ABSTRACT
In general parlance, transvestism (literally, “cross-dressing”) denotes dressing in the clothing of the opposite sex for any purpose. As a psychiatric diagnosis, transvestism denotes cross-dressing that is associated with or intended to produce sexual arousal;1 this is called fetishistic transvestism in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10)2 and transvestic disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).3 Both diagnoses are classified as paraphilias in their respective nomenclatures. This chapter uses the term paraphilic transvestism to denote cross-dressing that is (or was) associated with or intended to achieve sexual arousal.
