Transvestism Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Cross-gender behavior in Myanmar (formerly Burma) is reported. Western concepts of transsexualism, gynemimesis, transvestism, and homosexuality are not distinct categories by the Burmese. Males with cross-gender behavior are referred to... more

Cross-gender behavior in Myanmar (formerly Burma) is reported. Western concepts of transsexualism, gynemimesis, transvestism, and homosexuality are not distinct categories by the Burmese. Males with cross-gender behavior are referred to as acaults. Although Myanmar is a profoundly Buddhist society, the people still have strong animistic beliefs with an elaborate system of 37 nats (spirit gods). One of these nats is a female named Manguedon who may take possession of males and impart femininity on them. The cross-gender status of the acaults is sanctioned by their spiritual marriage to Manguedon. The acaults, while not envied, are respected for their roles as shamans and seers.

This thesis explores modalities in two hagiographical collections from the late Middle Ages; the Legenda Aurea and the Gilte Legende, by drawing inspiration from post-colonial hybridity theories. It conducts a close textual analysis by... more

This thesis explores modalities in two hagiographical collections from the late Middle Ages; the Legenda Aurea and the Gilte Legende, by drawing inspiration from post-colonial hybridity theories. It conducts a close textual analysis by studying the use of pronouns in five saints’ legends where female saints transcend traditional gender identities and become men, and focuses on how they transcend, live as men, and die. The study concludes that the use of pronouns is fluid in the Latin Legenda Aurea, while the Middle English Gilte Legende has more female pronouns and additions to the texts where the female identity of the saints is emphasised. This is interpreted as a sign of the feminisation of religious language in Europe during the late Middle Ages, and viewed parallel with the increase of holy women at that time. By doing this, it underlines the importance of new words and concepts when describing and understanding medieval views on gender.

This study examines the concept of male transvestism, or cross-dressing, as represented in the Latin, French, Old Norse, and German literatures of the European Middle Ages, with a primary focus on the Venus journey of the knight Ulrich... more

This study examines the concept of male transvestism, or cross-dressing, as represented in the Latin, French, Old Norse, and German literatures of the European Middle Ages, with a primary focus on the Venus journey of the knight Ulrich von Liechtenstein. Most recent research views Ulrich's cross-dressing as the Lady Venus primarily from a literary perspective, focusing on the humor present in the portrayal of a medieval knight, who dresses in women's clothing, merely to demonstrate his love for a particular lady. Few critics have discussed the gender and transgender issues inherent in the self-portrayal of a medieval knight in the role and likeness of the Lady Venus. My investigation demonstrates how the portrayal of Ulrich's transvestism in his autobiography differs substantially from the portrayal of transvestism in contemporary medieval texts and corresponds closely to character sketches of transvestism derived from psychological and sociological studies of modern-day transvestites. Based on the research conducted in this study, Ulrich's Venus journey is reexamined, in order to answer the question: "Was Ulrich von Liechtenstein a transvestite from medieval times?" This work will appeal to medievalists, Germanists, students of psychology and anyone with an interest in transgender studies.
Dissertation, UW-Madison, 2007; published by Mellen Press, 2016

Deut 22:5 marks the single instance of a prohibition of transvestitism in the Bible, and in its whole cultural milieu. The context in which it is situated suggests that it may have been inserted there as an addition, after the Babylonian... more

Deut 22:5 marks the single instance of a prohibition of transvestitism in the Bible, and in its whole cultural milieu. The context in which it is situated suggests that it may have been inserted there as an addition, after the Babylonian captivity. That helps to narrow down the range of speculations as to the original Sitz im Leben of the law and enables us to read it most of all within the canonical framework of the entirety of the Pentateuch. Hence, the precept pertains mainly to the principle of division of the human nature into the two sexes (Gen 1-2), the principle of retaining the order of creation (by not mixing kinds; Lev 19:19; Deut 22:9-11), and of keeping the procreational power, referred to here predominantly to masculinity (Gen 5:1-3; cf. Gen 1:28; 9:1.7).

This book is the story of my self-deception about my “deviant” sexuality and my protracted and painful progress toward self-understanding and self-acceptance. Unavoidably, the book involves explicit descriptions of a wide range of... more

This book is the story of my self-deception about my “deviant” sexuality and my protracted and painful progress toward self-understanding and self-acceptance. Unavoidably, the book involves explicit descriptions of a wide range of activities often regarded as sexually deviant. It is not intended as pornographic; though some people may use it that way. It describes how I deceived myself about my sexuality as a consequence of trying to conform to the norms of my inherited culture. I hope that it will be found enlightening and entertaining. I also hope that it will be helpful to people who are struggling to adjust themselves to social expectations that make unreasonable demands upon them and that it will help them to avoid the psychological crises and decades of wasted life that I suffered.

Resumen: Esta contribución investiga el traves-tismo, entendido como una constante cultural y como un desafío simbólico y político a las inden-tidad del género. A partir de las reflexiones de Judith Butler, el travestismo será analizado... more

Resumen: Esta contribución investiga el traves-tismo, entendido como una constante cultural y como un desafío simbólico y político a las inden-tidad del género. A partir de las reflexiones de Judith Butler, el travestismo será analizado de acuerdo con tres aspectos: una inversion estética, un acto performativo y una subversión semántica. Abstract: This paper discusses cross-dressing as a cross-cultural phenomenon and as a symbolic and political challenge to gender's identity as well. Starting from Judith Butler's works, the drag will be analyzed in accordance with three different aspects: an aesthetic inversion, a performative act and a semantic turn.

Abstract Pornography, if understood to involve the depiction of sexual activity, organs, and experiences, is perhaps as old as human civilization itself. Historically linked to various technological innovations, pornography viewing in the... more

Abstract Pornography, if understood to involve the depiction of sexual activity, organs, and experiences, is perhaps as old as human civilization itself. Historically linked to various technological innovations, pornography viewing in the Internet age has reached epic proportions, with large numbers of individuals taking advantage of ease of access, affordability, and presumed anonymity to explore sexual material online. Within the mental health professions substantial research exists on the effects of viewing general pornography; however, the distinctive effects of the marriage of pornography and cyberspace is only beginning to be examined. In addition to reviewing some historical and statistical material about pornography and the relevant psychiatric and psychoanalytic literature, four detailed clinical vignettes are presented to illustrate the types of problems related to Internet pornography use that are being presented to practicing psychotherapists.

Fetishistic transvestism is a disorder of sexual perversion associated with fantasies and sexual urges to dress in opposite gender clothing as a means of arousal and adjunct to masturbation and coitus. However, transvestism has been... more

Fetishistic transvestism is a disorder of sexual perversion associated with fantasies and sexual urges to dress in opposite gender clothing as a means of arousal and adjunct to masturbation and coitus. However, transvestism has been described in schizophrenia and psychosis and fetishism in the course of simple schizophrenia. Our reported case is a 26 year-old male found hanging in transvestite attire wearing blouse and petticoat. There was no psychiatric background and no known previous suicidal behavior of the deceased. The manner of death was finally considered to be an accident. The cause of the death was accidental hanging provoked by fatal autoerotic asphyxia.

This paper critically examines the role that Ray Blanchard played (as Chair of the DSM-5 Paraphilia subworkgroup) in redefining the concept of "paraphilia," and in greatly expanding the DSM-IV-TR diagnosis Transvestic Fetishism to the... more

This paper critically examines the role that Ray Blanchard played (as Chair of the DSM-5 Paraphilia subworkgroup) in redefining the concept of "paraphilia," and in greatly expanding the DSM-IV-TR diagnosis Transvestic Fetishism to the current Transvestic Disorder diagnosis (which includes the modifiers "autogynephilia").

This chapter was originally presented as a keynote talk for the Eighth Annual Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference in 2009. I was inspired to write it after, on multiple occasions, I had read or heard sexologists and mental health... more

This chapter was originally presented as a keynote talk for the Eighth Annual Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference in 2009. I was inspired to write it after, on multiple occasions, I had read or heard sexologists and mental health professionals play down or outright dismiss trans people’s concerns regarding psychological depictions, diagnoses, terminology, and theories about trans people. With this paper, I set out to explain, in very basic, easy to grasp language, precisely why trans people’s concerns regarding these matters are valid and should be taken seriously within the fields of psychology, psychiatry, and sexology. This paper directly addresses the DSM-5, Gender Identity Disorder, Autogynephilia, Transvestic Fetishism and Transvestic Disorder. I would later expand upon the concept of “invalidations” in my book Excluded (specifically, Chapter 20, “Recognizing Invalidations”).

Der Autor stellt eine Re-Vision theatralischer Werke der französischen und amerikanischen Avantgarde der Moderne und Postmoderne zur Diskussion. Schon bei den frühen Avantgardisten des ausgehenden 19. Jh. zeichnet sich ein performativer... more

Der Autor stellt eine Re-Vision theatralischer Werke der französischen und amerikanischen Avantgarde der Moderne und Postmoderne zur Diskussion. Schon bei den frühen Avantgardisten des ausgehenden 19. Jh. zeichnet sich ein performativer Textbegriff ab, der das Verhältnis zwischen Körper und Sprache reflektiert. Am radikalsten manifestiert sich dieses dekonstruktive Textverständnis in einer Auflösung der Geschlechtergrenzen. Problematisch jedoch scheint die Tendenz, daß marginale Kunstwerke von der angeblich pluralistisch-postmodernen Gesellschaft absorbiert werden. Aber gerade das subversiv performative Spiel der gegenwärtigen künstlerischen Avantgarde mit dem gender-Begriff vermag Mechanismen autoritärer, hierarchisierender Festschreibungen aufzudecken.

The essay culls from classical texts and personal experiences of libertine intimacy with strangers to address age-old academic blind spots regarding group sex as a recurring fantasy and sexual practice. What is brought forth is a Freudian... more

The essay culls from classical texts and personal experiences of libertine intimacy with strangers to address age-old academic blind spots regarding group sex as a recurring fantasy and sexual practice. What is brought forth is a Freudian and Lacan-ian analysis of the relationship between contemporary desire and digitality through " the gangbang " as articulated on digital platforms. The focus is on digitally-assisted gang-bangs involving a transvestite and several heterosexually identified males, and what such events reveal about digital media's and heterosexuality's demands. The author argues that this sexual configuration is a re-enactment of " the great misdeed " , which Freud recounts in Totem and Taboo as the mythic primordial killing of the Father by the band of brothers. This symbolic occasion is described as the genesis of social organization and re-emerges as a form of mourning the disappearance of the fleshly body as new media turn it into digital code. Such a codification of the body awakens anxieties around the fictitious conflation between penis and phallus. In the face of the digital, man outsources his phallic power, which is suddenly required to be represented corporally at all times, to a virtually organized multitude that is willing to sacrifice freedom in the name of the group, and the legitimation of hetero-masculinity that it can presumably grant. The gangbang also appears as a digitally mediated opportunity for old fantasies of aggression and expiation to articulate themselves without putting the white male heterosexual body on the line.

The research conducted by this paper has been largely updated and elaborated in my MA-thesis "Senses and Passions of Benvenuto Cellini"; you are more than welcome to check it out. // The article aims to rethink the several stereotypes of... more

The research conducted by this paper has been largely updated and elaborated in my MA-thesis "Senses and Passions of Benvenuto Cellini"; you are more than welcome to check it out. // The article aims to rethink the several stereotypes of Romantic tradition, which are still reproduced in regard to Benvenuto Cellini and his Vita. Using the approaches of intellectual history and iconographical studies, the present study pays attention to the coherent system of lay, scientific and ‘secret’ knowledge of the epoch lurking under the surface of the simplicity and even naivety of the author’s language. I argue that this autobiographical writing embodies a certain type of culture of the self deeply rooted in contemporary medical, alchemical and magical contexts. Organized around the concept of “getting pleasure,” Cellini’s practices of the self are built into the Neo-Platonic picture of the world. Analyzing the two passages of Vita, I demonstrate the author’s spiritual ascent from the corporeal suffering to union with ‘the One’ by means of individual and collective magic rituals, transforming his Life into a work of art.

When the culture ignored people who did not identify with their own sex, it was much simpler. You could be sure that someone dressed like a woman was a female, and those dressed like a man was a male. In fact, you never even questioned... more

When the culture ignored people who did not identify with their own sex, it was much simpler. You could be sure that someone dressed like a woman was a female, and those dressed like a man was a male. In fact, you never even questioned it, until you picked up a cross-dresser at a bar and discovered a woman can have a penis. Most women don’t have a penis, of course, but you need to treat people with respect for their uniqueness and be sensitive to those women who stick out from the crowd.

Reviewed by Tania Pérez Cano, Revista Iberoamericana 77.235 (Abril-Junio 2011): 592-594.

No cenário educacional brasileiro, professoras travestis e transexuais são cada vez mais visíveis, e provocam repercussões em geral ligadas ao preconceito e à discriminação que sofrem. Este texto indaga sobre as consequências pedagógicas... more

No cenário educacional brasileiro, professoras travestis e transexuais são cada vez mais visíveis, e provocam repercussões em geral ligadas ao preconceito e à discriminação que sofrem. Este texto indaga sobre as consequências pedagógicas e educacionais da presença de professoras travestis e transexuais em sala de aula. Entrevista um grupo destas professoras em diversos estados do Brasil, busca identificar os elementos que caracterizam a ação delas em sala de aula, e chega à proposição de uma “pedagogia do salto alto”. Nesta modalidade pedagógica se conjugam dois elementos fortes, ser mulher e ser professora. A pedagogia do salto alto diz de uma atuação pedagógica que escapa da tradicional figura sem corpo e sem sexo da professora. Ao contrário do que se poderia pensar, certo grau de erotismo e de produção da mulher que “habita” a professora, longe de “desvirtuar” o espaço da sala de aula, pode originar uma potência de afetos que redunda em uma profissional mais qualificada e envolvida com seu trabalho, e em uma mulher que se assume como adulto de referência frente aos jovens.

In a study of 1,310 Finnish adult male twins we found that sexual interest in children aged 12 or younger was reported by 0.2% of the sample. Sexual interest in children aged 15 or younger was reported by 3.3%. Participants reporting... more

In a study of 1,310 Finnish adult male twins we found that sexual interest in children aged 12 or younger was reported by 0.2% of the sample. Sexual interest in children aged 15 or younger was reported by 3.3%. Participants reporting sexual interest in children aged 15 or younger were younger, reported stronger sexual desire, and had experienced more childhood sexual and nonsexual abuse. The present study is the first to give a population-based estimate of the incidence of sexual interest in children among adult men. The 12-month incidence of sexual interest in children below the age of 16 years is roughly comparable to the one-year incidence of major depression or the lifetime prevalence of transvestitic fetishism.

Abstract: This essay explores digital technology 's enabling so-called "gay men " to make contact (sexual and otherwise) with heterosexually identified males through cross-dressing. This phenomenon, which the digital exacerbates, exposes... more

Abstract: This essay explores digital technology 's enabling so-called "gay men " to make contact (sexual and otherwise) with heterosexually identified males through cross-dressing. This phenomenon, which the digital exacerbates, exposes a loophole in heterosexual logic, where the object is revealed to be a semblance, not a finite and neatly gendered materiality. The essay deploys " trans, " then, not as a bounded identity category one might transition into like a final destination, but as a technology for pleasure to where one can transit back and forth through digital mediation. The rise and ubiquity of cruising digital platforms (Craigslist's Casual Encounters, Plenty of Fish, Fetlife, and OkCupid) has enabled " transgender " to be appropriated as a pleasure-making tool that circumvents social doxa regarding the supposed stability of gender, sexuality, sexual practices and the prescribed objects of desire associated with them. As presumably gay men increasingly dress up as women for sexual purposes, posting hookup ads seeking straight men, and presumably heterosexual men catch themselves seduced by them, the limits of sexual identities and their related practices get tested, expanded, trespassed, and rendered porous. The essay weaves together queer theory, psychoanalysis, and autobiographical accounts to investigate the very porosities between identity categories that the digital makes visible and available for play, and to experiment with the urgent role psychoanalysis may have to play in understanding new sexual/existential practices.

Female monks have been discussed within the spheres of socio-history, feminist theory, theology, and literary analysis, but no comprehensive study has focused on their historical and gendered context until now. This book reexamines their... more

Female monks have been discussed within the spheres of socio-history, feminist theory, theology, and literary analysis, but no comprehensive study has focused on their historical and gendered context until now. This book reexamines their hagiographies to reveal that female protagonists possess a holy womanhood regardless of having layers of masculinity applied to their characters. Each masculine layer is scrutinized to explore its purpose in the plots and the plausible motivations for the utilization of transvestite figures in religious literature. Hagiographers had no intention of transforming their religious protagonists into anything but determined, holy women who are forced to act drastically in order to sustain ascetic dreams begun while mothers, wives, daughters, and sisters. Through an intertextual method, masculinity and literary themes work to contextualize praise for a holy womanhood within an acceptable gendered language, which seems to support a belief in the spiritual potential of women. This book highlights the potential for complex irony to develop around a female transvestite, which supplies religious tales with intrigue and interest, an ability to instruct/chastise mixed audiences, and a potential to portray the reversal inherent in the human drama of salvation.

With Don Quixote Cervantes not only birthed the modern novel but also set the trend for several literary genres, including crime in fiction. The institutionalisation of crime is already mentioned in episodes dealing with renegades and... more

With Don Quixote Cervantes not only birthed the modern novel but also set the trend for several literary genres, including crime in fiction. The institutionalisation of crime is already mentioned in episodes dealing with renegades and galley-slaves, for example, and although this institutionalisation of crime was already underway in that age and day it is Don Quixote’s reaction to his understanding of what constitutes crime that becomes important. According to Michel Foucault, Don Quixote finds himself at the crossroads of two different worlds in collision: the old (to which he belongs) believes in signs and symbols, and the new (where he finds himself) believes in investigative science. Being placed at such a juncture Don Quixote, among his several exploits, meets the transvestite Claudia Jerónima in a wood where she escapes after killing the man who spurned her. With this episode Cervantes authored the birth of the female bandits in Spanish Literature, who, dishonoured by men or by society, would run to the woods away from civilisation, and would avenge themselves.
All novels and plays dealing with such renegade women in, primarily, the eighteenth-century became instant best-sellers in Spain and would often involve women dressed up as men. Thus, (female) sexuality and crime become interrelated and inseparable.
But how does the institutionalisation of crime find adequate spaces for the disciplining of female criminals? Where does the female bandit, the transvestite, seek justice, in conventional wisdom (as Cervantes hints), which invariably normalises behaviour, or in vengeance? Is the reader as confused as Don Quixote who looks for justice through a system that no longer exists?
Reading the trends in seventeenth and eighteenth-century Spanish literature, this paper will attempt to answer such questions.

Ancient comedy is best taught with performance activities. In the Wake Forest University general-education course Greek & Roman Comedy, students assigned to small-group adaptations of Aristophanes and Plautus have of their own accord... more

Ancient comedy is best taught with performance activities. In the Wake Forest University general-education course Greek & Roman Comedy, students assigned to small-group adaptations of Aristophanes and Plautus have of their own accord chosen to use their performances to interrogate and explore gender patterns and ideologies in the plays and in their own societies -- with plenty of voluntary cross-dressing along the way.

RESUMO Trata-se de uma pesquisa teórica, desenvolvida mediante análise de conteúdo de legislação e doutrina sobre o tema, partindo de uma breve avaliação do sistema jurídico brasileiro – com foco no texto constitucional e na situação das... more

RESUMO Trata-se de uma pesquisa teórica, desenvolvida mediante análise de conteúdo de legislação e doutrina sobre o tema, partindo de uma breve avaliação do sistema jurídico brasileiro – com foco no texto constitucional e na situação das pessoas travestis – sob a ótica da categoria " gênero " , a fim de investigar a perspectiva gendrada da construção das normas jurídicas e o quanto o Direito funciona como um dos elementos de reforço do dispositivo da sexualidade e da matriz de inteligibilidade dos gêneros, que demanda uma coerência necessária entre corpos, sexos, gêneros, desejos e práticas sexuais. ABSTRACT Focusing on the constitutional text and the situation of transvestites people, a theoretical research will be presented, developed through the analysis of literature and legislation content, starting with a brief overview of the Brazilian legal system from the perspective of the category " gender " to investigate the gendered perspective of the construction of legal rules and how the law works as one of the reinforcing elements of sexuality device and intelligibility array of genres that demand a necessary consistency between bodies, sexes, genders, desires and sexual practices.