

CHIC Speakers Bureau
CHIC has had a very active speakers bureau since 1977. We send
one or more speakers to each location, depending on the needs of the teacher.
We welcome the opportunity to explain the phenomenom of crossdressing to
students at universities, colleges, paramedics, police departments and counseling
centers...anywhere there are people who want information!
We attempt to explain crossdressing from the crossdressers point
of view. Many people have a preconceived notion that crossdressing is a
perversion or mental illness. However, in 1995, the DSM-4 (Physicians
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Revision 4) was changed to reflect the
modern psychological view of our lifestyle.
"Officially", as specified in the DSM-4, if a crossdresser
is not having any major problems balancing his or her need to crossdress
with marital, familial, work and societal responsibilities, then he or she
is now NOT deemed to be a maladjusted individual! This new, enlightened
viewpoint was no surprise to CHIC --we always knew we had
our heads screwed on straight!
But the general public's perception of crossdressing is skewed heavily towards
the idea that we are drag-queens, dressed for shock value, decked out in
overdone makeup and underdone attire. After all, drag queens are the people
who frequently appear on syndicated TV talk-shows. But CHIC is an
organization of heterosexual men and their wives/significant others, who
strive to appear and behave, when crossdressed , as any genetic woman
would in daily life.
Many people reflect attitudes about us formed at the turn of the century,
or earlier, when little was known about crossdressing. The speakers bureau's
mission is to help change the perception of crossdressers as "troubled/confused/weird/perverted
people". We can talk at length regarding: definitions (crossdresser,
transvestite, drag queen, transgendered, transexual), the history of crossdressing,
theories about why we crossdress, the effect our lifestyle has on
our wives and families, and the effect it has on us, the crossdressers.
To arrange for a speaker, call the CHIC information line at (714)
812-3236, and leave a message. Our Speakers Bureau Coordinator will call
you back. The more advance notice you can give us, the better (our speakers
may have to make arrangements for taking time off from work).
