Gender is a complicated and multifaced topic. Usually, people consider a transgender and a crossdresser to be the same, but it’s far from reality. There are a lot of aspects such as gender, sex, sexual orientation, etc. to consider before assigning the terms of a ‘crossdresser’ or a ‘transgender’ to someone. One refers to the sexual orientation, whereas, the other refers to the external appearance. To clearly understand the concept, and the difference between them, we’ve to first define them separately.
- Transgender: Transgender is someone who considers his/her gender identity to be differentfrom the gender they were born into. They do not accept the gender they were assigned at birth. For example, despite having male genitalia, a person may feel feminine or identify himself as a woman. These people are an example of the difference between sex and gender. Sex is determined by chromosomes, physical characteristics, sex hormones and reproductive anatomy, whereas, gender deals with behaviours, activities and roles associated with sexes. A transgender experiences gender identity that’s different from the sex they’ve got at birth.
- Crossdresser: Crossdresser refers to someone who maintains touch with femininity or masculinity, without noticing a change in their body. It refers to a person wearing clothes and accessories that are not associated with their sex. This could be for various reasons such as disguise, comfort, and entertainment. It is different from being transgendered or transsexual because, here, the person is happy with the gender that has been assigned to him/her at birth.
- Let us take an example, a crossdresser man enjoys to be in clothes or accessories of a woman but still, he remains a man. Many men indulge in feminine persona for some time. Unlike transsexuals, they are not willing to transform themselves into a woman. However, transgenders go through the constant urge of transforming themselves into the opposite sex.
- Crossdressers are attracted towards accessories of women such as the makeup, the clothes and high heels. It’s all about being feminine, whereas, external appearance does not matter for transgenders. You can find trans people wearing jeans with an intense desire to be a woman.
- Almost all the crossdressers are heterosexuals and they do not incline to people of the same sex. They claim to be straight. They do not refuse from returning to their male clothing and strip off the makeup from their faces. There’s no homosexual fetish associated with crossdressers.
- Nowadays, it’s widely accepted that women can wear clothes of men, but that does not apply to men. Men who wear makeup and clothes of women are considered as weirdos. People often think transgender and crossdressers to be similar, which is not the case. Crossdressing is emotional and not sexual. Crossdressers don’t categorize themselves to be of the opposite sex, they just dress up as women for fun.
Bottom Line:
These are delicate topics which should be dealt with the utmost care, respect and tact. Always embrace the person you are and help people around you who face similar difficulties. This not something to be ashamed of. Be confident and proud of the way you feel about yourself.