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The childhood and family
dynamics of transvestites.
Schott, R.L.
Arch Sex Behav 24:309-327, 1995.
Abstract
This article reports a survey of
childhood experiences and family dynamics reported by a sample of 85
cross-dressing males drawn from the readership of a magazine for
transvestites. The sample had a higher percentage of only children
and eldest children compared to a national sample and also a much
closer relationship with their mothers than with their fathers. Their
identification as nuclear or marginal transvestites or transsexuals
is related to the quality of the reported relationship with the
mother, to the factors they identify as associated with their
cross-dressing, and to their sexual orientation. Covert
cross-dressers account for over three fourths of the subjects, but
those who were overt (their cross-dressing openly encouraged by
female family members) show significantly different patterns and
distributions on several variables. A constellation of family and
parental relationships is proposed--drawn in part from the insights
of object relations and family systems theory--which may contribute
to the development of transvestism. |
