The
following article was created through the combined resources and joint efforts
of Dixie Darling, with “M2B” and “Sisbecca” (Founders and moderators of
“A Crossdresser’s Secret Garden”) as a source of information relating to
the terminology, definitions, and ‘lingo’ currently in use to describe
individuals in on the transgendered continuum. We ask that you also read the
article “Crossdressing
facts and a Plea for Understanding”
found
elsewhere on this site.
Thank you all,
M2B, Becca, and Dixie
Some of the
biggest misunderstandings and wrong impressions surrounding the phenomenon of
crossdressing belong to those individuals or groups who are either unfamiliar
with, or make a conscious decision to ignore, some very important differences
that make crossdressing unique among the Trans-Gendered Community .
A large majority of people have the tendency to, carelessly and without
reasonable thinking, group anyone they judge to be ‘different’ from a
standpoint of gender into a "Trans-What Ever” category.
Yes, all in one group, all lumped together, everyone into one
all encompassing single category in their minds, and nothing could be further from the facts or the
truth..
The term
'Transgendered' has erroneously become a ‘catch all’ word applied to anyone
and everyone who has a different view of gender issues from that which society
has decided is the “norm”. Although it is
sometimes misused unknowingly,
and sometimes unintentionally, the truth is that the remainder ARE trying to
encompass all, and in so doing, are trying to describe a vastly different,
complex, and very diverse community, with just this one word.
They not only include people who may not entirely subscribe to what
society's “unwritten rules” dictate as to how we each should dress, but
even MORE unjustly apply it in an effort
to describe the entire spectrum of anyone who they (society) view as
being not in conformance with THEIR
idea of what constitutes the “correct” characteristics a man or woman should
display or how each of the two genders should actually conduct themselves or
dress, to be considered ‘normal’ and acceptable in the eyes of society.
This same
confusion exists when the words “Gender and Sexuality” are used mistakenly
or interchangeably. So just to make sure we’re on the same page here, it’s
necessary that this difference is clearly understood. Gender - refers to the
mind (mental), while Sexual - refers to the body (physical). Confusing the two,
or using one where the other should be used can change the entire meaning of the
sentences they are used in, thereby completely distorting the meaning and intent
of what is being discussed.
With this
in mind, first let’s correctly define the word Trans-Gender. Transgender
refers to how one sees one’s self in the mind, it does not in any way
specifically deal with or define ones actual sexuality.
Remember that gender is the mental – NOT the physical – term. As a
simple analogy the word “automobile” refers to all cars.
The words Chevrolet, Ford, Chrysler, Honda, Toyota
refers to several totally
different companies and several specific makes of cars, but they are still
automobiles. The same applies for the word Trans-Gendered (i.e. - Automobile) it
refers to all who, in their mind’s eye, see themselves as having some
form of the opposite gender to their personality. The types
- Crossdressers, Transvestites, and Transsexuals (i.e. - Chevrolets,
Fords, Chryslers, Hondas, Toyotas) all fall under the general term of
Trans-Gendered, but are all are totally different points (i.e. Cars) in the
wide spectrum of the word Trans-Gendered.
The terms
crossdressers, transsexuals, transvestites, drag queens, female impersonators,
gays, bi-sexual, and any other different gender or sexual groups,
all tend to be mistakenly lumped into one
role by society, even though each is vastly different in
their own individual groups views concerning , their own self image, their
thoughts, their actions and purpose of why each does what they do or
feels the way they feel.
It seems
that one of the most common misconceptions is that when a man dresses in the
clothes of the opposite gender he is usually automatically viewed, or
assumed to be a transsexual or even a gay person, and this is simply NOT the
case. By comparison, a woman can dress in clothing normally worn by a
man, and this is OK. She isn’t labeled or considered transsexual or gay,
or even given a second glance for that matter. So why is it that this has become
socially acceptable for women to do in today's "rules of society", but
it’s NOT acceptable for a man to dress in those items of clothing
traditionally worn by women? What
we are seeing here is clear evidence of a double standard.
Since our primary concern in this documentation
is to deal with the term known as crossdressing, we won't attempt to go into any
great details here about many other terms other than to try to define them
sufficiently enough to clear up these misunderstandings about who's who on the
transgendered continuum. So before we go any further, lets define a few of what
the terms are, so there are no misunderstandings of the differences between
all. Also, I must throw in the standard government mandated 'Disclaimer Clause'
that the definitions and terms offered, are 'general' and may not exactly
fit each and everyone's exact idea of what is or is not the current or
“politically correct” uses of each, but we will try our best. Also, keep in
mind as we go through these definitions that the actual definition of a
particular term (such as those you might find in a dictionary) is sometimes
distorted at the “street level”. For example, the word “gay” as defined
in most dictionaries indicates a state of happiness or an enjoyment of good
times. However in “street level” terms it refers to a person who is of
homosexual persuasion.
Transsexual
is by far one of the most widely confused and misused words or definitions often
selected to describe the various "Trans" people or groups. A
transsexual is a person who has been determined by medical professionals to have
been born into the wrong body, sexually. These are people often seek
professional assistance to have their body surgically changed so that it matches
their brain’s GENDER identity. No
one knows why people are born this way, but the fact remains that they are. This
group isn't satisfied just to wear the clothes of the opposite sex, they want to become
anatomically the opposite sex.
Transvestite
is a word that not too many years ago was a term used to describe anyone
who wore clothing of the opposite sex, but that has significantly changed in
recent years, the current or more common definition of the term is to describe
people who dress to derive sexual pleasure and satisfaction from wearing the
clothes of the opposite sex. A
transvestite often times has a fixation to certain items of clothing, this is
often limited to one or two specific articles of clothing. In the case of male
transvestites these are usually items of a lingerie variety and many never have
any desire to wear anything other than these particular items. Transvestites who
are ‘fixated’ on specific items of apparel, regardless as to whether these
items are clothing, shoes, lingerie, etc, are sometimes referred to by
professional people as “fetishistic transvestites”.
Drag
Queens are people who dress in women's clothes
and often wear extremely heavy or outrageous makeup. Their goal is to attract as
much attention as is possible and their sexual orientation is usually of the gay
persuasion. They are often mistakenly called crossdressers and even though they
do dress in the clothing of the opposite sex, their motivation for doing so is
entirely different from that of a crossdresser. Unfortunately, this is another
of the primary mental pictures, abet wrongly, that comes to most peoples mind
when they hear the word 'crossdresser'.
Female
Impersonators are men who often make their living impersonating women.
The women they impersonate are usually celebrities of some type and most who do
this for a living are really good at it. They have to be or they would be out of
a job in short order. Some who do this are transsexuals, some are crossdressers,
and some are transvestites. In any of these cases it's easy to see why
society might see them as different and therefore lump them together
with everyone else.
Gays
are those who have no desire to be surgically changed in any way, but are
sexually attracted to members of their own sex. The term 'gay' is most often
associated with males. The term ‘lesbian’ is used to further define those
females who are attracted to other females. And as is the case with
the others, no one knows why people are born this way, but the fact remains that
they are.
Bi-Sexuals
are men or women who are attracted to both their own sex and those of the
opposite sex .
……And
so we finally come to the word crossdresser.
In it’s most simple terms, this is a person who dresses in the clothes of the
opposite sex.. So what is so different, what separates crossdressers from all
the rest of those who are spread up and down the transgendered spectrum?
Well…….
The typical
crossdresser doesn't dress to attract sexual partners, or for sexual
gratification, or to make a living looking like a woman, or to attract
attention. So what else is left? To understand this better it’s
necessary to understand the motivation that drives them first. One first
needs to realize that most crossdressers have an extremely high appreciation for
women in general. This appreciation is far and above that of a typical
"garden variety" male. They tend to place femininity on an imaginary
pedestal with an almost reverence and adoration that is, at best,
difficult for the rest of the population to comprehend. Their
appreciation for the tender fragileness and beauty of a
woman is surpassed only by the zeal of their attempts to emulate this
experience for themselves, in some way. Many will also tell you without any
hesitation, that crossdressing relieves their pent-up stresses and pressures
they feel in their everyday male world, and it does so better than any drug or
alcohol ever could.
For your
further edification and knowledge regarding all the labels, terms or words
that we have attempted to 'generally' define above, several links are
included below. These may clear up some of your questions and provide more
detailed information than those provided above if you would like to access them
and read them for yourself.
1. http://www.genderweb.org/~cirntri/terms.html
2. http://www.bcholmes.org/tg/tgdef.html
3. http://www.ntac.org/resources/gloss.html
4. http://www.transgender.org/tg/vegas_tg/glossary.htm
5. http://askvickie.vickiecollins.com/letters1.html
6. http://www.dignityusa.org/transgender/t-primer.html
7.
8. http://www.outproud.org/article_glossary.html
9.
These
are but a few the many 'Sites' that have tried to defined in some way many or
ALL of the d various labels,
definitions or terms used to try to identify and label each and every little
group or sub group in an effort to say you are 'Different' form me.
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