With those caveats firmly in mind, I hope you enjoy the paper!
ELB
Terms: definitions, causation and statistics
In order to explore this proposition, some terms must first
be discussed as they apply to this paper and studies (from
recent decades) in sexual orientation. Cross-dressing, or transvestism,
(in men) is defined as a fetish in which women's clothing is
used for sexual pleasure (Stoller 1968,92). The key to this
definition is in the link between cross-dressing and sexuality.
Money (228), renames this phenomenon as transvestophilia, and
defines it as "a paraphilia
of the fetishistic/talismanic type
in which sexuoerotic arousal and facilitation or attainment of
orgasm are responsive to and contingent on wearing clothing,
especially underwear, of the other sex".
Transsexualism is defined as "the conviction in a
biologically normal person of being a member of the opposite
sex; in adults, this belief is these days accompanied by requests
for surgical and endocrinological procedures that change
anatomical appearance to that of the opposite sex"
(Stoller 1968, 90). Money (203) categorizes transsexualism as a
syndrome of gender transposition, called gynemimesis, rather than
a paraphilia.
Both transvestism and transsexualism have similar childhood
causations. In both cases the father is generally not
present during childhood (Rancour-Laferriere 1985, 193; Stoller
1968, 96). This may be expressed by inattention, or may
be an actual absence caused by divorce or death of the father.
Further investigation into any possible differences between
the absent father of the transvestite and the absent father of
the transsexual have not been undertaken in any particular
depth, however Stoller (1968, 184) states that "from the superficial
descriptions...one cannot distinguish the fathers of some
transvestites from the fathers of the boy transsexuals".
In both cases the mother provides an influential presence
in the son's childhood. In the case of transvestites, the
mother has a somewhat destructive need to feminize her son.
These mothers have an unusually strong envy of males which expresses itself in this rather subtle way. There are rare mothers who kill their sons, there are many more who in their hatred of their sons help produce many different neurotic and occasionally psychotic states, and there are some who produce passivity and ineffectualness. The mother of the transvestite shares with these other mothers the need to damage her son, but her technique is different: In order to humiliate him, she makes a little "girl" of him on occasion (Stoller 1968, 183).This feminization of the son is therefore an intentional act on the part of the mother, which is apparently caused by a resentment of males. The mother of the transsexual, on the other hand, seems not to envy men so much as she identifies with them in some way.
The mother of the transsexual does not apparently intend
to feminize her son, but is excessively permissive with
her child. The mother and child form an extremely close bond,
which is not disturbed by the father due to his absence
(either emotional or physical). The extreme intimacy between
the mother and son may be characterized by such behaviors
as sleeping together during both early and middle childhood.
One example is given in the case of an adult transsexual
whose mother recalled a childhood "game" she played with her
son from age 2 through 8, in which the two curled up
together every night in a type of "extrauterine womb"
(Stoller 1968, 137).
Additionally, these mothers are exceptionally permissive
with their sons, giving them complete freedom to share
her privacy. Concerns regarding nudity or bathroom secrecy are
non-existent. In addition, the boys are generally not
punished for wrongdoings: "the mothers described herein do
not even have the capacity to recognize anger they might feel
towards their babies" (Stoller 1968, 100). This leads to an
inability to ever punish or deny their sons.
Another factor involves the mother's "bisexuality";
rather than referring to sexual behavior, bisexuality in this
context refers to "a heavy proportion of sensed and observable
thoughts, feelings, and behavior reflecting both masculine
and feminine identifications" (Stoller 1968, 112). Consistently,
as children the mothers dressed in boys' clothes, associated
primarily with boys, and generally behaved as tomboys until
puberty. Once the women began to undergo the physical
changes of puberty, they each gave up all 'masculine' behaviors
and began to dress and act in a more gender-neutral manner.
The masculine clothes were replaced by clothes that conveyed
the barest of femininity, without excessive makeup or "frills"
(Stoller 1968, 95).
Another aspect of transvestite behavior that applies to
this paper is the sexual orientation of those who engage in
cross-dressing. One study of 504 transvestites found that 89%
were exclusively heterosexual, 9% were actively bisexual,
and only 1% were exclusively homosexual (Brierley, 34). Although
the incidence of transsexualism is itself quite rare, this
statistical evidence alone calls into question the belief that
Nikolai Gogol was a homosexual transvestite, simply due to the
odds against it. On the other hand, all transsexuals insist that
they are not homosexuals. They come to consider themselves
to be female, despite the facts of their external anatomy (Stoller
1968, 148). Therefore, it is possible that transsexuals
would categorize themselves as having a heterosexual orientation
in such studies.
Nikolai Gogol - Introduction to Research Paper
Terms and Scientific Background
Biographical Information
Literary Analysis of "The Nose"
Literary Analysis of "Terrible Vengeance"
Psychoanalysis of Female Characters
Conclusion, Sources Cited, and Footnotes