Cross-dressing: Difference between revisions

The phenomenon of cross-dressing is seen throughout recorded history, being referred to as far back as the [[Hebrew Bible]].<ref name="aggrawal_2009_16_3">{{cite journal |author=Aggrawal, Anil. |title=References to the paraphilias and sexual crimes in the Bible |journal=J Forensic Leg Med |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=109–14 |date=April 2009 |pmid=19239958 |doi=10.1016/j.jflm.2008.07.006 }}</ref> The terms used to describe it have changed throughout history; the [[Anglo-Saxon]]-rooted term "cross-dresser" is viewed more favorably than the [[Latin]]-origin term "[[transvestite]]" in some circles, where it has come to be seen as outdated and derogatory.<ref name="Vaccaro">{{cite book |author=Annemarie Vaccaro |author2=Gerri August |author3=Megan S. Kennedy|title=Safe Spaces: Making Schools and Communities Welcoming to LGBT Youth|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|isbn=978-0-313-39368-6|year=2011|page=142|access-date=October 21, 2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZkxjSnI2e0UC&pg=PA142|quote=Cross-dresser/cross-dressing. (1) The most neutral word to describe a person who dresses, at least partially or part of the time, and for any number of reasons, in clothing associated with another gender within a particular society. Carries no implications of 'usual' gender appearance, or sexual orientation. Has replaced transvestite, which is outdated, problematic, and generally offensive since it was historically used to diagnose medical/mental health disorders.}}</ref><ref name="Capuzza">{{cite book |author=Jamie C. Capuzza |author2=Leland G. Spencer|title=Transgender Communication Studies: Histories, Trends, and Trajectories|publisher=[[Lexington Books]]|isbn=978-1-4985-0006-7|year=2015|page=174|access-date=October 21, 2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A1emBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA174|quote=Eventually, the transvestite label fell out of favor because it was deemed to be derogatory; cross-dresser has emerged as a more suitable replacement ([[GLAAD]], 2014b).}}</ref><ref name="Zastrow">{{cite book |author=Charles Zastrow|title=Empowerment Series: Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare: Empowering People|publisher=[[Cengage Learning]]|isbn=978-1-305-38833-8|year=2016|page=239|access-date=October 21, 2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DB5TCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA239|quote=the term transvestite is often considered an offensive term.}}</ref> Its first mention originated in Magnus Hirschfeld's ''[[Die Transvestiten]]'' (''The Transvestites'') in 1910, originally associating cross-dressing with non-heterosexual behavior or derivations of sexual intent. Its connotations largely changed in the 20th century as its use was more frequently associated with sexual excitement, otherwise known as transvestic disorder.<ref>{{Cite web |title=transvestism {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/transvestism |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> This term was historically used to diagnose psychiatric disorders (e.g. [[transvestic fetishism]]), but the former (cross-dressing) was coined by the [[transgender]] community.<ref name="Vaccaro"/><ref name="Gerstner">{{cite book|author=David A. Gerstner|title=Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer Culture|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-0-313-39368-6|year=2006|page=568|access-date=October 21, 2016|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XS_SnVPixE8C&pg=PA568|quote=A variety of derogatory terms are still used to describe any aspect of the transgender condition. [...] The term transvestite being older [than cross-dresser] and associated with the medical community's negative view of the practice, has come to be seen as a derogatory term. [...] The term cross-dresser, in contrast, having come from the transgender community itself, is a term seen as not possessing these negative connotations.}}</ref> The [[Oxford English Dictionary]] gives 1911 as the earliest citation of the term "cross-dressing", by [[Edward Carpenter]]: "Cross-dressing must be taken as a general indication of, and a cognate phenomenon to, homosexuality". In 1928, [[Havelock Ellis]] used the two terms "cross-dressing" and "transvestism" interchangeably. The earliest citations for "cross-dress" and "cross-dresser" are 1966 and 1976, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oed.com/;jsessionid=54290019DADF286E3311933DC816B7ED?authRejection=true&url=%2Fview%2FEntry%2F44812%3FredirectedFrom%3Dcross-dress|title=Home: Oxford English Dictionary|website=www.oed.com|language=en|access-date=2019-02-17|archive-date=2021-03-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307191918/https://www.oed.com/;jsessionid=54290019DADF286E3311933DC816B7ED?authRejection=true&url=%2Fview%2FEntry%2F44812%3FredirectedFrom%3Dcross-dress|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==={{lang|fr|En femme}} and {{lang|fr|en homme}}===

The term '''''{{lang|fr|en femme''}}''' ({{IPA-|fr|ɑ̃ fam|lang}}) is a [[lexical borrowing]] of a French phrase. It is used in the transgender and crossdressing community to describe the act of wearing feminine clothing or expressing a stereotypically feminine personality. The term is borrowed from the modern [[French language|French]] phrase ''en femme''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Butler |first=Kirstin |date=June 1, 2023 |title=We Were Never Meant to See this Photograph {{!}} American Experience {{!}} PBS |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/casa-susanna-we-were-never-meant-to-see-this-photograph/ |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=www.pbs.org |language=en |archive-date=2024-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718121100/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/casa-susanna-we-were-never-meant-to-see-this-photograph/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Julia Serano's trans, gender, sexuality, & activism glossary |url=http://www.juliaserano.com/terminology.html |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=www.juliaserano.com}}</ref> meaning "as a woman.", Most crossdressers also use a [[female]] name whilst ''{{lang|fr|en femme''}}; that is their "femme name". In the cross-dressing community the persona a man adopts when he dresses as a woman is known as his "[[femme]] self".<ref>{{cite book|last=Boyd|first=Helen|title=My Husband Betty: Love, Sex and Life With a Cross-Dresser|year=2004|publisher=Sdal Press|isbn=1560255153|pages=64|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vCT70HjI_a4C&q=en+femme}}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Between 1987 and 1991, JoAnn Roberts and CDS published a magazine called "En Femme" that was "for the transvestite, transsexual, crossdresser, and [[Drag queen|female impersonator]].",<ref>{{cite web |last=Roberts|first=JoAnn|date=December 1990|title=En femme magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/enfemmemagazine21unse/page/n1/mode/2up}}</ref>

'''''{{lang|fr|En homme''}}''' ({{IPA-|fr|ɑ̃nɔmɑ̃n‿ɔm|lang}}) is a similar [[anglicized]] adaptation of a French phrase, used to describe the act of wearing masculine clothing or expressing a stereotypically masculine personality.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Scott |first=Joan Wallach |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1smjv00 |title=Only Paradoxes to Offer: French Feminists and the Rights of Man |date=1996 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-63930-0 |pages=140–141 |language=en |chapter=The Radical Individualism of Madeleine Pelletier |jstor=j.ctv1smjv00.8 |quote=To re-dress the female body 'en homme' was to signal its autonomy and its individuality . . . . She herself wore closely cropped hair, a starched collar, tie, and suit coat long before these had become fashionable attire for 'modern' women after World War 1. . . . She understood her transvestism as a transgression of prevailing norms, a way of establishing her individuality in the face of a disapproving crowd |chapter-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1smjv00.8}}</ref> The term is derived from the modern colloquial French phrase ''{{lang|fr|en tant qu'homme''}} meaning "as a man" and the anglicized adaptation ''{{lang|fr|en homme'' }} literally translates as "in man". Most crossdressers also use a masculine name whilst ''{{lang|fr|en homme''}}.

[[File:Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari) (CBL J 1038.1).jpg|thumb|[[Lady Murasaki|Lady Murasaki's]] classical novel ''[[The Tale of Genji]]'' from 1008 demonstrates the transgression between masculine and feminine beauty with characters that have no clear gender differentiability. ]]

Cross-dressing has been practiced throughout much of recorded history, in many societies, and for many reasons. Examples exist in [[Greek mythology|Greek]], [[Norse mythology|Norse]], and [[Hindu mythology]]. Cross-dressing can be found in theater and religion, such as [[kabuki]], [[Noh]], and [[Korean shamanism]], as well as in folklore, literature, and music. For instance, in examining kabuki culture during Japan's edo period, cross-dressing was not only used for theater purposes, but also because current societal trends: cross-dressing and the switching of genders was a familiar concept to the Japanese at the time which allowed them to interchange characters's genders easily and incorporate [[Geisha|geisha fashion]] into men's wear.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cross-dressers in Ukiyo-e {{!}} 太田記念美術館 Ota Memorial Museum of Art |url=http://www.ukiyoe-ota-muse.jp/exhibition-eng/crossdressors |access-date=2022-12-01 |language=ja |archive-date=2022-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201011917/http://www.ukiyoe-ota-muse.jp/exhibition-eng/crossdressors |url-status=live }}</ref> This was especially common in the story-telling of ancient stories such as the character Benten from [[Benten Kozō]]. He was a thief in the play cross-dressing as a woman. Cross-dressing was also exhibited in Japanese Noh for similar reasons. Societal standards at the time broke boundaries between gender. For example, ancient Japanese portraits of aristocrats have no clear differentiation in characteristics between male and female beauty. Thus, in Noh performance, the cross-dressing of actors was common; especially given the ease of disguising biological sex with the use of masks and heavy robes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Intersections: Children in Late Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Century Lowland Philippine Societies |url=http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue16/saeki.htm |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=intersections.anu.edu.au |archive-date=2022-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201011923/http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue16/saeki.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> In a non-entertainment context, cross-dressing is also exhibited in Korean shamanism for religious purposes. Specifically, this is displayed in chaesu-gut, a shamanistic rite gut in which a shaman offers a sacrifice to the spirits to intermediate in the fortunes of the intended humans for the gut. Here, cross-dressing serves many purposes. Firstly, the shaman (typically a woman) would cross-dress as both male and female spirits can occupy her. This allows her to represent the opposite sex and become a cross-sex icon in 75% of the time of the ritual. This also allows her to become a sexually liminal being. It is clear that in entertainment, literature, art, and religion, different civilizations have utilized cross-dressing for many different purposes.<ref>{{Citation |last=Panoussi |first=Vassiliki |title=cross-dressing |date=2023-04-19 |work=Oxford Classical Dictionary |url=https://oxfordre.com/classics/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-8634 |access-date=2024-03-24 |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.8634 |isbn=978-0-19-938113-5 |archive-date=2024-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240423125531/https://oxfordre.com/classics/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-8634 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Duggan |first1=Anne E. |title=Folktales and fairy tales: traditions and texts from around the world |last2=Haase |first2=Donald |last3=Callow |first3=Helen J. |date=2016 |publisher=Greenwood |isbn=978-1-61069-253-3 |edition=2nd |location=Santa Barbara, California |pages=241–3 |language=en |quote=Prohibited in many societies, cross-dressing, or wearing the clothing of the other sex, is nonetheless practiced or narrated around the world in ritual, dance, balladry, theater, folktales, fairy tales, short stories, and novels. Transvestism, as it is also known, is an integral part of many folk ritual practices.}}</ref>

[[Drag (clothing)|Drag]] is a special form of [[performance art]] based on the act of cross-dressing. A [[drag queen]] is usually a [[Sex assignment|male-assigned]] person who performs as an exaggeratedly feminine character, in heightened costuming sometimes consisting of a showy dress, high-heeled shoes, obvious make-up, and [[Wig (hair)|wig]]. A drag queen may imitate famous female film or pop-music stars. A [[faux queen]] is a female-assigned person employing the same techniques. A [[drag king]] is a counterpart of the drag queen – a female-assigned person who adopts a masculine persona in performance or imitates a male film or pop-music star. Some female-assigned people undergoing [[Gender-affirming surgery]] also self-identify as 'drag kings'.[[File:Lady Bunny and Sherry Vine by David Shankbone.JPG|thumb|[[Drag queen]]s [[Lady Bunny]] (left) and [[Sherry Vine]] (right) in 2008. Drag is a form of cross-dressing as [[performance art]].]]The modern activity of [[battle reenactment]]s has raised the question of women passing as male soldiers. In 1989, Lauren Burgess dressed as a male soldier in a [[U.S. National Park Service]] reenactment of the [[Battle of Antietam]], and was ejected after she was discovered to be a woman. Burgess sued the Park Service for [[sexual discrimination]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Robinson |first1=Lynda |date=September 30, 1991 |title=Battle re-enactor finds herself at war with U.S. Park Service |url=httphttps://articleswww.baltimoresun.com/1991-/09-/30/news/1991273008_1_rebattle-enactorsre-civilenactor-finds-herself-at-war-burgesswith-us-park-service/2 |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |issn=1930-8965 |oclc=244481759 |publisher=Trif Alatzas |access-date=13 August 2018 |archive-date=2018-08-15 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815024639/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1991-09-30/news/1991273008_1_re-enactors-civil-war-burgess/2 }}</ref> The case spurred spirited debate among Civil War buffs. In 1993, a federal judge ruled in Burgess's favor.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Meyer |first1=Eugene L |date=March 18, 1993 |title=Woman Wins Fight Over Civil War 'Battle' Garb |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-03-18-mn-12369-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=14 August 2018 |quote=U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled that... the Antietam park policy of 'categorically barring women from portraying male soldiers... constitutes unconstitutional discrimination against women.' |archive-date=2024-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718121042/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-03-18-mn-12369-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Sometimes either [[cisgender]] member of aan [[androphilic]] and heterosexualgynephilic couple will cross-dress in order to arouse the other. For example, the male might wear skirts or lingerie and/or the female will wear boxers or other male clothing. (See also [[forced feminization]])

Born in 1760 in [[Plympton, Massachusetts]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Deborah Sampson |url=https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/deborah-sampson?gclid=CjwKCAjwyNSoBhA9EiwA5aYlbyKd_p6BMuOINFc0a10m6ORAqIBvuaOgE1alHQCnOT_QC0dC5VMD_RoCXU4QAvD_BwE |website=National Women's History Museum |access-date=2023-10-10 |archive-date=2024-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718122010/https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/deborah-sampson |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Deborah Sampson]] was the first female soldier in the [[United States Army|US Army]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Deborah Sampson, U.S. Army |url=https://foundationforwomenwarriors.org/deborah-sampson-u-s-army/ |website=Foundation for Women Warriors |date=March 2017 |access-date=2023-10-10 |archive-date=2024-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718123622/https://foundationforwomenwarriors.org/deborah-sampson-u-s-army/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The only woman in the [[American Revolution|Revolution]] to receive a full [[Pension|military pension]], at age 18 Deborah took the name “Robert"Robert Shirtleff”Shirtleff" and enlisted in [[Union (American Civil War)|union forces]]. In her capacity as a soldier, she was very successful, being named [[captain]] and leading an infantry in the capture of 15 enemy soldiers among other things.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Deborah Sampson |url=https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/deborah-sampson/ |website=George Washington's Mount Vernon |access-date=2023-10-10 |archive-date=2023-10-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017105659/https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/deborah-sampson/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2025}} One and a half years into service, her true [[sex]] was revealed when she had to receive medical care. Following an [[Military discharge|honorable discharge]], Deborah petitioned congress for her full pay that was withheld on the grounds of being an “invalid"invalid soldier”soldier" and eventually received it.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hassencahl |first=Fran |title=Mary Hayes and Deborah Sampson: The Rhetoric of Neglect, Praise, and Expectation |date=December 1974 |url=https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED102620 |access-date=2023-10-10 |archive-date=2024-07-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718122001/https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED102620 |url-status=live }}</ref> She died in 1827 at age 66.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Deborah Sampson: American Revolutionary War Hero |url=https://www.mass.gov/info-details/deborah-sampson-american-revolutionary-war-hero |website=Mass.gov |access-date=2023-10-10 |archive-date=2023-10-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012023926/https://www.mass.gov/info-details/deborah-sampson-american-revolutionary-war-hero |url-status=live }}</ref> Even after her death, Deborah Sampson continues to be a "hero of the [[American Revolutionary War|American Revolution]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Deborah Sampson: American Revolutionary War Hero |url=https://www.mass.gov/info-details/deborah-sampson-american-revolutionary-war-hero#:~:text=Deborah%20Sampson%20became%20a%20hero,participation%20in%20the%20Revolutionary%20army. |website=Mass.gov |access-date=2023-10-10 |archive-date=2023-10-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012023926/https://www.mass.gov/info-details/deborah-sampson-american-revolutionary-war-hero#:~:text=Deborah%20Sampson%20became%20a%20hero,participation%20in%20the%20Revolutionary%20army. |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2019, a [[diary]] from corporal Abner Weston shares about Deborah Sampson's previously unknown first attempt to enlist in the [[Continental Army]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amrevmuseum.org/press-releases/revolutionary-war-diary-reveals-new-details-about-deborah-sampson-who-disguised-herself-as-a-man-to-join-the-continental-army#:~:text=%E2%80%9CAs%20someone%20who%20has%20spent,17%20months%20as%20a%20soldier.|title=Revolutionary War Diary Reveals New Details about Deborah Sampson, Who Disguised Herself as a Man to Join the Continental Army - Museum of the American Revolution|access-date=2023-10-10|archive-date=2024-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718123627/https://www.amrevmuseum.org/press-releases/revolutionary-war-diary-reveals-new-details-about-deborah-sampson-who-disguised-herself-as-a-man-to-join-the-continental-army#:~:text=%E2%80%9CAs%20someone%20who%20has%20spent,17%20months%20as%20a%20soldier.|url-status=live}}</ref>

In some instances, women in journalism deem is necessary to wearwearing the identity of a man necessary in order to gather information that is only accessible from the male point of view. In other cases, people cross-dress to navigate certain cultures and/or specific circumstances that involve strict gender norms and expectations.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Chapter seven: Gender Expression and Cross-dressing |url=https://www.icj.org/sogi-casebook-introduction/chapter-seven-gender-expression-and-cross-dressing/ |access-date=2023-11-08 |website=International Commission of Jurists |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[Norah Vincent]], author of the book ''[[Self-Made Man (book)|Self-Made Man: One Woman's Journey Into Manhood and Back Again]]'', used gender disguise in order to go undercover as a man to penetrate men's social circles and experience life as a man. In 2003, Vincent put her life on pause to adopt a new masculine identity as Ned Vincent.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Self-Made Man: One Woman's Journey Into Manhood and Bac… |url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29434.Self_Made_Man |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=Goodreads |language=en}}</ref> She worked with a makeup artist and vocal coach in order to convincingly play the role of a biological man. She wore an undersized sports bra, a stuffed jock strap, and size 11½ shoes to deceive those around her. In her book, Vincent makes discoveries about socialization, romance, sex, and stress as a man that leads her to conclude that, “"[Men] have different problems than women have, but they don't have it better.”",<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=January 20, 2006 |title=A Self-Made Man |url=https://abcnews.go.com/2020/Entertainment/story?id=1526982 |access-date=2023-09-28 |website=ABC News |language=en |archive-date=2007-10-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008172430/http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Entertainment/story?id=1526982 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, Vincent developed controversial opinions about sex and gender, claiming that transgender people are not legitimate until they undergo hormone therapy and surgical intervention. After writing ''Self-Made Man,'' Vincent became a victim of depression; she died by medically assisted suicide in 2022.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Green |first1=Penelope |title=Norah Vincent, Who Chronicled Passing as a Man, Is Dead at 53 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/obituaries/norah-vincent-dead.html |work=The New York Times |date=18 August 2022 |access-date=10 October 2023 |archive-date=18 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818190111/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/obituaries/norah-vincent-dead.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Bacha posh]], an Afghan tradition, involves the crossdressing of young Afghan girls by their families so that they present to the public as boys. Families without sons, or whose sons are heavily outnumbered by daughters, may choose to raise one of their daughters bacha posh for a number of reasons. Having a bacha posh daughter may ease financial burdens, as girls and women are generally prohibited from work in contemporary Afghanistan,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-24 |title=Taliban bans women from working for domestic, foreign NGOs in Afghanistan |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/taliban-ban-women-from-working-for-domestic-foreign-ngos-in-afghanistan |access-date=2023-10-10 |website=PBS NewsHour |language=en-us}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{cite book |last1=Billaud |first1=Julie |title=Kabul Carnival: Gender Politics in Postwar Afghanistan |date=2015 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-4696-4 |jstor=j.ctt13x1pdw }}{{page needed|date=November 2023}}</ref> and improve their social status, as families with boys tend to be more well regarded in Afghan society.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Hamidi |first1=Nilab |last2=Bohren |first2=Meghan |date=March 3, 2022 |title=Girls forced to act as boys in Afghanistan |url=https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/news/40573-girls-forced-to-act-as-boys-in-afghanistan |access-date=2023-10-10 |website=findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au |archive-date=2023-10-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012023927/https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/news/40573-girls-forced-to-act-as-boys-in-afghanistan |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":02" /> While there is no law that prohibits [[bacha posh]], girls are expected to revert to traditional gender norms upon reaching [[puberty]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Keerthana |first1=R |last2=Jayanthi |first2=S |title=The Unjust Twisting: Bacha Posh custom of the Invisible Girl Children in Afghanistan from Nadia Hashimi's work |journal=European Chemical Bulletin |date=2023 |volume=12 |issue=10 |url=https://www.eurchembull.com/issue-content/the-unjust-twisting-bacha-posh-custom-of-the-invisible-girl-children-in-afghanistan-from-nadia-hashimi-s-work-8214 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105132541/https://www.eurchembull.com/issue-content/the-unjust-twisting-bacha-posh-custom-of-the-invisible-girl-children-in-afghanistan-from-nadia-hashimi-s-work-8214 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 5, 2023 |ssrn=4383274 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Autonomy, Post-puberty Bacha Posh and Third World Feminism in Selected Afghan Fiction |journal=Journal of International Women's Studies |date=3 February 2023 |volume=25 |issue=1 |id={{ProQuest|2778390671}} |url=https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol25/iss1/13/ }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2022-01-16 |title=Afghan girls live as boys until they hit puberty, a temporary chance at freedom |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/afghanistans-bacha-posh-tradition-allows-girls-freedom-boys-rcna12216 |access-date=2023-10-01 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref> According to Thomas Barfield, an anthropology professor at [[Boston University]], bacha posh is "one of the most under-investigated" topics in the realm of gender studies, making difficult to determine exactly how common the practice is in Afghan society.<ref name=":1" /> However, some prominent female figures in Afghan society have admitted to being [[bacha posh]] in their youth. A more famous example of this is Afghan parliament member Azita Rafaat. Rafaat claims that [[bacha posh]] was a positive experience that built her self-confidence in Afghanistan's heavily patriarchal society and gave her a more well rounded understanding of women's issues in Afghanistan.<ref name=":02" />

Psychoanalysts today do not regard cross-dressing by itself as a psychological problem, unless it interferes with a person's life. "For instance,", said Joseph Merlino, senior editor of ''Freud at 150: 21st Century Essays on a Man of Genius'', "[suppose that]...I'm a cross-dresser and I don't want to keep it confined to my circle of friends, or my party circle, and I want to take that to my wife and I don't understand why she doesn't accept it, or I take it to my office and I don't understand why they don't accept it, then it's become a problem because it's interfering with my relationships and environment.",<ref>Shankbone, David. "[[n:Dr. Joseph Merlino on sexuality, insanity, Freud, fetishes and apathy#Gender identity and Heteronormativity|Interview with Dr. Joseph Merlino]]", ''[[Wikinews]]'' (October 5, 2007)</ref>

[[File:Camp - Notes on Fashion at the Met (73835).jpg|thumb|[[Camp (style)|Camp fashion]] made an appearance during the 2019 [[Met Gala]] which had the theme of "Camp: Notes on Fashion.", A themed [[Camp: Notes on Fashion|exhibit of the same name]] was later displayed at the [[The Met Fifth Avenue|Met Fifth Avenue]].]]

Cross-dressing today is much more common and normalized thanksdue to trends such as [[Camp (style)|camp]] fashion and [[androgynous]] fashion. These trends have long histories but have recently been popularized thanks to major designers, fashion media, and celebrities today.

Both of these style forms have been normalized and popularized by celebrities such as [[Harry Styles]], [[Timothée Chalamet]], [[Billie Eilish]], [[Diana,Troye Princess of Wales|Princess DianaSivan]], and more.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-01 |title=The iconic Princess Diana fashion moment that changed the lives of two fashion designers |url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/fashion/royal-style/20221101155704/princess-diana-sheep-jumper-designers/ |access-date=2022-12-01 |website=HELLO! |language=en |archive-date=2022-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201064449/https://www.hellomagazine.com/fashion/royal-style/20221101155704/princess-diana-sheep-jumper-designers/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2023, [[Death of Noor Alsaffar|Noor Alsaffar]], an Iraqi vlogger and model, who described themselves as a cross-dresser, was murdered.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-27 |title=Iraqi social media influencer Um Fahad shot dead by motorbike gunman in Baghdad - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iraq-investigating-killing-um-fahad-social-media-influencer/ |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US |archive-date=2024-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427201521/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iraq-investigating-killing-um-fahad-social-media-influencer/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2024-04-27 |title=Iraqi Authorities Investigate Killing of TikTok Star |url=https://time.com/6971797/iraqi-authorities-investigate-tiktok-star-om-fahad-killing/ |access-date=2024-04-28 |magazine=TIME |language=en |archive-date=2024-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427211650/https://time.com/6971797/iraqi-authorities-investigate-tiktok-star-om-fahad-killing/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Popular Iraqi female TikTok star shot dead in Baghdad night attack |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/27/iraqi-tiktok-star-om-fahad-shot-dead-in-baghdad-night-attack |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en |archive-date=2024-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427183634/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/27/iraqi-tiktok-star-om-fahad-shot-dead-in-baghdad-night-attack |url-status=live }}</ref> The killing of Alsaffar appears to be linked to an increase in homophobia and transphobia in Iraq.<ref name=":03">{{Cite web |last=Morey |first=Alice |date=2023-09-29 |title=Popular Iraqi TikToker allegedly shot dead in Baghdad |url=https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/life/popular-iraqi-tiktoker-shot-dead-in-baghdad/ |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=GAY TIMES |language=en-GB |archive-date=2024-04-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240428104911/https://www.gaytimes.co.uk/life/popular-iraqi-tiktoker-shot-dead-in-baghdad/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Women dressed as men, and less often men dressed as women, is a common trope in fiction<ref name="C&G 395">Clute & Grant 1997, p. 395</ref> and folklore. For example, in [[Thrymskvitha]], [[Thor]] disguised himself as [[Freya]].<ref name="C&G 395" /> These [[disguise]]s were also popular in [[Gothic fiction]], such as in works by [[Charles Dickens]], [[Alexandre Dumas, père]], and [[Eugène Sue]],<ref name="C&G 395" /> and in a number of [[Shakespeare]]'s plays, such as ''[[Twelfth Night]]''. In ''[[The Wind in the Willows]]'', Toad dresses as a washerwoman, and in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', [[Éowyn]] pretends to be a man.

In [[science fiction]], [[fantasy]] and [[women's literature]], this [[literary motif]] is occasionally taken further, with literal transformation of a character from male to female or vice versa. [[Virginia Woolf]]'s ''[[Orlando: A Biography]]'' focuses on a man who becomes a woman, as does a warrior in [[Peter S. Beagle]]'s ''The Innkeeper's Song'';<ref name="C&G 396">Clute & Grant 1997, p. 396</ref> while in [[Geoff Ryman]]'s ''[[The Warrior Who Carried Life]]'', Cara magically transforms herself into a man.<ref name="C&G 396" />

The [[International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems]] listed ''dual-role transvestism'' (non-sexual cross-dressing)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://icd.who.int/browse10/2016/en#/F64.1 |title=ICD-10 Version:2016 |website=icd.who.int |access-date=2019-10-11 |archive-date=2018-11-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105125609/http://apps.who.int/classifications/icd10/browse/2016/en#/F64.1 |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''fetishistic transvestism'' (cross-dressing for sexual pleasure) as disorders in [[ICD-10|its 10th edition]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://icd.who.int/browse10/2016/en#/F65.1 |title=ICD-10 Version:2016 |website=icd.who.int |access-date=2019-10-11 |archive-date=2018-11-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105125609/http://apps.who.int/classifications/icd10/browse/2016/en#/F65.1 |url-status=live }}</ref> but both were removed for the [[ICD-11|11th edition]], which came into effect in 2022.<ref name="lgbtq">{{Cite web |url=https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/05/world-health-organization-will-no-longer-classify-transgender-mental-disorder/ |title=The World Health Organization will no longer classify being transgender as a 'mental disorder' |last=Bollinger |first=Alex |date=2019-05-28 |website=LGBTQ Nation |access-date=2019-10-11 |archive-date=2021-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308211753/https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/05/world-health-organization-will-no-longer-classify-transgender-mental-disorder/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==References=={{reflist|30em}}