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).