I am sure this question has come up, and does come up since the beginning of time. Maybe when the first cave man exchanged his black bear skin for her white bear skin clothing. Who knows but its not going away because one is born everyday and, the AM I A CROSSDRESSER question comes right along with it. In many respects it doesn’t matter especially for those of us who have already figured it out. However, for young people just coming of age, going through puberty or what ever it can be very important. While everyone is aware and has at least some knowledge of Transgender people I think that is not the case for Transvestite / Crossdresser’s. There may be many reasons for this but I think the two main ones are the amount of news articles and publicity the Transgender community receives as opposed to what the Transvestite / Crossdresser community experiences. This is not to be construed as a complaint and is simply a personal observation. I think the Transvestite / Crossdresser community is fine with no publicity and are not envious.
While that works for those of us who have already resolved the question of how we identify it might not be for younger people. In my earlier post THE TRANSVESTITE / CROSSDRESSER OPTION I talked about the students Ashley speaks to in the college classes lack of awareness about Crossdressing. In some respects we have not come a great distance today from where we were decades ago especially in my case. For the first 21 years of my life I was totally alone with my thoughts and limited crossdressing opportunities. I had never heard the terms Transvestite, Crossdresser, Transgender, Transsexual not even when Christine Jorgensen made headlines. She was described as a former GI that went to Europe to change into a woman. I don’t remember any reference to changing her sex which, probably gave the censors a problem because anything regarding sex was closely scrutinized. So what is a young boy who is fascinated with women’s clothing but has not even approached puberty to think?
In my case I assumed I would follow in her path figuring it must be something that comes later in life like growing whiskers and shaving. That day never came but I was 21 before I accidently stumbled upon a magazine with an article about Transvestites and learned I was not alone. There was a name for what I did and more importantly I wasn’t the only one doing it. However, there was not an easy way to find out who was a Transvestite in those days other than adult bookstores. Most of what they had was geared towards female impersonators not Transvestites. It would be another 20 years before I met other Transvestite / Crossdressers at a convention in Texas where most people used the abbreviation TV or Crossdresser. Nobody I interacted with identified as Transgender, Transexual, or any of the other labels used today. That said, those terms would be an accurate description for many attending the convention and eventually were adopted by some.
So today young people who are actually Transvestite / Crossdressers face the same issues I and others did many decades ago because the terms Transvestite, TV, and Crossdresser are not readily available to them. The reasons are both intentional and unintentional because some people are offended by them while others are worried about offending someone by using them. The end result is the same with young people feeling pressure to use the other terms instead of Transvestite or Crossdresser even though the definition fits them better. If they are not aware of the different options they may not be able to make the best choices and assume like incorrectly I did that the Christine Jorgensen route is inevitable for them.
There is nothing wrong with Transgender, Transfeminine, Transsexual, DRAG Queen, or any other label people are comfortable with. Our journeys are all different I just don’t think its a good idea to discourage people using the terms Transvestite / Crossdresser when they are a valuable and accurate description of a valid group of people. Transvestite / Crossdressing is not gender based but, an activity or event as opposed to a lifestyle.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cross-dressing means wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender, such as men wearing women’s clothes, or more rarely women wearing men’s clothes. It is a form of dress or presentation rather than any particular gender identity, sexual orientation, or motivation, and has appeared in many societies across history for reasons including disguise, comfort, self-expression, ritual, and performance. Cross-dressing is not the same as being transgender, though older writings often used broader and less precise terminology that grouped different experiences together.
I think society in general along with the media and higher education are remiss in not making students more aware of the Transvestite / Crossdresser option. It could reduce the stress for a great many people and possibly avoid detransition for those who regret their decisions regarding gender.
