Hello -- The short reply is that Marty has the basics correct. People who cross-dress do so for all sorts of reasons, including stress relief, erotic gratification, and the expression of a cross-gendered persona or identity. People who wear clothes of the complementary sex as a costume, as at Hallowe'en; people who wear clothes of the complementary sex in order to act as spies; people who wear clothes of the complementary sex in order to win a bet -- none of these is considered a real cross-dresser. In addition, people who are transsexual -- whether pre-operative, post-operative, or non-operative -- and wear clothes of the sex different from those usually worn by people with their sorts of bodies, are also not actually cross-dressing: they are wearing clothes of the sex they feel themselves to really be. Cross-dressing is a practice that seems to begin in childhood or early adolescence, though sometimes it begins later in life, and while people who do cross-dress rarely elect to stop, there is no evidence that the behavior is damaging or suggests any significant psychopathology. The greatest dilemma cross-dressing people face is that their behavior is stigmatized by societies such as ours, so that they often try to keep their practice a secret. It is keeping the secret that becomes problematic -- as, for instance, when a spouse or partner learns of it and feels betrayed: not by the cross-dressing, usually, as much as by the fact that the cross-dresser hid it from her or him. There is evidence of people cross-dressing in virtually every known society throughout recorded history, just as there is similar evidence of transgendered people everywhere. In modern history the first substantial study was done by the great German researcher, physician, and sexologist, Magnus Hirschfeld. His book, TRANSVESTITES, was published in 1910, and the English-language translation by Michael Lombardi-Nash was published by Prometheus Books (Buffalo, NY) in 1991. Until about 20 years ago there was very little useful literature on the subject of cross-dressing or other transgender issues, either in the popular or the professional press; but recently an enormous library of material has appeared, some written by observers, therapists, and researchers, and much written by cross-dressers and transgendered people themselves. A lot of the recently published literature bears out some of Hirschfeld's most important discoveries: most cross-dressers are heterosexual; often they are happily married; although many are very successful in their professional lives, cross-dressing cuts across all strata of society, all socio-economic groups, all professions. Careers that call to macho men -- the military, police, auto racing, etc -- seem to call as well to cross-dressers who are trying to hide their interests from themselves and/or from others. Many of the books about cross-dressing and the transgendered experience can be bought or found through the International Foundation for Gender Education, P.O. Box 540229, Waltham, MA 02454-0229 (http://www.ifge.org). William A. Henkin, Ph.D.
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