Definitions, not labels

[CJ]

Hi all,

Okay, Virginia, here are some dictionary definitions (all taken from the online Oxford Dictionary at http://www.askoxford.com/). I thought I'd add them here, so as not to hijack the "Leather and PVC" thread in the "Dear GG" section of the forum. Of course, these definitions are but variations on a theme; other dictionaries may define these terms in a slightly different way.

Cross-dressing

• noun: the wearing of clothing typical of the opposite sex.

(CJ sez: personally, I would've thought this would be considered a verb... but who am I to argue with the Oxford Dictionary, eh?)

Transvestite

• noun: a person, typically a man, who derives pleasure from dressing in clothes considered appropriate to the opposite sex.

(CJ sez: notice that the definition doesn't say whether the pleasure thus derived is specifically sexual; methinks the good folks at Oxford don't wish to go out on a limb on this one)

— DERIVATIVES transvestism noun.

— ORIGIN German Transvestit, from Latin trans- ‘across’ + vestire ‘clothe’.

Fetish

• noun: 1 an inanimate object worshipped for its supposed magical powers. 2 a form of sexual desire in which gratification is focused abnormally on an object, part of the body, or activity. 3 a course of action to which one has an excessive and irrational commitment.

— DERIVATIVES fetishism noun fetishist noun fetishistic adjective fetishization (also -isation) noun fetishize (also fetishise) verb.

— ORIGIN French fétiche, from Latin facticius ‘made by art’.

Transgender
(also Transgendered)

• adjective: transsexual.

Transsexual
(also transexual)

• noun: a person born with the physical characteristics of one sex who emotionally and psychologically feels that they belong to the opposite sex.

• adjective: relating to such a person.

— DERIVATIVES transsexualism noun transsexuality noun.

Gender

• noun: 1 Grammar: a class (usually masculine, feminine, common, or neuter) into which nouns and pronouns are placed in some languages. 2 the state of being male or female (with reference to social or cultural differences). 3 the members of one or other sex.

— DERIVATIVES gendered adjective.

— USAGE The words gender and sex both have the sense ‘the state of being male or female’, but they are typically used in slightly different ways: sex tends to refer to biological differences, while gender tends to refer to cultural or social ones.

— ORIGIN Old French gendre, from Latin genus ‘birth, family, nation’.

So, according to Oxford, it would appear that our Virginia is partly right in her assertion that crossdressers and transvestites aren't exactly the same thing; you'll find, for example, some crossdressing in stage theater or film or burlesque routines but this crossdressing isn't necessarily associated with transvestism (in that the act of wearing the clothes associated with the opposite sex isn't necessarily done with "pleasure" in mind... Dustin Hoffman's Tootsie being a good example of this: he "dresses" in order to find work, not in order to get pleasure).

Fetishism, on the other hand, is specifically sexual and is often associated with transvestism (where the erotic sensations procured by the clothing itself supplant a person as an object of sexual desire).

I hope this clears some things up. As usual, it's fun to bat around these definitions in our search for more meaningful ones.

Love,
CJ

[Virginia]

We need more definitions!!!!
Like what about those of us who do not necessarily "need" to crossdress to experience the "gift" we have? Then on the other hand we enjoy the thrill that comes with dressing! Then those of us who venture out in public! Then the two schools of thought of those that do dress and venture out: Attempt to pass and those who simply say this is who I am - don't like it -tough! What about MaleLesbians? or a combination A hetrosexual, transgendered, crossdressing, male lesbian:
yeah we need more definitions!
Virginia

[Paulette]

Like Gore Vidal, I believe labels and categories are irrelevant except for political purposes. Politics has to do with the distribution of power, and power is the ability to control or direct others. Other than protecting those I love and those weaker or less able than myself, I am concerned only with power over myself.

I've worked with, taught, was an administrator for, and for the past 39 years I have designed and published assessment materials for children of significantly different abilities. The materials are culture-, language- and gender-free. So I try to avoid labels for children other than to note their degree and fluency of skills and attainment. Behavior, ones own and the children's, marks the true distinctions. (First question for a new teacher or aid: which do you like least, cleaning up vomit or manure?)

When I first began working with such kids, among ourselves we "professionals" referred to them as normies, dummies, weirdos and crips. Not to denigrate them, but to avoid the ugly "professional" terms that common usage, social etiquette, and political correctness had saddled them with: morons, imbeciles, idiots, mutes, schizophrenics, autistics, spastics, retarded, bed wetters, masturbaters, behavior problems, attention deficit disordered, children who exhibited inappropriate behavior, etc. (One of my earlier political slogans was "label jars, not children.")

To claim my own political power, I declare that I am a decidedly male cross dresser with mild fetish and bondage inclinations, who has loved and been loved by men and women, sometimes simultaneously, and am now monogamously and happily married to a woman who is the love of my life. Were I not married or partnered I would gladly consider physical relations with anyone with whom I shared an appreciation for our respective mental, physical, and sexual attributes. I also like chocolate milk and XKCD.

Like Popeye, I yam whats I yam.

If there are further questions, as a Zen teacher once said, inquire within.

[Paulette]

Just realized how much my last post sounds like a dating advertisement!

Not what I meant or intended. Truly.

If anything it's overly self-validating and congratulatory, which is also not needed.

Sorry about that.

[Karin]

Hahaha FWIW Paulette - I never read it like a dating thingy? It came across more like some self discovery?.....Until you just said that anyway *sniggers

Besides... What's wrong with a bit of self validating and congratulating??

There's nothing wrong with who you are!... and well done! buahaha