definition of transvestite?

[occdresser]

What is your definition of transvestite? - A guy that likes to eat, drink, and be Mary:hugs::drink:

[Marla S]

crossdresser

[Sasha Anne Meadows]

anacronistic definition for various transgender situations. pejorative

[Toyah]

anacronistic definition for various transgender situations. pejorative


Transgender inappropriately applied general term coined by mostly full time or seriously politically motivated people which is in its very definition inappropriate to 90% here (tip don't use Wickpedia)

Trans between Vestite clothing ie between clothes or someone who wears clothing of opposite sex
Its only considered to be bad in the states coz the shrinks there thought it should be. In the UK its a litte old fashioned but perfectly acceptable

[jacky83]

I've always thought of transvestite as a more clinical and formal term. I never thought as necessarily pejorative. Of course it depends on who and how the term is being used. Another term that has been used is eonism after the French diplomat Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée Éon de Beaumont who spent his life as both a man and a woman.

[Kate Simmons]

I dunno. I always thought I was a TV. When I came "out" in 2001 and joined Renaissance, I was a CD all of a sudden. You say tomata, I say tomatta, you say potata, I say potatta. All I know is that when I was little, I used to give Mr. Potato Head heels, a purse and red lips, unbeknownst to Mrs. Potato Head of course.:heehee: I showed that even vegetables can be TG.;):battingeyelashes:

[Peggy55]

I've always thought of transvestite as a more clinical and formal term. I never thought as necessarily pejorative. Of course it depends on who and how the term is being used. Another term that has been used is eonism after the French diplomat Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée Éon de Beaumont who spent his life as both a man and a woman.

I think that guy spent his life writing his name! Yikes!

[Kris]

I dunno. I always thought I was a TV. When I came "out" in 2001 and joined Renaissance, I was a CD all of a sudden. You say tomata, I say tomatta, you say potata, I say potatta. All I know is that when I was little, I used to give Mr. Potato Head heels, a purse and red lips, unbeknownst to Mrs. Potato Head of course.:heehee: I showed that even vegetables can be TG.;):battingeyelashes:

I hope you have pictures of Mr. Potato Head with heels, a purse, and weren't all his lips red? ROTFLMAO!!

I think this is wonderful because I did the same thing! LOL I had a Mr. Peanut Guy.. with his top hat and cane.. I hope you know what I am talking about .. anyway I used to dress him in girl clothes too! Hey, maybe that is why I like cd'ers so much, ya think?

Kris:hugs:

[Kate Simmons]

I hope you have pictures of Mr. Potato Head with heels, a purse, and weren't all his lips red? ROTFLMAO!!

I think this is wonderful because I did the same thing! LOL I had a Mr. Peanut Guy.. with his top hat and cane.. I hope you know what I am talking about .. anyway I used to dress him in girl clothes too! Hey, maybe that is why I like cd'ers so much, ya think?

Kris:hugs:Great minds think alike I guess Kris.:heehee:

[Chrissy8888]

My definition if transvestite is cross dresser. However I am not a big fan of the term. In fact I find it rather repulsive. You can all laugh or make fun of me for saying this. People are cross dressers or TG’s depending on the level in which they dress, feel and act.

[Veronica 1]

The term transvestite has always meant to me that a male wants to wear female clothes. It was not until about 3 months ago that I had even heard the term crossdresser. I guess that I lead a very sheltered life here in my closet.

[Sheri 4242]

Another term that has been used is eonism after the French diplomat Charles-Geneviève-Louis-Auguste-André-Timothée Éon de Beaumont who spent his life as both a man and a woman.

Eonism is an antiquated, generalized term for transgenderism. That said, the history of d'Eon is really quite interesting. At one point he said he was a GG at birth, but had been made by his family to dress like a male b/c of the requirements to gain a family inheritance. Later, as his career was on its downside, he again claimed he was born a GG and petitioned the king of France (Louis XIV I think, but I could be off a "number or two") to be known, and allowed to dress, as a female. The king granted his request. As noted, d'Eon was a diplomat for part of his career (from France to England). In London there were actually large formal wagers made on whether he was male or female. Upon his death, the British government ordered an autospy (d'Eon was in London at the time of his death) and it was confirmed that anatomically d'Eon was male. A bunch of money was lost on bets in London regarding d'Eon's true anatomy. (This is from memory, so if I have left out details, I'm sorry. That said, you get the general picture.)

d'Eon had spent a good part of his career in the military -- and in fact was known for his love of wearing his uniform. What I have always wondered is wouldn't you think someone would have seen him take a pee in his many years in the military??? :heehee:


Transgender inappropriately applied general term coined by mostly full time or seriously politically motivated people which is in its very definition inappropriate to 90% here (tip don't use Wickpedia)

Trans between Vestite clothing ie between clothes or someone who wears clothing of opposite sex
Its only considered to be bad in the states coz the shrinks there thought it should be. In the UK its a litte old fashioned but perfectly acceptable

1.) Toyah is certainly correct about NOT relying on <wikipedia>. Encyclopedias are not considered appropriate reference material for reliable academic inquiry -- and <wikipedia> is even less reliable b/c of its allowance of unsubstantiated and/or unqualified submissions. I've always told students that an encyclopedia might be a good place to start to point one in the right direction, but should never be considered an aceptable resource.

2.) Toyah is also correct about the use of transvestite in different places. It is much more acceptable to use in the UK than in the states. In the states, an erotic component is usually attached in formal psychology, whereas in the UK, the term is more broadly utilized.

As has been noted on the forum before, credit for the term is given to a German named Magnus Hirschfeld -- and the word, as many do, has undergone changes and/or modifications over the years. Hirschfeld, himself, really wasn't satisfied with the term b/c at the time many TG terms hadn't been invented and/or refined.

3.) Hirscfeld realized that his term, transvestite, was being used to put a lot of people under the same umbrella, and he didn't like this. He, of all people, knew there was a difference in a male wearing female clothes to escape participation in the Trojan Wars and someone who felt that they had been born the wrong anatomical sex, which was also diferent from someone wearing clothing of the opposite sex for erotic reasons, which was different from someone crossdressing because they, while heterosexual, were expressing the feminine side of a dichotomous personality, and so on.


I dunno. I always thought I was a TV. When I came "out" in 2001 and joined Renaissance, I was a CD all of a sudden. You say tomata, I say tomatta, you say potata, I say potatta. All I know is that when I was little, I used to give Mr. Potato Head heels, a purse and red lips, unbeknownst to Mrs. Potato Head of course.:heehee: I showed that even vegetables can be TG.;):battingeyelashes:

GF, you are really "dating yourself" -- but since I did the same, guess I am, too!!! :lol2:

[PaulaJaneThomas]

Eonism is an antiquated, generalized term for transgenderism. That said, the history of d'Eon is really quite interesting. At one point he said he was a GG at birth, but had been made by his family to dress like a male b/c of the requirements to gain a family inheritance. Later, as his career was on its downside, he again claimed he was born a GG and petitioned the king of France (Louis XIV I think, but I could be off a "number or two") to be known, and allowed to dress, as a female. The king granted his request. As noted, d'Eon was a diplomat for part of his career (from France to England). In London there were actually large formal wagers made on whether he was male or female. Upon his death, the British government ordered an autospy (d'Eon was in London at the time of his death) and it was confirmed that anatomically d'Eon was male. A bunch of money was lost on bets in London regarding d'Eon's true anatomy. (This is from memory, so if I have left out details, I'm sorry. That said, you get the general picture.)

Here's (http://www.beaumontsociety.org.uk/Chevalier.html) all about d'Eon.

[BarbaraTalbot]

The term transvestite has always meant to me that a male wants to wear female clothes. It was not until about 3 months ago that I had even heard the term crossdresser. I guess that I lead a very sheltered life here in my closet.

The reception of the Gender-Free-Radio-North-America Broadcasts was fuzzy at best in my closet. Must've been all the drab clothing messing with the signal.

I hadn't thought about it because I didn't have a name for what I did. If I'd let my self think about that I would have said I was a transvestite, and the term would have seemed pejoratives to me and only added to my self shame.

[Katie Mathos]

I've always considered myself as a transvestite based on receiving sexual pleasure from dressing in female clothing. (Although most females that I see are now wearing unfem jeans and blouses. Are they crossdressers?)

[Marla]

I dont like the term it sounds way to clinical.

[docrobbysherry]

As previously stated, " Trans" means between. Transiting and/or transition, involve some sort of traveling or moving/changing. I am exactly where I want and wanted to be, as a CD, and so I guess that makes me a Arrivestite!

[Tina B.]

"Would not a rose by any other name, smell as sweet?" William Shakespere
Transvestite, crossdresser, is it still not just a man in a dress?
don't over think it just enjoy.
Tina B.

[sissystephanie]

"Would not a rose by any other name, smell as sweet?" William Shakespere
Transvestite, crossdresser, is it still not just a man in a dress?
don't over think it just enjoy.
Tina B.

Tina B.,

You are right, in a sense! The word "Transvestite" was coined by the media, and is definitely perjorative! It has always meant a man who dresses like a woman, for sexual purposes! I.E.: Transvestite Hooker! It is not clinical, just very derogatory. I have never considered myself to be a Transvestite! Yes, I am a Crossdresser and not ashamed of it! But I do not dress for sexual reasons, but because I like to. I believe the majority of the ladies(CD's that is) on this Forum are the same.


I might add that I have enjoyed sex while dressed, but with my dear wife not a man! We did switch roles on occasion.:heehee:

Sissy/Stephanie

More girl than man sometimes

[LilSissyStevie]

Me! :tongueout

[Jacqui]

You gals got it all wrong! Sorry, Toyah and docrobbysherry, trans does not mean "between," it means "across" or "through."
"Inter" means "between."

My definition of transvestite is:
Trans- across
Vest- what you wear over your blouse
Tite- not loose

A transvestite is somebody whose vest that goes across the boob area is too tight. They need to cut down on the trans fats
so that they can get their vest to fit and thereby become a transvestfit.

[docrobbysherry]

Jacqui,
How bout a Transvestloose then? Nobody likes an uptite Transvest! Where as a "loose" Transvest might be in high demand! LOL
RS


You gals got it all wrong! Sorry, Toyah and docrobbysherry, trans does not mean "between," it means "across" or "through."
"Inter" means "between."

My definition of transvestite is:
Trans- across
Vest- what you wear over your blouse
Tite- not loose

A transvestite is somebody whose vest that goes across the boob area is too tight. They need to cut down on the trans fats
so that they can get their vest to fit and thereby become a transvestfit.

[jaina]

I've never found it offensive.
But people needed a new word to identify themselves with and will need a new one in a few years. No big deal.

[Katelyn]

I don't like the word. I prefer transgender better. This is my own opinion but to me, Transvestite and Transexual are gender slurs. I see them like I see racial slurs. If I know of a person that has undergone SRS, I see them as the gender they have become. To me, they are either a man (ftm) or woman (mtf). As for the rest of us, I rather live with the term transgendered. Honestly, I don't even care for the term crossdresser because it's looked down upon. Also, the double standard applies here. If I wear anythng feminine, I will be called a crossdresser, however, if I see a woman wearing a mans shirt for example, and I told her she was a crossdresser, i would be the one that would be considered mean and weired for saying that out loud. Anyways, that's my :2c:.

[Melora]

Here is my :2c:
In response to an earlier message.. I guess most females ARE indeed crossdressers, but NOT transvestites.. As Male Transvestites try to look like a female, most women just dress in male clothes because of fashion trends or casual comfort, UNLESS they try to take on the persona and look of a male. A guy who does not put on makeup or puts in the effort to cover up his masculinity, (spelling?), and puts on a dress or feminine clothes is a Crossdresser, a transvestite actually TRIES to "hide" the maculine or the femininity if a female. Just remember.. A crossdresser is a sex that dresses as the oposite sex.. IE.. Much easier to be accepted in society if a female, who is accepted more in the fashion society than males, who supposidly need to "live up to a norm).
Anyways = My thoughts.. :2c:

[Katelyn]

Here is my :2c:
In response to an earlier message.. I guess most females ARE indeed crossdressers, but NOT transvestites.. As Male Transvestites try to look like a female, most women just dress in male clothes because of fashion trends or casual comfort, UNLESS they try to take on the persona and look of a male. A guy who does not put on makeup or puts in the effort to cover up his masculinity, (spelling?), and puts on a dress or feminine clothes is a Crossdresser, a transvestite actually TRIES to "hide" the maculine or the femininity if a female. Just remember.. A crossdresser is a sex that dresses as the oposite sex.. IE.. Much easier to be accepted in society if a female, who is accepted more in the fashion society than males, who supposidly need to "live up to a norm).
Anyways = My thoughts.. :2c:

I like this answer!

[Melora]

Thanks!, Clarissa! :)
Look, One more thing about the term "crossdresser", that what is happening in society is what I like to lable the "Clown". You all know what I mean.. The obvious "guy", who is out in the public on Halloween, when IT IS NOT.. Just giving all average crossdressers and Transvestites who are just trying to live life queitly, A BAD name... I mean, just like the regular public, I DO NOT want to see some hairy brute in a dress, or cashmere or a LBD as much as anybody.. And I think that "Clowns", just give those of us who may want to "pass", a bad name in society. Please note, A DraggQueen dresses the way that they do, because they are a known "Clown", or trying to make money AS AN ACTOR. (no puns intended upon DQs. You all do what you do).
Another :2c:
Wow.. This Might be a good thread starter I think..

[Rita B]

If anyone has noticed, the media likes to use the term "transvestite". Very seldom is there any mention of anyone as being a crossdresser. I think that the term is offensive and that it conveys derogatary meanings in the manner in which it is often used. Why should I care. . .I consider myself to be an unfulfilled transgendered person anyways

Love to all

Rita B

[lizbendalin]

One of the difficulties that we as a community face is that all of us have different definitions and preferences for the many terms and categories - CD/TV/TS/DG/TG/Etc. I say this is a difficulty because our division, causes confusion with the general public; they don't know how to talk about us (in a good way). One dresser finds the use of TV insulting and prefers CD, another person who in their dressing and identity is exactly the same finds CD to be incomplete and prefers TG, another identical dresser says TG is only for TS and prefers TV. No wonder the non-dressing community is unsure of how to deal with us, we are unsure of how to effectively talk about who we are. :2c: I think it would benefit the entire community if we could figure out a standard definition/ label that could be agreed upon and used by everyone so that we can provide clarity to this confusing world of gender/ gender identity/ gender expression.