Understanding Transvestic Fetishism: A Rare Paraphilic Disorder

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A paraphilic disorder, also known as having atypical sexual desires, is transvestic disorder. The essential feature of transvestic fetishism is recurrent intense sexual urges and sexually arousing fantasies involving dressing in clothing associated with the opposite sex. Another term for transvestic fetishism is cross-dressing. A diagnosis of transvestic fetishism is made only if an individual has acted on these urges or is evidently distressed by them. In other systems of psychiatric classification, transvestic fetishism can also be considered a sexual deviation. Its prevalence is almost exclusively among males, and is usually never diagnosed to females. This disorder is considered extremely rare, reporting less than 3% of males saying they have sexual arousal through cross-dressing. …show more content…

There are many different reasons a person may have transvestic fetishism, but usually the cause for this disorders begins in early childhood. For example, a young boy may dress up in women’s clothing, and may continue doing it because it’s enjoyable, but the reasons for this enjoyment remain unconscious. If the habit continues into adulthood, it most often leads to transvestic fetishism. Since every individual is different there are many different reasons why a person may or may not choose to cross-dress. And since cross-dressing causes no harm to the individual or anyone else, it is becoming more socially acceptable in today’s

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