(02-02-2015, 07:06 AM)Nakoli Chalahko Wrote: In and of itself a transvestite is simply someone who feels comfortable in the clothing of the opposite gender. There are people that fetishise it, true, but there are people that fetishise feet.
Nah, transvestite definitely has fetish connotations, to the point where "wholesome cross-dressers" started using said phrase just to avoid said connotations. From the wikipedia article on the subject:
Quote:After all the changes that took place during the 1970s, a large group was left without a word to describe themselves: heterosexual males (that is, male-bodied, male-identified, gynephilic persons) who wear traditionally feminine clothing. This group was not particularly happy with the term "transvestism". Therefore, the term "cross-dresser" (which has exactly the same meaning as "transvestite") was coined. Self-identified cross-dressers generally do not have fetishistic intentions, but are instead men who wear female clothing and often both admire and imitate women.
Now, it IS a bit silly since transvestite literally means the same thing, but social mores tend to be weird like that.