cross-dressing for the purpose of complete illusion. While some cross-dressers may have no desire or intention of adopting other behaviors or practices common to the gender indicated by their choice of clothes, many endeavor to project a complete illusion of belonging to the opposite sex, down to mannerisms, speech patterns, and emulation of sexual characteristics.
• Genderfuck is a label referring to those who take a more "mixed" approach, e.g. a man with a beard wearing a dress.

Analyses of the behavior

The actual determination of cross-dressing is somewhat socially constructed. For example, pants used to be a generally male item of clothing, but have been adopted for wear by women — this is generally not regarded as cross-dressing, and some women wear some male items of clothing (such as a suit, shirt, or jacket) for fashion, without fear of stigma from others. However, the reverse for men is generally not true. For example, in Western societies, a man who wears a typically female item of clothing such as a skirt will not be able to do so for the sake of fashion as a woman may.

Some students of differentiated reception of cross dressers have suggested as a reason for this aforementioned behavior, is that for a woman to take on a male role in a patriarchal society thus may raise her social status, whereas for a man to take on a female role in that same society is to lower his social status. Thus the woman may be unsympathetically viewed as some kind of social climber, but the man will most likely be unsympathetically viewed as a self-confessed failure in the male quest for dominance, culled by himself from the breeding stock, etc. However this is only one view, and relies on the view that a woman adopting male characteristics in society will be "rewarded" for doing so, which may not be the case.

Classic psychoanalytic views of cross-dressing emphasized the role of taboo in the behavior. Only items that were proscribed to a gender would be appropriated, and therefore it is not the general association of an item with one sex or the other, but the prohibitions against the item that give satisfaction to those with a fetish (as opposed to political or sexually expressive) attachment to cross-dressing. As articles become acceptable for occasional wear (a man's necktie on a woman, for example, which passed from taboo to fashion in the 1970s), they cease to be sought by cross-dressers.

Variations according to sexuality and gender

Sexual preferences among cross-dressers vary as much as they do in the general population, though, contrary to popular belief, most male-bodied cross-dressers are heterosexual. Some (but by no means all) lesbian women also cross-dress; compare butch.

Relatively few women exclusively wear traditionally male clothing, though in Western society it is common for women to occasionally wear men's clothing. Historically, there have been some cases of women wearing only male clothing; see the history section.

History of cross-dressing

Historically, cross-dressing has occured for a variety of reasons. Aside from the desire to violate taboos and sexual fetishism, individuals have cross-dressed for more practical reasons, especially in cases of females dressing as males.

In wartime, women often disguise themselves as men to avoid capture and rape. Conversely, men may disguise themselves as women to avoid being forced to fight. In virtually all cultures throughout history, there has been a significant gender bias in the job economy. This bias continues today, though many cultures have taken steps to "break the glass ceiling". For certain types of male-dominated jobs, females who want to work in the business were forced to dress like men. Famous historical examples include:

• The legend of Pope Joan, a promiscuous female pope who allegedly dressed like a man and reigned from 855 to 858. Modern historians regard her as a mythical figure who originated from 13th century anti-papal satire.
• Joan of Arc was a 15th century French military commander who led the French armies against England in the Hundred Years' War. She is a French national heroine and a Catholic saint, having been martyred by the English. She was burned at the stake after being captured by the English, with the Biblical sin of cross-dressing being cited as one of the reasons for her execution.
• Anne Bonny and Mary Read were late 17th century pirates. Bonny in particular gained significant notoriety, but both were eventually captured. Unlike the rest of the male crew, Bonny and Read were not immediately executed because Read was pregnant and Bonny claimed to be pregnant as well.
• George Sand is the pseudonym of Amandine-Aurore-Lucile Dupin, an early 19th century French novelist who preferred to wear men's clothing exclusively. In her autobiography, she explains in length the various aspects of how she experienced cross-dressing.
• Dorothy Lawrence was an English war reporter who disguised herself as a man so she could become a soldier in the First World War.

Except in cases like George Sand, where she wrote an extensive autobiography, it is usually impossible to state clearly the motives for cross-dressing for these historical figures. Often, few documents survived, and most of those are either court documents or accounts by other persons who might not (or might not want to) understand the motivations behind the behavior. Furthermore, some categories did not exist at the time a particular person did live. That is equally true of homosexual, gay and lesbian, and transgender, transsexual, transvestite and all other terms describing gender variant people or behaviour. Therefore people were not able to categorize themselves as belonging to one of those groups, either, and neither were their contemporaries.

Modern trends

It was once taboo in western society for women to wear clothes traditionally associated with men. This is no longer the case and women are often seen wearing trousers, shirts, ties and even full suits. It is still taboo, however, for a man to be wearing clothes traditionally associated with women. Many people perceive this as being an imbalance in the equality of men and women in society and believe that men should not have to suffer discrimination for wanting to wear, for example, a dress. A frequent speaker on this subject is the comedian and actor Eddie Izzard who likes, occasionally, to wear traditionally female clothing or make-up for completely non-sexual reasons. This issue is often labelled as "equal clothing rights".

Cultural views on cross-dressing

As part of the larger issue of gender roles, no society is without a set of views, guidelines, or laws regarding cross-dressing. According to the Torah, cross-dressing is a sin. Cross-dressing is the subject of many works of literature and plays a significant role in popular culture. References to cross-dressing are frequently used for comic effect, though more serious uses are also common. In the mainstream view, cross-dressing is often equated with transgender issues and transsexuality, while in fact cross-dressing is merely associated with them. In literature and mythology, some stories have an element of forced feminization in them, where a man is forced to wear female clothing, or pretend to be a female, often as part of some humiliation.

Many movies feature cross-dressing as a central plot element, including:

• Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
• Some Like It Hot (1959)
• The Birdcage (1996)
• Tootsie (1982)
• To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)

All of the above films are comedies. Films in which cross-dressing is referred to in a more serious context are relatively rare, though The Birdcage attempts to portray the transgender culture in a positive, accepting light. The Crying Game a 1968 novel by John Braine was adapted into a drama film in 1992. The plot revolves around a transsexual woman, implicitly involving the issue of cross-dressing.

On television, non-comic references to cross-dressing are even rarer. Some comedy sketch shows, such as League of Gentlemen and Kids in the Hall routinely feature cross-dressing, with men dressing as women and speaking in falsetto. Agent Pleakley, a male alien character in the animated 2002 film Lilo & Stitch (and television series of the same name) dresses in female clothing because he misunderstands human gender roles. Incidentally, the character is voiced by Kevin MacDonald, a Kids in the Hall veteran. The plot of the short-lived 1980 television show Bosom Buddies, starring Tom Hanks, centered on cross-dressing.

See also

• List of transgender-related topics

References

• Rudolf M. Dekker, Lotte C. Van De Pol, Lotte C. Van De Pol, The Tradition of Female Transvestism in Early Modern Europe, 1989, ISBN 0-312-173342
• Mary Read and Anne Bonny

• Transgender people and behavior