Why Crossdressing is Taboo in Western Society - Thoughts

[Jamie001]

I have been thinking about why crossdressing is so taboo in Western society and have reached the conclusion that it has to do with homosexuality. The uneducated public and the media perpetuate the stereotype that all crossdressers are gay homosexuals. Even though a lot of progress on the social front has been made by homosexuals over the past 10 years, our society still treats them as second-class citizens.

I believe that in the future (probably not is most of our lifetimes), homosexuals will eventually be accepted just as folks that are left-handed are accepted. They will not be thought of as less or damaged goods as they are in today's society. At that time the myth perpetuated by the media that all crossdressers are gay will not mater anymore, since there will be no stigma attached to being homosexual.

It is important that we all provide support to our gay brothers and sisters because their successes in human rights and acceptance will directly translate into increased acceptance for crossdressers and transgendered folks.

[Sandra1746]

Although I fully accept gay rights, and CD activities, it is a hard sell for those who believe in "traditional" aka religious values. Both cross dressing as well as homosexuality is decried as a grave sin in the OT and more of the western culture and law is based on that collection of stories than many suspect. This proscription naturally flows down to all of the Abrahamic faiths.

Thus the prevalence of homophobia in the west...

Just my $0.02,
Sandra1746

[Kate Simmons]

It's good but I don't limit myself to the advancement of rights for those under the LGBT umbrella. My quest is for equal rights for everyone and appreciation for who they are as people. Only when we think of ourselves as one race with members that have particular specialties and gifts that they all contribute to the overall effort can we really make any positive advancement. As was said at the end of the first Star Trek Movie--"The human adventure is just beginning."

[outhiking]

I think that it has more to do with a man stepping down from his station to a lower station. I believe that, perhaps unconciously, we still view the male gender as superior and when a woman acts manly, she is applauded, but if a man acts femine, he is derided.

[Staci Roberts]

Yes, I agree with the above. It seems that it is most convenient and easiest to put everyone (or everything) in buckets. As a result, the "CD" and "homosexual" tend to end up in the same sentence. Not that there is anything wrong with that...it just is not true. Todays media does very little to distinguish the difference. "If you put a dress on...you must be gay...why else would you do that"? It is that kind of mainstream thinking that this topic is up against.

[Jenniferathome]

Don't kid yourself, it is taboo in virtually every society, western, asian, arabic.... The few exceptions where a third sex is sort of recognized are few and far between. And the "Ladyboy" phenomenon in Thailand does not mean that "cross dressing" is not taboo. They are not "cross dressers."

As for why it is taboo. I think it is basically that the male role is being challenged. Society doesn't like that.

[Beverley Sims]

Are we talking X Dressing or religion here.

[Stevie]

[QUOTE=Jenniferathome;3095319)

As for why it is taboo. I think it is basically that the male role is being challenged. Society doesn't like that.[/QUOTE]

Totally agree people do not like change.

[Karren H]

They accept left handed people? When did that happen?

[Melissa Rose]

There is misunderstanding, rejection, ridicule and derision of cross dressers within the LGBT world. It is not exclusive to the "straight" world. If it was about some type of fear or rejection of homosexuality, you would think cross dressers would be fully accepted within the LGBT community without question, but my observations are contrary to it. Some of the snarkiest and meanest comments about cross dressers I have heard or read were from gay men. Some portions of society think cross dressers are perverts, deviants, mentally ill or sinners. I know a few people who are very open and accepting of LGB, but not T. IMHO, while some may view cross dressers as gay and reject them accordingly, it is significantly more complex and varied than just homophobia.

[CassandraSmith]

Genetic Propagation
It's taboo primarily because it is perceived to threaten the gender continuity within family lines. It's a threat to increasing gene pool dominance. This fear is animal based and since I am a spiritual being, I do not subscribe to it.

The Christian Pespective
People are highly scripted and rule bound out of fear primarily. In addition, most people are ethically primitive and either believe that truth comes from authority or that everything is either good or bad and our side is good.

Those fears come from anxiety about their future and even death itself. Those same people are highly attracted to religious systems because they are infatuated with power and they are seeking to reinforce their binary view of good and evil. Not all Christians are like this. However, those who are often become very successful within churches and government and begin to try to impose that paradigm on others to maintain their power and sense of self.

Challenging any social norm causes those people a great deal of fear because it challenges their ego structure and sense of what is real. CDing challenges sexual stereotypes and also awakens the possibility of unscripted living. This is terrifying to some people.

As soon as big business recognizes that there's a profit to be made somehow from us, it will cease to be taboo and we'll be exploited just like everyone else.

[Michelle55]

They accept left handed people? When did that happen?

You're right. It seems absurd to think less of someone because they are left handed today, but my dad is left handed and he was more or less beaten when he was a kid in grade school for writing left handed. Of course he is 103 now.

Hopefully it won't take that long for all LGBT to be accepted, but I have doubts we will ever be completely accepted. But then in 1960 you wouldn't have believed the president of the United States would EVER be anything other than an old white male.

Looking forward attitudes seem to never change, but looking back sometimes they seem to change quickly.

[Annaliese]

That put us correct or not as a subculture to gay, an in the media and public eye, third class citizens or even worse.

[Ambrosia]

Totally agree people do not like change.

I agree completely! The male role is being challenged or "questioned" in all forms of life like never before and people do not like to change out of the comfort zones.

[Foxglove]

I think that it has more to do with a man stepping down from his station to a lower station. I believe that, perhaps unconciously, we still view the male gender as superior and when a woman acts manly, she is applauded, but if a man acts femine, he is derided.

This is a common answer, but I myself question it. If "a man stepping down to a lower station" explains why MTF's are derided, it doesn't explain why FTM's are also derided. "When a woman acts manly, she is applauded": I think the FTM's will tell you this isn't true. If by "woman" you mean a GG, it may be true. But an FTM is a different person altogether, and when they act manly, they don't always find acceptance. Far from it. They face the same problems we do, which they wouldn't if this notion that they're "stepping up to a higher station" were valid.

Challenging any social norm causes those people a great deal of fear because it challenges their ego structure and sense of what is real. CDing challenges sexual stereotypes and also awakens the possibility of unscripted living. This is terrifying to some people.

I feel this is a much better answer because it is the basis for an explanation as to why both genders of transpeople so often face non-acceptance.

Annabelle

[JadeEmber]

There is misunderstanding, rejection, ridicule and derision of cross dressers within the LGBT world. It is not exclusive to the "straight" world. If it was about some type of fear or rejection of homosexuality, you would think cross dressers would be fully accepted within the LGBT community without question, but my observations are contrary to it. Some of the snarkiest and meanest comments about cross dressers I have heard or read were from gay men. Some portions of society think cross dressers are perverts, deviants, mentally ill or sinners. I know a few people who are very open and accepting of LGB, but not T. IMHO, while some may view cross dressers as gay and reject them accordingly, it is significantly more complex and varied than just homophobia.

That comes from a lot of things. Stonewall, for example, was started by drag queens and transgender individuals mostly when the Public Morals squad broke in to arrest them for "public indecency" for crossdressing, which was common enough back then. After things began to happen after the riots, however, the New York movement tried to move that community aside because they weren't seen as being as "acceptable" to mainstream society -- ie, they were thought to freak out the straight mainstream. Sylvia Rivera would be a well-known figure in that particular kind of struggle. There's a always a tension between those who are visible and those who can blend and choose to. Also, there was an opinion among second-wave feminists in particular, and some radical feminists now, in association with lesbian movements, that trans woman ridicule "real women," through a mockery that is ironically viewed as part of the patriarchal view of the establishment. Transmen, however, typically weren't seen as perjoratively. I think this is better now, but one still sees it.

As to the original question, though, there are lots of reasons out there. Some strands of feminism defend CD'ing as they view the taboo as part of the mechanism of establishing "Otherness" for women. I suspect homophobia has its part as well (what if I accidentally think a man is hot??!!??). However, in general, societies are extremely harsh in policing taboos across many bounds, typically involving various forms of caste. The old days of white and non-white bathrooms, the way caste is treated in India, etc. It's kind of a human trait it seems. One of those things we need to grow out of.

[xdressed]

I think that it has more to do with a man stepping down from his station to a lower station. I believe that, perhaps unconciously, we still view the male gender as superior and when a woman acts manly, she is applauded, but if a man acts femine, he is derided.

I did a lot of research into this for my last essay at uni and you're pretty much correct. Throughout history society has always seen women as the inferior of the two genders, creation myths always start with the man being created first, countless religious texts are full of 'men own women' mentality and there are countless modern examples. Men are seen as powerful, so a woman with power needs to maintain that by not appearing feminine at all, thus creating fear and respect. Men acting feminine by doing things like having sex with another man or (shock horror) actually presenting as or even becoming a woman just creates an image of inferiority and 'wrongness' from those that don't understand.

[Foxglove]

I think that it has more to do with a man stepping down from his station to a lower station. I believe that, perhaps unconciously, we still view the male gender as superior and when a woman acts manly, she is applauded, but if a man acts femine, he is derided.

I did a lot of research into this for my last essay at uni and you're pretty much correct.

Yes, but again, it doesn't explain the non-acceptance that FTM's face. See my post #15.

[xdressed]

Yes, but again, it doesn't explain the non-acceptance that FTM's face. See my post #15.

Men are seen as powerful, so a woman with power needs to maintain that by not appearing feminine at all, thus creating fear and respect

It's kind of the same thing in reverse, the inferior gaining power society unconsciously thinks they ought never to possess is as scary and hard to understand as the 'powerful lowering their station'. Not sure if I've explained that right but it is basically the same as what Cassandra said

[Foxglove]

It's kind of the same thing in reverse, the inferior gaining power society unconsciously thinks they ought never to possess is as scary and hard to understand as the 'powerful lowering their station'. Not sure if I've explained that right but it is basically the same as what Cassandra said

Yes, well, of course the argument is based on the notion that men are actually seen as superior. True in the past, but I don't believe it is these days in the Western world--yet transphobia persists.

And what I get from my FTM contacts is not that they're seen as getting above themselves. It's more like they're doing something unnatural. Which is a fairly common viewpoint among trans-haters.

Annabelle

[SarahMarie42]

It has less to do with power and more to do with role fulfillment. If one views the male as an avatar of responsibility, hard-work, etc., as per the traditional Judeo-Christian ethic, one will see that male as "shirking" his "natural" role as a man and provider to "retreat" to the "unnatural" role of the feminine nurturer. It's only because we associate biological sex with propensity toward and proficiency in a given role. Goes for ftm too.

In this sense, I'm more inclined to agree with Annabelle's statement that it symbolizes some corruption of the natural order to those who delusionally believe themselves to understand that natural order.

These types of analyses submit themselves best to symbolic interactionism, begin at the micro-level, and determine the structure of the phenomenon piece-wise.

[Foxglove]

It has less to do with power and more to do with role fulfillment.

In this sense, I'm more inclined to agree with Annabelle's statement that it symbolizes some corruption of the natural order to those who delusionally believe themselves to understand that natural order.

I think we need to remember that a lot of this thread is rather unscientific speculation. We're trying to figure out how people think--and remember, these are cispeople who don't view this question the way we do. If we really want to know what they think, the best thing to do would be to ask them. But I'm not sure how good the answers we'd get from them would be. They may not really know. People don't always know why they think what they think.

I base my view on the fact that you will hear trans-haters call us "sick" and "perverts". If I remember correctly, a 1913 health act in the US labelled us "moral deviants". But I don't think I've ever heard a trans-hater say, "You're lowering yourself by trying to be a woman." But I don't claim that I have any scientifically-gathered data on this question. I wonder if anybody does.

We could come up with all kinds of theories. E.g., a man is supposed to be strong. When he dresses as a woman, he's not projecting an image of manly strength. I myself would like some real data before I come to any firm conclusion.

Annabelle

[Stephanie47]

In general people tend to 'stay with their own!' My wife and I attended a wedding of a "mixed marriage" forty years ago where a lot of people did not think it was going to survive! He was Catholic and Polish. She was Catholic and Irish.

If you think cross dressers are accepted in the general population, you're smoking bad weed. Just because you do not get beat up and the law protects you in housing and employment (Washington State at least), it does not confer acceptance.

Anything out of the "mainstream" is not accepted. My parents hated Elvis and the Beatles. They weren't Mitch Miller or Lawrence Welk.

[Maria S]

If you say you are a cross dresser the first words are "Are you gay?" Shock! Horror! If a person is gay and they come out "Oh well as long as you're happy, shame I'll never be a grandparent" It seems to be more accepted to be gay then to be a cross dresser. A cross dresser can be happily married, have a great hetrosexual sex life and father of a football team of kids. I think cross dressing is gradually becoming more acceptable as we move from generation to generation. In our grandparents time it was men are men and women were grateful. In our parent's time it started to get a bit easier but now younger adults are more accepting as the norm. I guess one or two generations back this was the same for homosexuality which today is well accepted.

Maria

[SarahMarie42]

Oh, I know that it's primarily theory. Usually, one is confined to the realm of theory in these circumstances, as it is sometimes difficult for those with prejudiced attitudes to articulate them clearly, particularly when their bigotry is of a closeted sort. In social theory, and even more prominently in anthropology, one will tie a current behavior to a possible set of histories, and then search for that history. For example, the existence of the "two-spirit" in some Native American cultures would lead one to believe that those cultures ventured down a different cultural path in accordance with their economic, political, and environmental circumstances, crafting an internally coherent belief system from the knowledge they've acquired and the experiences they've had. In a Judeo-Christian culture, it is widely known that people are believed to have been marked for a purpose which was preordained by their God. One's biological sex factors significantly into the greater culture's assignment and "recognition" of the divine purpose of a given individual. If the universe and human existence are predestined for purposefulness, one's biological sex must be some indication of their proper future role (i.e. if God had wanted you to be a woman, he would have made you one). Any deviation from this purpose is considered to be highly dangerous to the social order, a disruption of God's idealized intent for the world at large -- There are dozens of problems with the examples I've provided, and much inconsistency to the reasoning of the people I'm describing, but, remember, this is descriptive not normative. A disruption of that idealized world is thought to bring harm to all, it is a breakdown in means and ends. They see a man in the role of the woman much like they'd see someone using a hammer to attempt to drink water -- a tool unfit for a role or purpose. They perceive this breakdown in means and ends as harmful to them personally, as it could both anger God and defy his wisdom disastrously. There are ways to get around this theologically, of course, as there are many Christian transpeople -- I am referring strictly to highly traditionalist systems. There are also ways that this behavior could receive almost identical stigma on an entirely secular basis. But, no one will take offense unless they're threatened, and a breakdown in a role system is threatening to most people.