Abstract
This article reports a survey of childhood experiences and family dynamics reported by a sample of 85 cross-dressing males drawn from the readership of a magazine for transvestites. The sample had a higher percentage of only children and eldest children compared to a national sample and also a much closer relationship with their mothers than with their fathers. Their identification as nuclear or marginal transvestites or transsexuals is related to the quality of the reported relationship with the mother, to the factors they identify as associated with their cross-dressing, and to their sexual orientation. Covert cross-dressers account for over three fourths of the subjects, but those who were overt (their cross-dressing openly encouraged by female family members) show significantly different patterns and distributions on several variables. A constellation of family and parental relationships is proposed—drawn in part from the insights of object relations and family systems theory—which may contribute to the development of transvestism.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arndt, W. B. (1991).Gender Disorders and the Paraphilias International University Press, Madison, WI.
Blake, J. (1989).Family Size and Achievement University of California Press, Berkeley.
Blanchard, R. (1988). Nonhomosexual gender dysphoria.J. Sex Res. 24: 188–193.
Blanchard, R., and Clemmensen, L. H. (1988). A test of the DSM-III—R's implicit assumption that fetishistic arousal and gender dysphoria are mutually exclusive.J. Sex Res. 25: 426–432.
Blanchard, R., Clemmensen, L. H., and Steiner, B. W. (1987). Heterosexual and homosexual gender dysphoria.Arch. Sex. Behav. 16: 139–152.
Brown, G. R. (1994). Women in relationships with cross-dressing men: A descriptive study from a nonclinical setting.Arch. Sex. Behav. 23: 515–530.
Brown, G. R., and Collier, L. (1989). Transvestites' women revisited: A nonpatient sample.Arch. Sex. Behav. 18: 73–83.
Buhrich, N., and Beaumont, T. (1981). Comparison of transvestism in Australia and America.Arch. Sex. Behav. 10: 269–279.
Buhrich, N., and McConaghy, N. (1977a). The clinical syndromes of femmiphilic transvestism.Arch. Sex. Behav. 6: 397–412.
Buhrich, N., and McConaghy, N. (1977b). The discrete syndromes of transvestism and transsexualism.Arch. Sex. Behav. 6: 483–495.
Buhrich, N., and McConaghy, N. (1978). Parental relationships during childhood in homosexuality, transvestism, and transsexualism.Aust. N. Z. J. Psychiat. 12: 103–108.
Bullough, V. L. (1991). Transvestism: A reexamination.J. Psychol. Hum. Sex. 4: 53–67.
Bullough, V. L., and Weinberg, T. S. (1988). Women married to transvestites: Problems and adjustments.J. Psychol. Hum. Sex. 1: 83–104.
Bullough, V. L., Bullough, B., and Smith, R. (1983). A comparative study of male transvestites, male to female transsexuals, and male homosexuals.J. Sex Res. 19: 238–257.
Docter, R. F. (1988).Transvestites and Transsexuals: Toward a Theory of Cross-Gender Behavior Plenum Press, New York.
Docter, R. F. (1993). Dimensions of transvestism and transsexualism.J. Psychol. Hum. Sex. 5: 15–37.
Fagan, P. J., Wise, T. N., Derogatis, L. R., and Schmidt, C. W. (1988). Distressed transvestites: Psychometric characteristics.J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 176: 626–632.
Kerr, M. E., and Bowen, M. (1988).Family Evaluation Norton, New York.
Kohut, H. (1971).The Analysis of the Self International University Press, New York.
Newcomb, M. D. (1985). The role of perceived relative parent personality in the development of heterosexuals, homosexuals, and transvestites.Arch. Sex. Behav. 14: 147–164.
Occupational Changes in a Generation. (1973). University of Wisconsin, Data and Program Library Service (data file).
Persinger, M. E., and Stettner, L. J. (1991). The relation of transvestite behavior to self-rated personality characteristics.J. Psychol. Hum. Sex. 4: 83–96.
Pillard, R. C., and Weinrich, J. D. (1987). The periodic table model of the gender transpositions: A theory based on masculinization and defeminization of the brain.J. Sex Res. 23: 425–454.
Prince, V., and Bentler, P. M. (1972). Survey of 504 cases of transvestism.Psychol. Rep. 31: 903–917.
Stoller, R. (1968).Sex and Gender, Vol. 1, Science House, New York.
Stoller, R. (1975).Sex and Gender, Vol. 2, Hogarth, London.
Stoller, R. (1985).Presentations of Gender Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.
Weinberg, T. S., and Bullough, V. L. (1988). Alienation, self-image, and the importance of support groups for the wives of transvestites.J. Sex Res. 24: 262–268.
Wise, T. N., Fagan, P. J., Schmidt, C. W., and Ponticas, Y. (1991). Personality and sexual functioning of transvestic fetishists and other paraphilics.J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 179: 689–694.
Woodhouse, A. (1985). Forgotten women: Transvestism and marriage.Women's Stud. Int. Forum. 8: 583–592.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schott, R.L. The childhood and family dynamics of transvestites. Arch Sex Behav 24, 309–327 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541602
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541602