Transvestism are You One of Them?

A transvestite is a person who gets sexual gratification from dressing in the clothing of the opposite sex. Transvestism is thought to be more common in men than in women, perhaps because it has been more socially acceptable for women to wear men’s clothing. A male transvestite may wear a girdle, brassiere, stockings, and dresses. He may fantasize himself in or enact the female role. At other times, he dresses in and enacts the male role.

Psychiatrists who have studied transvestism believe that only a small number of transvestites become homosexual. Transvestism is a distinctly different condition from homosexuality. When a transvestite becomes homosexual, wearing the clothing of the opposite sex is only a small part of the person’s problem. It is not the major source of sexual stimulation.

The transvestite has a mixed, confused sexual identification, having identified in part with both sexes. No strong identification with either parent promoted the development of a distinct heterosexual or homosexual role. The individual’s emotional ties were often closer to the parent of the opposite sex, although there is a partial identification with the same sex. Sometimes prevailing social expectations in adolescence and early adulthood pressure the transvestite into conforming to the heterosexual role. However, an underlying emotional turmoil may cause problems for the individual in adult life. When transvestism is observed before adulthood, an evaluation of the behavior should be made in a child guidance or adolescent psychiatric service. Psychotherapy for the patient and counseling for parents may be helpful when the parents are willing to participate. Adult transvestites are motivated to undergo psychiatric treatment.