Crossdresser: Difference between revisions

Line 4:

Crossdressers may be men dressing as women, or women dressing as men. Contrary to popular belief, crossdressing does not necessarily imply homosexuality. Sexuality being a fluid, confusing and often contradictory thing, no hard and fast rules can be drawn about crossdressers and transvestites. An element of sexual arousal ("transvestic fetishism") may be involved in dressing, but not necessarily. And sometimes the primary purpose for crossdressing is simply disguise. This supertrope covers all the various possibilities and permutations.

Distinguished from [[Drag Queen]], which tends to be strongly associated with gay men and has an inherent aspect of "performance." Also not to be confused with [[~~Transsexualism~~]], which describes a people who consider themselves to ''be'' members of the "opposite" sex. There's always potential for overlap, however. A drag queen may ''also'' dress as a woman while "offstage," and thus be a crossdresser as well. Some people may start out as "merely" crossdressers, only to eventually discover that they are truly transsexual.

Distinguished from [[Drag Queen]], which tends to be strongly associated with gay men and has an inherent aspect of "performance." Also not to be confused with [[Transgender]], which describes a people who consider themselves to ''be'' members of the "opposite" sex. There's always potential for overlap, however. A drag queen may ''also'' dress as a woman while "offstage," and thus be a crossdresser as well. Some people may start out as "merely" crossdressers, only to eventually discover that they are truly transsexual.

"Crossdresser" and "Transvestite" aren't necessarily synonymous in [[Real Life]]. Many different (and often contradictory) definitions for each term can be found. This trope is intended to encompass ''all'' of them—at least for purposes of troping.