merely “historically” or “culturally,” but psychoanalytically, through the unconscious and through language. (Garber, 1992) To Marjorie Garber, this represents a notion that there is a naturalness to this behavior, since the common theme crosses so many boundaries, including time. It does seem as if society is tolerant of the idea of cross-dressing for art’s sake. However, what about cross-dressing in everyday life?Webster (1972) defines transvestitism as “the adoption of the dress and often behavior of the opposite sex.” Seems harmless enough. Why, then are most cross-dressers secretive about their affection for this? According to Dr. Peggy Rudd (1995), most are secretive, because they have many fears related to the consequences of having their “big secret” discovered. In general, non-participants do not consider transvestitism, socially acceptable. Many cross-dressers fear the detrimental effects upon other family members, and many are concerned about the possibility of losing their job as a result of “coming out.” Some cross-dressers feel guilty because society has placed them into stereotypes, including the incorrect assumption that all cross-dressers are gay, or that all transvestites are potential transsexuals. To the contrary, while some are gay, most cross-dressers want to share their life with a woman, and the number of gay males is far less among crossdressers than among the general population (Rudd, 1995). Most identify primarily as a male who has, and retains, male gender identity. Often they are married, and the father of children. (Prince, 1971) This in itself presents the question of whether or not to tell spouses, and/or, their children about this. Many do not, out of fear of being seen as deviant, and perhaps losing those most dear to them. It is a natural thing for cross-dressers to want to share all of themselves with those they love, but ...
