Transvestic disorder
| Transvestic disorder | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Transvestic fetishism |
| A transvestite in black stockings. | |
| Specialty | Psychiatry |
| Symptoms | Being sexually aroused by the act of cross-dressing and experiencing significant distress or impairment because of one’s behavior[1] |
| Cross-dressing |
|---|
Transvestic disorder (formerly transvestic fetishism) is a psychiatric diagnosis applied in some countries to people who are sexually aroused by the act of cross-dressing and experience significant distress or impairment – socially or occupationally – because of their behavior.[2]
In countries which have adopted the World Health Organization standard ICD-11 CDDR it is not a diagnosis, but has been deprecated in favor of the more general "Paraphilic disorder involving solitary behavior or consenting individuals".[3]
In countries, such as the United States, which use the American Psychiatric Association DSM-5 it is categorized as a specific paraphilic disorder.[4] It differs from cross-dressing without distress or impairment, or for entertainment or other purposes that do not involve sexual arousal.
Diagnosis
DSM-5
According to DSM-IV, transvestic disorder (called fetishism at that time) was limited to heterosexual men; however, the DSM-5 does not have this restriction, and opens it to women and men with this interest, regardless of their sexual orientation.[2] It is, however, usually documented in men.[5]
There are two key criteria before a psychiatric diagnosis of "transvestic disorder" is made:[1]
- Individuals must be sexually aroused by the act of cross-dressing.
- Individuals must experience significant distress or impairment – socially or occupationally – because of their behavior.
Criticism of DSM5-TR
An academic criticism says that the main cause of distress is not within the individual but “external invalidation, systemic stigma, and structural barriers” from society.[6]
References
- ^ a b American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.
- ^ a b "Paraphilic Disorders Fact Sheet" (PDF). dsm5.org. May 15, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 23, 2016.
- ^ "Paraphilic disorder involving solitary behaviour or consenting individuals".
- ^ American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing. pp. 685–705. ISBN 978-0-89042-555-8.
- ^ Cowen P, Harrison P, Burns T (2012). Shorter Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry. OUP Oxford. p. 373. ISBN 978-0191626753.
- ^ Meneguzzo, Paolo (November 2025). "Between Flesh and Identity: Embodied Selves in Disembodied Systems". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 54 (10): 3869–3872. doi:10.1007/s10508-025-03314-z. ISSN 1573-2800. PMC 12753564. PMID 40993270.
- Wheeler, Jennifer; Newring, Kirk A. B.; Draper, Crissa (2008). "16: Transvestic Fetishism, Psychopathology and Theory; 17: Transvestic Fetishism, Assessment and Treatment". In Laws, Richard D.; O'Donohue, William T. (eds.). Sexual Deviance: Theory, Assessment, and Treatment (2 ed.). New York: Guilford Press. pp. 272–304. ISBN 978-1-59385-605-2. OCLC 230822507 – via Internet Archive.