DSM IV now DSM V AND CROSSDRRSSERS

[SAMANN]

After I came out to my wife she went and did research (good) and also went to crossdresserswives.com which had the DSM IV definition of transvestic paraphilia as one of its main definitions of us. Have to tell you not very flattering the new DSM V classifies us as tranvestic fetishists in the same category as pedophile's. There was quite an unsuccessful uproar about this but it was not changed in the final printing. According to these two definitions we do this solely for sexual.pleasure and stimulation. If you read the cdwives.com posting we all do this because we are basically gay and abusive to our wives and so's.

I will be the first to admit that when i first started i did have sexual feelings and acted on those feelings. I still do momentarily get aroused when i slip into my clothes but that happens whether its my BVD's or Panties heck a block of wood is liable to cause that reaction. The thing is though I AM NOT interested in the things the DSM indicates we as trans are interested in. I am interested in my wife and all the fun things we enjoy together.

My question is this does society as a whole see us as perverts on the same level as pedophiles or are we just a variant on the norm? How do we address this with our loved ones. I tend to believe that as a subset of society we have the same percentage of issues as society as a whole for example if 10% of society is gay than about 10% of trans people are gay etc.

one of the trans support groups that was fighting on our behalf for a more societal based view of crossdressers pointed out how the DSM IV definition has been used against us and show us as pedophilic perverts and how the new definition is aimed almost solely at the MTF crowd and excludes the FTM. This unnerves me and angers me at the same time.

Now if any of you are psychologists/psychiatriast or other mental health professionals please tell me I am wrong and have read this in error. Also if any of you are more aware of a better balanced support site for our spouses than cdwives I would be great full i was impressed with the level.of misunderstanding and negativity I saw in the little time I spent on there. One thing I love about this forum is the balance I agree with some of you and disagree with some of but appreciate the view points.

[Tracii G]

A pedophile is a child molester and I am deff not into molesting kids Thats just crazy to lump us into a group like that.
They are supposed to learned people that come up with crap like this but this proves they are as dumb as a rock.

[Amy Fakley]

perhaps I'm missing something?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraphilia

that's not the same thing as pedophilia ... but then I didn't look up and read the DSM, so maybe the OP is getting at something different?

--- update ---
ok ... think I get it. Pedophilia is a type of paraphilia (i.e. "psychosexual disorder"). So in that sense I suppose in that way, we're lumped in with that dispicable bunch. I'm not sure I'd categorize crossdressing as a "disorder". I think I have a big problem with that

[KellyJameson]

First I would suggest you be clear in your own mind that a pedophile is not only a man but many woman are in prison for the crime so it is not exclusive to men.

Many mothers seduce or act seductive to their sons but men are far more likely to keep quiet about the behavior.

Second a pedophile is not a thought or state of mind but an action so there must be a victim where there are no victims from crossdressing.

Crossdressing does not do violence against another.

Men use pornography and have all manner of sexual experiences so what is the difference if a man finds crossdressing erotic.

If I was married to a man and I was confronted with a choice of him masturbating or having sex with a stranger and than possibly infecting me with a STD I would be buying him all the panties he could possibly desire.

The anger of women does not make crossdressing wrong it just makes angry women being angry, which is nothing new.

Take a moment and think about all the things people do that they claim is moral.

What is worse to crossdress or having an abortion?

What is worse to kill someone because they do not believe in your God or to crossdress?

What is worse creating a life and than neglecting that child or abusing it versus crossdressing ?

Human beings excel at being hypocrites. They command others how to act and than justify their own behavior.

Compared to the disgusting things I have seen women and men do in this world crossdressing is harmless.

Enjoy it and tell everyone who has a problem with it to F..k off because those who scream loudest against it have greater sins that they keep hidden out of sight from others.

[Barbara Ella]

It is a shame that a tool like the DSM V is often misused to lump certain behaviors together, which implies similarities, and that is what society takes away because they are just as lazy and actually totally unaware, much like the professionals who put the DSM V out. They are just too lazy to care about people, only making it easy for them to classify someone for insurance billing and coding. The actual therapists etc. have to deal with the ire of their clients who are stereotypically placed categories like pedophiles. The so called professionals do not really care about any result , ie child molestation, only that the seeming "disorder" has a similar genesis. LAZY, UNEDUCATED, UNCARING no other words for them. Says a lot about how the profession views our situation. Thank goodness the workers in the trenches care. daughter is a licensed clinical social worker, not sure how I would broach the subject with her...lol

Barbara

[ReluctantDebutant]

It cannot be said that Crossdresseing and Pedophilia are equal on a moral or legal level. Crossdressing does not produce victims or is an act the is done to an innocent. But it might phsycologically be equal in that the same urges, or the same nuerons in the brain are being fired off in a similar matter. Completely different triggers (which makes a world of difference) causing the same type of brain activity.

Just my 2cents

[Lorileah]

If you read the cdwives.com posting we all do this because we are basically gay and abusive to our wives and so's.

And Thus why we have to work harder to show that they are wrong. I am sure that they get little opposition on that web site to those things. You cannot get to know someone until you actually talk to them. REally hard to break that mold when half the CD's believe that they are perverts. Which brings us to...

My question is this does society as a whole see us as perverts on the same level as pedophiles or are we just a variant on the norm?

The ones who pay any attention at all get their information from bad movies (Really, like Tootsie, Too Wong Foo, the Birdcage). They are the same people who get their info on other cultures from other bad movies. When a TG is shown on mainstream TV, they are A) The drag queens in teh Pride parade, B) the guy in a bad wig who robs a bank or C). the creep who hangs around restrooms. Hard to get anything beyond that on the 5 O'clock news. BTW can you name the TG members of government? There are several, but you don't get to see them in a positive light.

How do we address this with our loved ones.

Slowly and quietly. Calmly and rationally. Direct conversation. And quit think of yourself (ourselves) as bad people. Concentrate on the fact that 99.9% of TG's are positive members of society (Some have even written wonderful music...)


No other minority cowered in the corner when they decided they wanted equal (not different...equal) rights

[Babette]

Samann and others,

Information posted on the Internet, printed on paper, or delivered on the evening newscast must never be taken as the absolute truth. A person is risking serious trouble if they believe everything discussed on any forum. Its too bad people can't "open their eyes" to realities before diving head first into group think. Many years ago, people were persecuted for suggesting the world is round and not flat. Its too bad that today some people still insist our world is nothing but flat.

Babette

[StaceyJane]

That classification was not approved for DSM V. In fact DSM V no longer lister transgender as a mental disorder.

http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/1...ntal-disorder/

Don't believe cdwives.com. It's an evil place.

[Tamara Croft]

Thread closed, do some better research next time like Stacey has said, thank you Stacey for your link.

[Eryn]

The other site mentioned is hardly a balanced source of information.