Transvestism: New Perspectives

Person, Ethel Spector; Ovesey, Lionel

doi:10.1521/jaap.1.1978.6.3.301

Cited by 37 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…The phrase was presumably added so that the diagnosis would capture the many patients who would have met all the diagnostic criteria for transvestism at one stage of their lives, but who state that crossdressing now produces only feelings of comfort and relaxation, not sexual arousal (e.g., Benjamin, 1966;Buhrich & Beaumont, 1981;Buhrich & McConaghy, 1977a;Person & Ovesey, 1978;Wise & Meyer, 1980). An extensive discussion of self-reports of diminishing arousal and their possible meaning can be found in Blanchard, Racansky, and Steiner (1986).…”

Section: Dsm-iiimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ovesey and Person (1976) make the statement, ''there is a tendency in some transvestites for the sexuality to drop away, although cross-dressing continues as an antidote to anxiety'' (p. 221). This statement is repeated almost word-for-word in Person and Ovesey (1978), including the phrase ''antidote to anxiety'' (p. 307). In any event, it is unclear whether the term anxiety, as repeatedly used in the DSM, is meant to denote a sense of fearful apprehension-as most people would consciously experience it-or some emotion specific to transvestites, for which anxiety is the best available description.…”

Section: Dsm-iiimentioning

confidence: 99%

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The DSM Diagnostic Criteria for Transvestic Fetishism

Blanchard

2009

Arch Sex Behav

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This paper contains the author's report on transvestism, submitted on July 31, 2008, to the work group charged with revising the diagnoses concerning sexual and gender identity disorders for the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). In the first part of this report, the author reviews differences among previous editions of the DSM as a convenient way to illustrate problems with the nomenclature and uncertainties in the descriptive pathology of transvestism. He concludes this part by proposing a revised set of diagnostic criteria, including a new set of specifiers. In the second part, he presents a secondary analysis of a pre-existing dataset in order to investigate the utility of the proposed specifiers.

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Section: Dsm-iiimentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Dsm-iiimentioning

confidence: 99%

The DSM Diagnostic Criteria for Transvestic Fetishism

Blanchard

2009

Arch Sex Behav

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“…Hypothetically, the underlying prevalence of autogynephilia might be different-perhaps higher-in individualistic countries than in collectivistic countries. For example, if disturbances in young children's relationships with their primary caregivers and consequent separation anxiety contribute to the development of autogynephilia, as some psychoanalytic theories of transvestism and transsexualism implicitly suggest (see Person & Ovesey, 1978), and if such disturbances were to occur more frequently in individualistic countries than in collectivistic ones (perhaps due to differences in child-rearing practices), this might hypothetically result in a higher prevalence of autogynephilia in individualistic countries than in collectivistic countries. Hypothetically, the underlying prevalence of male androphilia might also be different-perhaps lower-in individualistic countries than in collectivistic countries, although the strong biological underpinnings of male androphilia might argue against the idea that differences in cultural values and practices would significantly affect its prevalence.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Societal Individualism Predicts Prevalence of Nonhomosexual Orientation in Male-to-Female Transsexualism

Lawrence

2008

Arch Sex Behav

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There are two distinct subtypes of male-to-female (MtF) transsexuals: homosexual and nonhomosexual. The relative prevalence of these two subtypes varies dramatically between countries, but no explanation of this variability has yet been proposed. This study examined the hypothesis that the prevalence of nonhomosexual MtF transsexualism, relative to homosexual MtF transsexualism, would be higher in individualistic countries than in collectivistic countries. I analyzed data from 22 studies of MtF transsexualism, conducted in 16 countries, examining the association between percentage of nonhomosexual participants and Hofstede's (Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations, 2001) Individualism Index (IDV). IDV accounted for 77% of observed variance in the percentage of nonhomosexual MtF participants (r = 0.88, p < .0001). Controlling for differences in national wealth and in Hofstede's other indices of societal values (Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Masculinity) did not significantly change the ability of IDV to account for variance in the percentage of nonhomosexual participants. The factors that contribute to the observed association between societal individualism and the relative prevalence of nonhomosexual MtF transsexualism remain to be determined, but a greater tolerance within individualistic countries for socially disruptive gender transitions by nonhomosexual gender dysphoric men, and the availability within many collectivistic countries of socially approved transgender roles for pervasively feminine homosexual gender dysphoric men, are plausible contributors.

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“…Examples of such clinicians include Arndt (1991), Benjamin (1966), Christie Brown (1983), Docter (1988), S. B. Levine (1993), and Person and Ovesey (1978). Benjamin (1966), the first physician to write extensively about transsexualism, created a Sex Orientation Scale (SOS) to describe the ''six different types of the transvestism-transsexualism syndrome'' (p. 38) he had observed in men.…”

Section: Clinical Conceptualization Of Fetishism Transvestism and Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Docter observed, moreover, that progression from one category to another was not unusual; he ''urge[d] that transvestism be viewed as a multistage, progressive phenomenon'' (p. 19). Person and Ovesey (1978), arguably the best-known psychoanalytic theorists to have addressed transvestism and transsexualism, hypothesized that these conditions were related to unresolved separation anxiety during early childhood development. Unlike Blanchard, Person and Ovesey conceived of fetishism, transvestism, and transsexualism as primary disorders of gender identity that could become secondarily sexualized, rather than as sexual disorders with secondary implications for gender identity.…”

Section: Clinical Conceptualization Of Fetishism Transvestism and Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

Erotic Target Location Errors: An Underappreciated Paraphilic Dimension

Lawrence

2009

Journal of Sex Research

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Based on studies of heterosexual male fetishists, transvestites, and transsexuals, Blanchard (1991) proposed the existence of a hitherto unrecognized paraphilic dimension, erotic target location errors (ETLEs), involving the erroneous location of erotic targets in the environment. ETLEs can involve preferential attention to a peripheral or inessential part of an erotic target, manifesting as fetishism, or mislocation of an erotic target in one's own body, manifesting as the desire to impersonate or become a facsimile of the erotic target (e.g., transvestism or transsexualism). Despite its potential clinical and heuristic value, the concept that ETLEs define a paraphilic dimension is underappreciated. This review summarizes the studies leading to the concept of ETLEs and describes how ETLEs are believed to manifest in men whose preferred erotic targets are women, children, men, amputees, plush animals, and real animals. This review also describes ETLEs in women; discusses possible etiologies of ETLEs; considers the implications of the ETLE concept for psychoanalytic theories of transvestism and male-to-female transsexualism, as well as for the forthcoming revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition; suggests reasons why the concept of ETLEs has been underappreciated; and describes what might result if the concept were more widely appreciated.

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Transvestism: New Perspectives

Cited by 37 publications

References 0 publications

The DSM Diagnostic Criteria for Transvestic Fetishism

The DSM Diagnostic Criteria for Transvestic Fetishism

Societal Individualism Predicts Prevalence of Nonhomosexual Orientation in Male-to-Female Transsexualism

Erotic Target Location Errors: An Underappreciated Paraphilic Dimension

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