The experience is bisexuaclass="underline" not only is the transvestite making contact fetishistically (safely, indirectly) with women’s skin (taking the woman as a heterosexual object), but he is also putting it on (identifying with the woman).
This description leaves out much that is important— and speculative—such as a fuller investigation of the transvestite’s belief in phallic women, both the powerful sort who originally attacked him and the kind that he represents with his erect penis beneath the women's clothes; or the symbolic meanings the clothes have for him (for example, intact penis); or castration anxiety; or the garments as transitional objects between his mother and separation from her; and a host of additional psychoanalytic formulations. They will not be detailed here, as the present task is simply to define the concept of perversion.*
•There are too many explanations. Psychoanalytic theory is the most syncretic system since the Roman pantheon; a new Logos may be added on without displacing any of the older elements; the garments of the other sex allegedly also symbolize father's penis; or
?;etting into mother's skin and thus being sheltered in her womb or if you belong to a different school) her penis; or being mother herself, either mother with a phallus, mother without, or both simultaneously; or the garments serving to protect mother from destruction; or being father's penis inside mother's vagina; or the need to protect father's introjected penis in mother's womb (of which there is inherited knowledge in the collective unconscious) from oral and anal attack.
To take on and separate out for clear viewing the fortune cookie metapsychology, speculations, fantasies, pomposities, humbug, absurdities, outrageous yet unchallenged pronouncements, marvelous suggestions, brilliant insights, and original and demonstrable findings would lake a work of obsessive-compulsive scholarship I do not have the desire and patience to undertake. Few of the key words of our language are definable except by other key words which are themselves undefinable (for example, "narcissism is the cathexis of the self'); little is stated as a proposition that can be tested in the
The reader may ask if this is a study of pornography or of transvestism, for the matter herein shifts from the one perspective to the other. This in itself makes, then, an obvious point: that pornography, as the perverse subject’s key daydream, is psychodynamically about the same as his perversion. It is the highly condensed story of his perversion: its historical origins in reality, its elaborations in fantasy, its manifest content that disguises and reveals the latent content. Without pornography, one can obviously still study the dynamics of perversions; but with pornography one has a special tool that at times will give clues one might otherwise miss. Especially helpful is the fact that since pornography, for its creator, is produced for money-making, he will be motivated in the highest to develop a daydream that is not idiosyncratic. If his pornography is to pay, he must intuitively extract out of what he knows about his audience those features all share in common. If he does not, he runs the risk of selling only one copy. He therefore has to create a work precise enough to excite and general enough to excite many. Thus, pornography is for the researcher a sort of statistical study of psychodynamics —a more colorful and more powerful method than the opinion poll that is sometimes foisted on us as rigorous research.
With the relaxation of laws that restricted the production of pornography, the market has increased; it has been financially possible for the producers to cater more precisely to the taste of selected readers. And so, where formerly all transvestites, regardless of multiple interests within the genre, had to settle for one story, each now can find varied forms designed more precisely to his
observable world but rather only by recourse to authority or manipulation of more theory. And even after taking these unnecessary risks, we are often left only with a dramatically complicated rendering of the obvious. The reader who wishes to will find tne evidence in Leites’ devastating, unread book (86).
specifics. Thus, not all men who intermittently crossdress and become sexually excited by women’s clothing will take the pornography quoted earlier as their first choice. They say that in the past they settled for it, purchased every book that came out illustrating it, but did not feel it quite fitted their case. So, for those transvestites who find the overt sadomasochism in that story too intense, there are now available more charming stories of the happy, shy man and the happy, competent woman happily buying women’s clothes and then the happy woman putting the lovely clothes on the happy man.
The following is a story from a transvestite magazine. A masculine man with no previous transvestic interests has been told to dress up by a woman he knows.
It was now time to get ready for the barbecue and Lynn [the man who is to become a transvestite] selected a flowery shift and a pair of minimal heels for the occasion. More time than usual was given to application of her makeup to her eyes and mouth. How she enjoyed shaping it into the delightful bow that nature had endowed her with. Unusual attention was given to her hairdo to make certain it was perfect and in selection of beads of just the right length for her colorful outfit. Millie [the woman who is encouraging him to cross-dress] dressed similarly, but added two artificial flowers just above her ears.
“You look simply wonderful,” complimented Millie, “and a more beautiful girl just does not exist. However, try not to talk too much this evening, but rather observe what the others do and say. O.K.?”
Soon the two girls were mingling with the other tenants at poolside, and Lynn's first evening out was underway. Millie noticed as she watched Lynn moving about, how graceful and feminine her friend appeared. . . .
Later:
“What a wonderful evening,” exclaimed the enthusiastic Millie. "Bill is sure a charmer and knows his way with women! Did you enjoy yourself too?”
“Yes and no,” replied Lynn. “To be honest, I felt left out of things and did not want to get myself too involved and possibly give myself away.”
“Don’t be silly, just be sure and be yourself the next time we are out. Still I can see why you might be uncomfortable,” Millie replied, “though no one could possibly suspect that you are not what you appear to be."
“It’s easy enough for you to tell me to be myself, but remember that the me that existed till two months ago was all man. Business and sports would not be the conversation expected of me with the men, would it?” retorted Lynn. “I can get along well enough with the women alone. God knows I’ve probably read as much feminine material these past months as they have in the past ten years . . . and the conversations that you and I have had give me confidence with them, but not with the men.”
“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it now,” Millie said. “We will solve that problem also in time. Get some rest for we do have a busy schedule tomorrow.” And planting a kiss on Lynn’s forehead she left. . . .
Later:
Millie was fully dressed and soon they were chatting about the many small things that most women enjoy. When they were finished, Millie insisted on doing the dishes, so that Lynn could hurry and get dressed. “Wear the beige suit and that darling coral blouse you like so much,” she commanded. “I don’t want you to look too overbearing today since we will be out most of the day.”
Later:
The ladies were soon seated and Lynn was delighted with the assistance of the waiter in seating them. During their light meal Millie told Lynn of her plans for them for the balance of the day.