Differences Between Crossdressers and a Control Group

By Kristina
Eastern Michigan University


Abstract

Thirty-four male Crossdressers who belong to a support club and thirty-four men who served as a control group were asked to fill out a confidential twenty-five item questionnaire. The purpose was to find differences and similarities between the two groups. It was found that the groups answered most questions similarly. The means for both groups were very close on eighteen questions including ages of first experiences with girls, popularity in school, attitudes about perceived power status of males versus females, and how they judged themselves in attractiveness. There were significant differences found between the groups on four questions. Crossdressers rate themselves as more inhibited with girls in adolescence, and they rate themselves as infrequent talkers. A very significant difference was found in whether they rate their family life while growing up as functional or dysfunctional, and the degree to which they rate themselves as homosexual. Crossdressers rate their family life as more dysfunctional than the control group, and they admitted more homosexuality than the control group, although both groups rated themselves closest to heterosexuality. This study concurred with a study by Fagan et al. that found little difference between Crossdressers and a control group, and a study by Goodwin et al. that found transvestites coming from maladaptive family environments.

Differences Between Crossdressers and a Control Group

Crossdressing is a blanket term for a complex set of behavior. It can generally apply to anyone who wears apparel of the opposite sex. There are several reasons why people Crossdress and these will be briefly described. This study, however, is primarily concerned with gender dysphoria, a condition in which someone has an identity problem in which they feel like a member of the opposite sex, or they at least desire to emulate the opposite sex by Crossdressing. Subjects who classified themselves as gender dysphoric served as subjects for this experiment. They were participants in a Crossdressing group located in Southeast Michigan, all of whom were Crossdressed when asked to participate in this study. Because men are more likely to be transgendered than women, this study will concern itself only with men. The various categories that male Crossdressers are placed in have been identified in the following paragraph to make things easier to understand, but one should remember that each category can have characteristics of another.

A fetishist is someone whose entire motivational objective is sexual excitement, although some identification with women can occur, usually during sex. He does not dress to pass as a woman in public. After he is sexually gratified, he has no use for the clothing until he is ready for his next sexual experience. Drag queens and female impersonators are men who dress as women but usually do so not because of an urge to identify with women. This category includes entertainers and gay men who dress to make themselves more attractive to other men. The people who participated in this study are transvestites and transsexuals. Transvestites are men who like to dress as women, many of whom identify with women, but some are uncomfortable with completely identifying with women. Transsexuals are men who feel that they need to be women and they desire to live their lives as women. These two groups can be seen as a scale with the former being a more extreme version of the latter. Transsexuals often take female hormones to give them a feminine appearance and they often live their lives completely as women. Some will have reconstructive surgery on their sexual organs to create a vagina. Many live permanently as women by taking hormones without having the operation, these people are called transgenderists.

Because Crossdressing is a rare phenomenon, there has not been many books written on the topic. The two most comprehensive and informative books are Crossdressing, Sex, And Gender by Vern and Bonnie Bullough (1993) and Transvestites and Transsexuals by Richard F. Docter (1988). The former is a history of Crossdressing with some exploration into aspects of the behavior and the latter is a thorough scientific evaluation of aspects and causes of the behavior. Richard Docter's book delved into many interesting phenomenon about Crossdressing that need to be explored further. Hence, this study uses some of Docter's conclusions as a catalyst to extrapolate upon the phenomenon of Crossdressing, and this study will also uncover information about the Southeast Michigan club for Crossdressers who this study works in cooperation with. There have been many small independent studies on various aspects of male to female sexual identity problems, though none have been as wide as the scope of Docter's book. Two of those studies have tried to answer some of the same questions that this study asks, and they will briefly be discussed.

Fagen, Wise, Derogatis, and Schmidt (1988) conducted a study in which twenty-one transvestites who were seeking therapy because of their Crossdressing were compared to a control group of forty-five heterosexual married males who participated in an in vitro fertilization project. Both groups were at the John Hopkins Medical Institution. Both groups underwent a psychological test and a complete psychological examination which asked the participants to do a sexual history. They were also administered a Derogatis Sexual Functioning Inventory which evaluates components of their current sexuality.

The results of these comparisons showed little difference between the two groups. Their sex drives were similar, as was their political and sexual attitudes. The transvestite group differed from the control group by showing a more negative body image of themselves, which is probably because they would rather be female, at least part of the time. The transvestite group was more likely to describe themselves in the feminine tense, they had more dissatisfaction with their sexual life, and a significantly higher number of sexual fantasies. Both of the groups showed no difference in their fund of sexual information. The transvestites were more psychologically distressed than the heterosexual control group, but this would be expected given that they came for psychological help and the control group did not.

In another study, Goodwin and Peterson (1990) interviewed a sample of fifty male transvestites and one female transvestite with a specific goal of discovering child abuse as a etiologic factor of transvestism. Goodwin et al., (1990) sent one hundred questionnaires to different clubs for Crossdressers in all geographic areas of the continental United States. The questionnaires consisted of thirty-eight questions and a six question summary that asked respondents to give a more in-depth evaluation of their childhood experiences. There was no control group in this study and these clubs were for heterosexual transvestites only. Fifty-one people responded to the survey. Their ages ranged from twenty to seventy-one with a mean age of forty-three. The respondents received in-depth questions asking them to evaluate their home environment, and to list a history of abuse. The transvestites were also asked to make a self-evaluation of why they Crossdressed.

Do Tough Backgrounds Lead to Success?

The results of this study showed that 80% of transvestites reported abuse as children. Respondents listed humiliation by family members as paramount, noting that their parents made statements that tended to destroy self-esteem and teach them a negative perception. Respondents also listed other maladaptive family functions such as a higher than average number coming from alcoholic families with spousal abuse. Moreover, Crossdressers with siblings indicated that a large number of their brothers or sisters had psychological problems too. The study concluded that transvestism is a personal response to negative environmental pressures in an effort to relieve stress, and childhood abuse is a significant factor. The study also concluded that a maladaptive environment creates a driving force for personal success and transvestites therefore have a higher educational level and a higher income level.

Based on the personality profile of Crossdressers in the literature published this far, one can try to predict the characteristics and growing up experiences of Crossdressers. This experiment hypothesized that Crossdressers came from dysfunctional families, and that Crossdressers may feel resentment towards their caregivers. This experiment also hypothesizes that as young boys Crossdressers had problems fitting into masculinity. One possibility is that they disliked their fathers, so one question asks if the subject's father was cold and hostile. Adolescence is a crucial time for identity development, so questions ask if Crossdressers were unpopular in high school, or if they were inhibited in their relations with girls. Questions also ask if these groups are envious of women, and questions ask if they agree or disagree with feminist viewpoints that argue that women are altogether worse off than men. Questions also ask if subjects are excessive talkers, and to what degree are they homosexual. See appendix A for a list of questions.

As stated in the abstract, a population of male to female Crossdressers and a control population of men who are presumably not Crossdressers were given questionnaires to find if they answered questions differently and to find information on the Crossdressing group in particular. The questions pertain to the aforementioned hypotheses. The questionnaires make no mention of Crossdressing and are intended to find a preponderance of certain personality traits among Crossdressers and therefore link certain growing-up experiences with Crossdressing behavior.

Method

Subjects

Two groups of subjects were selected for comparison. Thirty-three anatomically male Crossdressers and one post-operational male to female transsexual were compared to thirty-four males who presumably do not Crossdress. The Crossdressers were men who attended a Crossdressers' meeting. Their ages ranged from twenty-nine to sixty-seven, with a mean age of forty-four. The non-Crossdressers were retrieved from various settings ranging from volunteers at The Salvation Army, college students, two mental health outpatients, and people who worked in businesses in the Ypsilanti, Michigan area. Their ages ranged from nineteen to sixty-nine, the median age being thirty-six. The responses were then tallied and analyzed to find any differences or similarities between the two groups.

Design

The design of this study is a questionnaire in which subjects answer questions on a scale of one to ten. It is a Quasi-experimental design because it makes comparisons between Crossdressers and non-Crossdressers. It is correlational because it searches for similarities, not causation.

Materials

The respondents were given questions in which they used a Likert scale to rate their feelings about growing up experiences, their personality, and their attitudes about relations between sexes. The questionnaire had a cover page to eliminate the chance of someone seeing how the subject answered. The written instructions stated briefly that the study is confidential and asked for honesty. See appendix A for a copy of the survey.

Procedure

Both groups who completed the survey were asked to do so by the same researcher, who assured them of confidentiality. Volunteers were given identical pens and subjects were informed beforehand that after completion, the survey would be placed by the subject in an envelope containing other completed surveys to increase confidence that the answers would remain secret. The survey was first given to a group of Crossdressers who were attending a club meeting. All of the members were asked to fill out the questionnaire. Thirty-three Crossdressers cooperated, two refused, and one never got around to completing it before the meeting was over. There was one post-operational transsexual who was not part of the meeting that night (but was involved with the group) who completed the survey too. The control group consisted of men who were individually approached and asked to complete the survey. Some of the control group were students who were given the study by their professor to fill out, some of whom filled it out immediately, others took a day or two to complete. Other people who completed the survey were men in the business section in Ypsilanti, Michigan who were approached individually and asked to complete the survey by the same researcher. Subjects filled out the survey as the researcher waited a short distance away. These volunteers were retail business people, volunteers at the Salvation Army, an employee at a mental health agency, and two members of the mental health agency. Eight men who were asked to fill out the survey refused. Subjects were asked if they would like to see the results at a later date, but they declined.

Results

The responses for each question were analyzed and correlational matrixes were presented for the subjects. First, information was transferred onto a coding sheet and then entered in a computer data file. For each question, the means and standard deviations were compared and interpreted for differences between the groups. Detailed analyses are searched for to locate similarities and dissimilarities. A correlational matrix was done along with independent group t-tests for questions where differences were likely.

On nearly every one of the questions, both groups responded similarly on a scale of one to ten. The means on eight questions were identical if one does not take into account percentage points. Those questions asked when the subjects began having close dating relationships with girls, to what degree would they judge themselves to be attractive, which sex has it more difficult, and to what degree do they describe their father as warm or cold. On eleven of the questions, there was only a one point difference between the means. Those questions asked if the subjects came from traditional families, if they spent more time with their mother or father at an early age, if they had homosexual experiences as a child or adolescent, were they popular and well liked in high school, were their growing up experiences normal, was their childhood stressful, and were they victimized by bullies in school.

Questions that appeared through casual observation to have a significant difference were analyzed with t-tests. Additionally, a point bi-serial correlation followed each t-test to determine strength of the relation between group membership and response to questionnaire item. There were four questions where significant differences were found. When asked 'Speaking with friends, do you find yourself trying to speak frequently or infrequently?' the difference was, t (66) = 2.591, p.011. There was a weak relation between response to this item and group membership (Rpb=.32). When subjects were asked 'Would you consider your relations with the opposite sex in adolescence as bold or inhibited?' the difference was t (66) = 2.236, p.027. There was a weak relation between response to this item and group membership (Rpb=.26). When Crossdressers were asked 'To what degree are you homosexual or heterosexual?' the difference was t (66) = 3.172, p.003. There was a weak relation between response to this item and group membership (Rpb=.36). The most significant difference was found in the question, 'To what degree would you describe your family life as dysfunctional?' Crossdressers stated that their family life was dysfunctional at, t (66) = 2.747, p008. There was a weak relation between response to this item and group membership (Rpb=.32).

Discussion

The hypothesis of this study is that Crossdressers would respond differently to questions about their personality and growing up experiences than the control group, thus establishing a correlation between Crossdressing and other factors. One of the major findings of this study is that most questions showed no significant differences between the two groups. No differences between the two groups tends to discount the likelihood that theories of unattractiveness or unpopularity in school are factors. It also discounts the theory that Crossdressers see women as having more power, or that they have advantages that men do not have. There were four questions in which significant differences between the two groups were found. This shows a correlation between Crossdressing and certain personality characteristics as well as one etiologic factor.

The most significant difference was that Crossdressers were more likely to rate themselves as coming from a dysfunctional family. This date supports the research in the study by Goodwin et al., (1990) that finds many transvestites coming from maladaptive family functions.

The question in which Crossdressers rate themselves as more inhibited with girls in adolescence supports Docter's theories stating that an antecedent developmental factor of Crossdressing is sexual inhibitions. Docter states that "inhibitions about intimacies with girls will restrict sexual experience in the young adolescent" (Docter, 204). This could also correspond to Crossdressers stating that they are infrequent talkers. Finally, Crossdressers stated that they are more likely to be bisexual. This can be misleading, however, because 96% of the control rated themselves closer to heterosexuality in the lowest four numbers on a scale of one to ten, whereas 88% of Crossdressers ranked themselves in the same lowest four numbers. This shows that Crossdressers, like the control group, are heterosexual, but are more likely to admit some homosexuality. This corresponds with Docter's research that an antecedent factor of Crossdressing is the formation of a well-established heterosexual orientation (Docter, 204), and that transvestism is a heterosexual phenomenon, but there is some bisexuality within the category (Docter, 1988). This data also corresponds with the study by Fagen et al., (1988) that Crossdressers have a greater number of sexual fantasies.

The areas in which flaws exist in this study are the method of obtaining the control group responses. A subject might be unwilling to give honest answers to a stranger about personal questions, especially pertaining to sex. If the researcher could find a large group of men to fill out the data at one set time, instead of approaching subjects individually, then the control group would be more secure that their answers would be confidential. Moreover, evidence has shown that volunteers tend to answer differently than non-volunteers in psychological studies (Nordens, 126), so this control group may not have been the most accurate sample of the population. It may also be that the Crossdressers who belong to this club are not representative of the Crossdressing population at large. Many members of this club are struggling with their identity and are given the club's whereabouts by their therapist or an outreach crisis worker. It may be that many or most Crossdressers have adjusted well to who they are and have never sought out a club. (emphasis added)

The most important findings of this study were the four questions where differences were found. Crossdressers rate themselves as being inhibited in their relationship with girls in adolescence, and infrequent talkers. The most significant data shows Crossdressing correlates with dysfunctional family life, and Crossdressers rank themselves closer to homosexuality than the control group. Directions for future research would be to delve more deeply into those few questions where differences were found. Maybe present questionnaires to Crossdressers that ask an array of questions about homosexuality. Crossdressers rate themselves as more inhibited with girls in adolescence, so ask questions to determine why. Ask questions to find why Crossdressers rate themselves closer to homosexuality? Do they actually want to have sex with men, or do they want to get attention from men, such as compliments on their appearance when Crossdressed? One should delve more deeply into Crossdressers' background to find factors that lead them to state their family life was dysfunctional. Deeper analysis of those questions will help one to more greatly understand the phenomenon of Crossdressing.

References

Bullough V. and B. Bullough (1993).  Crossdressing, sex, and gender.  	Philadelphia, PA.  University of Pennsylvania Press.


Docter, R. (1988).  Transvestites and transsexuals.  New York and 	London:  Plenum Press.

Fagan P.  Wise T.  Derogatis L. Schmidt C.  (1988).  Distressed 	transvestites.  The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease: 	The Williams and Wilkins Co.

Goodwin L., Peterson R. (1990).  Psychological impact of abuse as it 	relates to transvestism.  The Journal of Applied            Rehabilitation Counseling,    Alexandria, VA:  National Rehabilitation 	Counseling Association:

Hirschfeld, Magnus (1910).  Die transvestiten.  Pulvermacher.


Nordens and Abbott (1991).  Research Design and Method.  	Mountainview, CA.  Mayfield Publishing Company.

Table 1.

Descriptive statistics for responses to each survey question.


Survey Question	Crossdressing		non-Crossdressing


Number			Mean	Std Dev.	Mean	Std Dev.

1.				1.706	2.263	2.706	2.725
2.				1.765	1.558	2.441	1.894
3.				4.765	2.547	6.176	1.898
4.				17.633	4.597	18.000	3.417
5.				2.647	2.473	2.029	2.167
6.				16.121	4.196	16.406	2,872
7.				4.516	2.976	3.697	2.756
8.				1.294	2.493	0.424	1.119
9.				4.441	2.642	5.353	2.485
10.				2.000	2.146	.588	1.459
11.				3.412	1.760	3.324	1.788
12.				3.971	3.119	2.794	2.694
13.				4.412	2.904	4.848	2.373
14.				0.029	.1715	0.000	0.000
15.				44.03	8.54	36	17.04
16.				.971	0.967	.382	.6520
17.				4.118	2.293	4.706	2.646
18.				2.853	2.311	2.265	2.179
19.				5.706	2.394	4.353	2.592
20.				5.706	2.680	6.265	2.745
21.				4.061	2.794	3.824	2.645
22.				4.529	2.766	5.853	2.945
23.				4.758	2.773	4.676	2.567	
24.				17.27	6.99	19.364	3.888
25.				5.029	2,516	3.412	2.337



Table 2


Response to question number ten: "To what degree are you heterosexual (1) or homosexual? (10) "
_______________________________________________



				Crossdressers		non-Crossdressers___                    

Degree
of Agreement	Count	Percentage	Count	Percentage


1.			13		38.24		24		70.59

2.			5		14.71		6		17.65

3.			3		8.82		3		8.82

4.			3		8.82		0		0

5.			6		17.65		0		0

6.			2		5.88		0		0

7.			0		0		1		2.94

8.			2		5.88		0		0

9.			0		0		0		0

10.			0		0		0		0




Table 3



Response to question number 3: "Speaking with friends, do you find yourself trying to speak frequently (10) or infrequently (1) ?"


________________________________________________


				Crossdressers		non-Crossdressers___

Degree
of Agreement	Count	Percentage	Count	Percentage

1.			2		5.88		0		0

2.			2		5.88		0		0

3.			3		8.82		1		2.94

4.			4		11.76		3		8.82

5.			7		20.59		4		11.76

6.			0		0		2		5.88

7.			4		11.76		6		17.65

8.			7		20.59		11		32.35

9.			4		11.76		3		8.82

10.			1		2.94		4		11.76


Table 4


Response to question number 19: "Would you consider your relations with the opposite sex in adolescence as bold (1) or inhibited (10)?"



________________________________________________


				Crossdressers		non-Crossdressers___


Degree of
Agreement	Count	Percentage	Count	Percentage

1.			1		2.94		3		8.82

2.			0		0		2		5.88

3.			3		8.82		5		14.71

4.			3		8.82		1		2.94

5.			4		11.76		7		20.59

6.			4		11.76		5		14.71

7.			3		8.82		4		11.76

8.			6		17.65		3		8.82

9.			7		20.59		1		2.94

10.			3		8.82		3		8.82


Table 5


Response to question number twenty-five: "To what degree would you describe your family life while growing up as functional (1)  or dysfunctional (10) ?"


________________________________________________


			Crossdressers		non-Crossdressers_______


Degree of
Agreement	Count	Percentage	Count	Percentage


1.			2		5.88		4		11.76

2.			3		8.82		5		14.71

3.			1		2.94		6		17.65

4.			3		8.82		2		5.88

5.			4		11.76		5		14.71

6.			3		8.82		2		5.88

7.			6		17.65		7		20.59

8.			7		20.59		3		8.82

9.			4		11.76		0		0

10.			1		2.94		0		0

Appendix A

This study is strictly confidential.  Please fill out this form by yourself and please do not include your name.

Honesty is important.

Please circle the correct answer or the number that corresponds most closely to your answer:


1) Do you come from a traditional family where sex roles were defined?

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

traditional							nontraditional




2) Did you spend more time with your mother or your father before the age of five?

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

mother				both					father



3) Speaking with your friends, do you find yourself trying to speak frequently or infrequently?

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

infrequently								frequently



4) Have you lost your virginity and at what age?	







5) Do you feel resentment towards your caregivers for the way you were raised?

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

none											much



6) Please write the age you began having close dating relationships with the opposite sex?





7) Please rank your satisfaction with dating experiences with the opposite sex before the age of eighteen?

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

good										bad




8) Did you have homosexual experiences as a child or adolescent?

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

none		      								    frequent






9) Were you popular and well liked in high school?

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

unpopular									      popular




10) To what degree are you heterosexual or homosexual?

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

heterosexual							        homosexual



11) To what degree would you judge yourself to be attractive or unattractive?

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

attractive	   						  	        unattractive



12) Would you consider your growing up experiences to be normal or abnormal?

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

normal									   abnormal




13) All things considered, which sex has it more difficult?

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

men										     women



14) Are you male or female?


male										female


15) Please write your age.






16) What is your marital status?

single				     married				    divorced



17) Do you agree with certain feminist viewpoints that argue that women are altogether worse off than men?
	
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

agree									disagree





18) Who do you feel has more power in our society?

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

men						both				      women



19) Would you consider your relations with the opposite sex in adolescence as bold or inhibited?

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

bold										    inhibited





20) In sex role relations, who has an easier chance of finding sex?

	 1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
men
										      women




21) Was your childhood or adolescence stressful?

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

stressful								       not stressful




22) Were you picked on or victimized by bullies in school?

	 1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

yes											no


23) To what degree would you describe your father as warm or cold?

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

warm										cold


24) At what age did you begin having a long-term, close, sexual relationship with the opposite sex?





25) To what degree would you describe your family life while growing up as dysfunctional?


	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10

functional								       dysfunctional
Crossdressing
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