Is crossdressing a fetish?
A lot of people think that crossdressing is a fetish, or a perverse hobby. Here, I will try to use my own experience to help shed some light on why people crossdress and to answer to the best of my knowledge on whether crossdress is a fetish.
Crossdressing is sexual in nature
Many people including some crossdresser may think that crossdressing is itself sexual. Some crossdresser or if not most crossdresser may be aroused sexually when they are dressed in the opposite sex or when they slipped on that piece of lingerie. While there are a certain level of association with this, I feel that this is not the sole reason. I will explain why by tracing back to my first memory of the desire to crossdress.
When do I start crossdressing?
Since I was as young as 3 or 4 years old, I always have the secret yearning to wear a dress. The thought is always in my mind especially when I see other girls wear some dresses that I feel will look pretty on me. Looking around me, I see no boys wear dresses or skirts so I thought I must be crazy. Given that young age, I doubt my little desire has anything much to be sexual in nature. It’s simply because I wish to look cute and pretty. This is not something a typical boy should feel, but I feel that strongly. And when I saw this video on princess boy that I realized that I am not the only one.
It is only during the pubescent period that crossdressing is somehow tied to something sexual in nature. As I grow over the years, the feeling of having being sexual aroused actually decreases. In my current stage, I feel more of wanting to look pretty above anything.
Reasons for crossdressing
There are many reasons for someone to crossdress. Here are some of them:
- Sexual gratification
- Feel relax when crossdress
- Feels like a girl trap in a boy’s body
- No reason, it is a part of me
Mostly, sexual gratification is one of the main reason for many crossdresser. Hence many would think that crossdressing is indeed a fetish. The definition of fetish as given by Oxford Dictionary is ‘A form of sexual desire in which gratification is linked to an abnormal degree to a particular object, item of clothing, part of the body, etc.’ So it seems that a fetish must be associated with a particular item. Now let’s go through the different level of crossdressing.
Level of crossdressing
The first type of crossdresser who I will address as the casual crossdresser is one who is attached to a certain type of feminine wear. This could be stocking, lingerie or in some instances ladies’ underwear. Some of them may enjoy wearing them underneath their regular day-to-day menswear. If these individuals are sexually aroused when they are wearing these feminine wear, then yes, according to Oxford Dictionary of ‘fetish’, crossdressing is a fetish for them.
The second type of crossdresser likes to be in full form. That is they will dress to the fullest as a female complete with wig and clothing. For them, being able to be like a female will make them contented. Often, they do not venture beyond the wigs and clothing and it may remain as a fetish for them if this type of crossdressing satisfy they sexual desire. They still look distinctively male and are ok with that look. Most of them are closet crossdresser.
The last type of crossdresser strives to be as passable as possible as a female. It is an advanced level of the full form crossdresser. This will requires some years of practise in their makeup skills and even dress sense so they do not look like some guys in drag. Some of them may wish to transit to be a female, others may just like to dress up and be pretty. For most of them, crossdressing is likely not a fetish but a part of their life or it could be full time for some of them. Some will dress fully as a girl for most part of their lives. A point to note is that some of these individuals maybe have Gender Identity Disorder (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_dysphoria). Especially for this group of people, crossdressing is hardly a fetish.
I am not an expert in this. The above is simply my own research and understanding especially being a crossdresser myself. I hope the next time you know of someone who crossdress, please try to understand more before making any judgement.