Transvestites are men who wear women's clothing and often admire and imitate women, but identify themselves as different from both gay and transsexual men, and generally deny having fetishistic intentions. Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothing that is not commonly associated with a person's gender. Cross-dressing has been used for purposes of disguise, comfort, comedy and self-expression in modern times and throughout history. Usually, a man who dresses as a woman is called a transvestite.
Crossdressing usually begins at an early age and, although gay men and transgender people are known to do so, many transvestite men are heterosexual and don't want to change their gender. The once strictly enforced ban on women's clothing by women is still echoed today in some Western societies that require girls and women to wear skirts, for example, as part of school uniforms or office dress codes. It doesn't make the behavior any less intolerant or incorrect, but it does explain the logical disconnect that occurs when people are terribly annoyed by things that don't really affect them (that is, when men wear women's clothing). She doesn't say anything about my use of women's clothing, shorts and has even bought me shorts and panties to sleep on for women.
Transvestites may start wearing clothes associated with the opposite sex in childhood, wearing the clothes of a brother, parent, or friend. As societies naturally become more global, both men's and women's clothing are adopting dress styles associated with other cultures. In most parts of the world, it remains socially frowned upon for men to wear clothing traditionally associated with women. While most male transvestites wear clothing associated with modern women, some are involved in subcultures that involve dressing as little girls or wearing vintage clothing.
