Defense of CrossDress

[JoAnnDallas]

Found this while on another foum. Though everyone would be interested.

The Diagnostic Dilemmas of Transvestitism (http://home.netcom.com/~docx2/tf.html)

[Marcie Sexton]

I suppose for those who want analitical reasoning for why they do something that article is fine. As a matter fact soemm parts were interesting, but when it comes down to everything in a nut shell...IF IT FEELS GOOD DO IT, so long as it doesn't harm others...

We are not the center of the universe and must consider others...Perhaps some day not to far in the future, main stream society will open their minds and realize that we are not bad, just a little different look, but the same person, perhaps better in some ways on the inside...

[susie evans]

very intresting thanks for sharing

susie

[JoAnnDallas]

The part that stuck a cord with me, was it can be in some cases be Therapeutic and therefore is Ok for some to crossdress. I know that when I am dressed, I feel calmer and more relaxed, so guess it is therapeutic.

[suzy]

I was glad to read the article. It is wonderful to read a professional reviewing the world that some of us live in. His works will stimulate others to examine crossdressing behaviors and more and more reports will formulate opinions favorable to crossdressers.

It certainly appears like he is using sound judgment and good rationale.:D

[tammie]

HI Everyone: JoAnn, thanks so much for bringing this to us. I will make a note to keep it available for furure referance. One never knows when it might be needed. There is still so much misinformation around concerning crossdressing, and what it is and means. Truly it is differant for so many people both those who do it and those who hear about it and don't understand it. Thanks again.

[Michelle 51]

Thank's for sharing that.It's nice to see a professional look at cding from the angle of maybe dressing doesn't cause the problem some have but that they dress because it help's to deal with the problem.It's easy to say( so you like to wear a dress no wonder your here) when the cause could be a hundred other thing's. Justabit

[Kimberley]

Interesting Joanne.

I find this particularly poignant because when I first met my current pdoc, I disclosed during our initial interview. Her response was that she treats the whole person and that gender issues are not a disorder. However, often other symptoms such as depression and anxiety can arise from an inability to deal with other life pressures. Often gender is blamed for symptoms that have no relation.

That is not to say that gender cannot create problems, it can, however the other issues must be eliminated first.

Smart lady.

:hugs:
Kimberley

[MarinaTwelve200]

Very good. I especially like the part where if one has found a "coping mechanisim" thet releaves "stress" , then there is really NO reason to stop.---so long as it dosent cause social, maraige or employment problems on its own.

[Joy Carter]

I was thinking of this the other day, that there are four mental health professionals I know of that cross dress. I'd tend to believe them and what they wrote.

[Deidra Cowen]

Seemed like every paragraph in that mentions sex!!! I get no sexual thrill from dressing so perhaps I have no emotional or mental disorder! :tongueout

I think we have a lot of fem in us...perhaps something mis-wired in the brain or we have some hormone deal going on where we are getting these femmy urges & feelings. Thats what I think science will figure out about us...not some emotional disorder.

[Amanda Jane]

I'm with you DC, there are a lot of us who are not into the sex (tension relief) aspect of clothing, prefering to have sex with other people and not a material item (OK, so DC and me are weird, so be it).

There are lots of reasons for CD, some is a gender issues, some comfort, some a vacation, or being a spy in the house of love, or sexual release, there are others who do it to flout social conventions, upset the norm, call attention to themselves, because they feel more girl than boy, because, because, because.

One Size Does Not Fit All. If its true for panties, at the very least, it should be true for psychology also. And, please note, these professionals only see people who think they are "sick" or "need help." They never get to talk with the people who are happy and content in who they are and what they are.

[RobertaFermina]

Chuck and Peggy are pretty cool, in my book!

Roberta :rose2:

[Kristen Kelly]

The current edition of the DSM (APA, 2000) continues to list TF as a mental disorder, although the latest research available does not support the inclusion of this diagnosis. Brown, Wise, Costa, Herbst, Fagan and Schmidt (1996, p. 265) conclude, "Cross-dressers…are virtually indistinguishable from non-cross-dressers." This statement takes on added importance because Wise and Schmidt were members of the DSM-IV-TR (2000) Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders Text Revision Work Group, (i.e., the committee responsible for revising this section of the DSM).

The diagnostic criteria define this disorder as occurring specifically among heterosexual men. Neither women nor homosexual men are likely to receive this diagnosis. This reflects on how narrowly masculinity is defined in this culture and on the cultural context in which the diagnostic process is embedded.

While his employer and wife may have a problem with his sexual interest, Mr. A apparently does not. His impairment, if any, comes from the fact that his job and marriage are in jeopardy. If he was unable to perform the duties of his job (e.g., he was too busy dressing to actual drive the truck), then this dysfunction may qualify for a diagnosis of mental disorder. If we accept that his problems arise from the societal attitudes he is forced to endure, then we must question whether a diagnosis of psychopathology is valid. If TF is a mental disorder, we imply that women or African Americans, who also experience problems arising from discrimination, are similarly subject to diagnosis.

When non-paraphilic (normophilic) individuals are distressed or even dysfunctional because of an inability to find accepting and supporting partners, they are not defined as having psychosexual disorders. We do not assume that individuals are mentally disordered if potential partners reject them because the former are fat, poor, or even ugly. Why does being rejected for non-standard sexual interests imply a mental disorder?


To illustrate the problems with this diagnosis, consider the following case:

Mr. A is a 40-year-old man, married for 15 years, with no children, who works as a truck driver. He seeks psychotherapy for depression characterized by dysphoric mood, anhedonia, insomnia, fatigue, and feelings of hopelessness. The current episode began one month ago. He reports the precipitating events include the possibility that he may be fired and that his wife is considering divorce. You make a diagnosis of Major Depressive Episode.

Now assume that the same patient is sitting in your office while cross-dressed. He describes a history of erotic arousal when dressed in female attire, but now finds cross-dressing is calming. His employer discovered his cross-dressing - (in private, not while on the job) - from a co-worker in whom Mr. A confided. His employer states he must act "to preserve the company image." His wife always disliked the cross-dressing and feels the behavior "must be sick"; she does not want to endure the embarrassment its revelation may bring. Mr. A reports cross-dressing overall has had a positive effect on his life. He admits that having to keep it secret has been stressful and he had periods of self-loathing in the past because he thought cross-dressing was sick. Over time and with the help of several transvestite support groups, these problems have been resolved. How will your diagnosis, treatment plan and goals change with this new information?


Great article, one to keep on file I plan on letting my gf read this if she would like to.

Our behavior is not sick just different.

[marie354]

I found that to be a very interesting read. Thank you.


Seemed like every paragraph in that mentions sex!!! I get no sexual thrill from dressing so perhaps I have no emotional or mental disorder! :tongueout

I think we have a lot of fem in us...perhaps something mis-wired in the brain or we have some hormone deal going on where we are getting these femmy urges & feelings. Thats what I think science will figure out about us...not some emotional disorder.

Yea, they'll probabally figure it all out one day. Might take another 50 years, but this younger generation just might have a head start now that forums like this and support groups are widely available and have a good grasp long before that.
:hugs:

[Brenda Love]

They forgot to mention that most of us CD because it just feels sooooooooo goooooooooooood!!!!!!!:happy:

[Satrana]

Well the article is about transvestic fetishism by a professor of sexology so of course the article will focus on the sexual content of crossdressing. It is not an article about gender.

It is amusing to me though that doctors are still debating whether crossdressing is a mental disorder. Seems to me they should spend some time on forums like this to get themselves better educated!:tongueout

[Amanda Jane]

given his address in the heart of the Castro district, he ought to know a lot about sex

[GinaVegas]

Interesting article......

Gina

[Lisa Maren]

In the first part of the book, DSM-IV-TR (2000) anyway, on page xvi, it says that one of the individuals in the Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders Text Revision Work Group (i.e. the group in charge of updating that portion of the DSM) is one Kenneth J. Zucker, PhD.

I can't stand that man! He is unequivocally biased against transgenderism of any sort. I've read one or two articles of his and his strategy for "treating" individuals with that kind of struggle is to make them "give it up" and be male (in a nutshell). I don't even want to know how someone like him ended up in the group responsible for editing the Gender Identity section of the DSM! Ack! Travesty!

Here's a perfect example: http://www.tsroadmap.com/info/kenneth-zucker.html

"Zucker found several predictors of adolescent GID: lower IQ, lower social class, immigrant status, non-intact family, and childhood behavior problems unrelated to gender identity disorder. Obviously, none of these factors can be considered very specific. Parental divorce and low social class are both very common, and most males who experience them do not become transsexual. The factors do, however, suggest a common theme: early adversity. I will speculate later about what this might mean. When I have discussed the theory that homosexual transsexuals are a type of gay man, I have met resistance. I was surprised at this, for the idea is neither new nor, it seemed to me, controversial. Some of the resistance was emotional. People who believe that homosexuality is not a disorder tend to dislike the implication that a subset of homosexuals are disordered."

Okay... I am very gender confused, my IQ is above average, I'm from a middle-upper class social class, I'm white and was born in San Francisco, my family is quite together, parents married for 41 years, and my whole family lives in the area (which is not necessarily that common). I did have some behavioral problems as a kid, but I have ADHD (that and I was bored, no matter what my first grade teacher thought). That's where my (now past, incidentally) behavioral stuff came from. Once again, my parents are not divorced.

Where does this guy get this crap? lol

Ugh! It just goes to show that not everyone with a PhD can be trusted and not every book written by one is that great.

Hugs,
Lisa

[susananklet]

:Angry3: Yep, I tell my shink all the time to please have his profession take crossdressing out of the middle ages as they did homosexuality 20 something years ago. It will happen. We need to remind them of this.
My doctor is very supportive of crossdressing. Susan

[melissaK]

Lisameaghan, I'm with you that Zucker is a Neanderthal. I try to keep an open mind and read different points of view, but I eventually wrote Zucker off as a fearmonger, and little more. Fortunately there are plenty of other professionals not following his path. Maybe Zucker can get hired to cure Pastor Ted in Colorado Springs.

And as you point out, on these boards I dare say the IQ is above average. Like you I'm from a Ward & June Cleaver type family, sans a big brother named Wally. I had childhood adversity (not sure who doesn't) but I had plenty of folks try to heel me to the male path - including my own unrelenting self. Didn't work. Made things worse in many respects (I am loath to ever say everything would've been rosy had I done things differently - might've had a completely different collection of miserable life challenges).

Anyway, thanks for the article JoAnne.

Hugs,
'lissa

[carla smith]

I want to get job like, "Professor of Sexology" where do I sign up! :heehee: I hope it takes me 10 years of study...:happy:

Have fun out there!

But fun doesn't just happen. You have to make it a priority in your life or it'll go missing. Life's too short to not have it.