This letter was sent to agony aunt Joan Burnie of the Record in Scotland
WHY CAN'T A MAN BE MORE LIKE A WOMAN?
Q. I AM a cross-dresser, although under my dress I am all man. My wife accepts that there is nothing wrong with my hobby.
However, we had a big falling out at Christmas because she wouldn't allow me to wear a dress when we sat down for dinner.
While it is quite acceptable for men like Eddie Izzard to go on chat shows wearing female attire, there is still a huge amount of prejudice against ordinary cross-dressers.
Why is it all right for woman to cross-dress but not men?
A THE difference is that a woman in trousers is not usually attempting to imitate a man. She's wearing them for comfort. Don't tell me it's the same for cross-dressers. think you had some nerve thinking it was okay to wear a frock. Family Christmases are fraught enough without that carry-on.
My response to this:
Dear Ms Burnie,
I'd just like to bring to your attention a slight error in your response to the transvestite who wrote in and was replied to on 1st of January 2004. You mentioned that women in trousers is a comfort thing but for transvestites it cannot be that. I beg to differ, for someone who is suffering from gender identity disorder, also known as gender dysphoria, wearing the attire of their "chosen" gender may well be for specifically that reason, granted most transvestites fall under the category of "transvestic fetishism" where they derive pleasure in other ways from dressing, but a large proportion of them may not be able to accept the fact they are transsexual, or feel that their partners, family, friends may not accept this, so do not "transition" to full time. For quite some time I was sure I was a transvestite, but have recently come to terms with the fact that I am, in fact, a transsexual, and am awaiting treatment to correct the gender incongruity.
However, I do agree that the festive season is not the best time to try to push things further as it is a stressful time of year without any added hassle.
You may want to take a look at the following websites:
Please not that Nicole King does not accept any editorial responsibility for the content of this page, other that the correction of spelling and minor grammatical errors.