The Phenomena of Cross-Dressing Which Happens Toward Indonesian Transvestities and Androginy

Nurrohma Fitriana Student Number : 120912124 Airlangga University 2012 Indonesia Introduction Gender is on occasion with sexuality eventhough those are actually different. The study of sex and power reveals the term of gender and sexuality. Both terms frequently used to be the similar definition when those are accepted by common society. Gender and sexuality are differenciated by object and field. As Beasley (2005) stated on his Gender and Sexuality : Critical Theoris, Critical Thinkers that gender tipically refers to social process of dividing up people and social practices along the line of sexed identities, gender divides sexed catagories into men and women while sexuality divides sexual catagories into hetero and homosexual. In gender field, we are able to learn about feminist and masculinity behaviour also. Gender relates to a case of creatures’ personality and behaviour which is built by their environment while sexuality is more as genetic and natural. Both cases could be heredity but in contrary, those two terms contain great difference perception. However, nowaday, many issues which are related to gender and sexuality are emerging. One of the issues is about cross-dressing which happens toward wider scope of Indonesian people. As the rapidly growth of media in spreading information, many more cross-dressed people pop out because of the emerging of changing perception toward gender and sexuality. In Indonesia, the phenomenon are mostly happened to people who work for entertainment field; actor, actress, singer (especially boyband and girlband vocal), designer, model, comedian, and many others. Cross-dressing has became attracted problem of gender and sexuality thus it is interesting to be discussed. Indeed, we relate cross-dressing phenomena as problem which is suffered by comedian who only want to enggage profesionalism in doing their job. Besides, cross-dressing id the method that is used by transvestities and androginy for declaring their gender choice. Actually, it is not as simple as we though when society have to differ whether a person is a transvetite or an androginy. Thus, this paper is going to reveal the differences of cross-dressing phenomena which happens toward Indonesian transvestite and androginy. Analysis Cross-dressing is a concept that is related to gender construction and the perception of sexual identity. Cross-dressing happens when a particular sex wear another opposite sex’ clothes; male wears female’s or female wears male’s. Clothing is the material culture that can be catagorized and indicated issues of sex, gender and even sexuality. Clothing expresses how people define themselves. Their attitudes also contribute the construction of selves. These elements finally demonstrate the prevailing culture towards gender and sex of the people. For understanding deeper about cross-dressing, Suthrell (2004) states that : “A study of cross-dressing cannot help but consider concepts of sexual orientation, polarity, and attributes of maleness/femaleness” (7). People who do cross-dressing have their own reasons. It is possible for them to cross their clothes with their opposite’s because they want to be freely in revealing their hidden emotion. This term is frequently connected with the term transvestisim and particular theorist declare the terms are similar instead. Transvestism is a part of transgender. Deborah (2005) asserts that transvestites and other transgendered people often feel threaten without reason when they face constant threat of violance. They use to violate the norms of heterosexuality and thereby often are threatened with violance or actually attacked. Thus, Suthrell proofs that by correlate between the existence of transvestities with the concept of cross-dressing. “Cross-dressing may also be a therapeutic reaction to social pressures male dual role transvestites often describe a feeling of relaxation and comfort when dressed in women’s clothes, which they are unable to attain when in the male ‘uniform’; releasing the male self from the regime of stereotypical male emotions through the outward and visible manifestation of wearing women’s clothes can be a form of ‘play’ .” (39) When a person make up his mind to be the opposite sex (in other words he changes his gender representation), he will feel uncomfortable for showing his counter natural sex behaviour. In other side, he really needs to explore his attitudes but the social norm still rejects counter natural sex behaviour. The usual social norm insists that ‘a man must be a man and a woman must be a woman’, while his perception is not the same. As consequently, he does cross-dressing for making his emotions are comfortable released. Thus, the concept of cross-dressing has very tight relationship with sex and gender. Moreover, cross-dressing is s form of gender representation. Kemp and Squires stated on Beasley’s that the term gender is dominant concept to analyze sexed identities and practices thus it could create perception of social relation and appraise people who are identified as men and women. In entertainment field, cross-dressing is utilised as entertaining purpose. The dolorous stereotype of transvestities who frequently do cross-dressing is used for econimic benefit. For more clear interpretation, let us define transvestism by using binary opposition revealed by Edward Said’s Orientalism (1976). Transvestities people are judges as ‘other’ while people who decide their gender as men or women are selves (‘self’). Thus, transvestities seems like marginalized society in which their existence is only joke. Thus, entertainment world takes this perception to be applicated with comedy. The presence of transvestite comedians is a fresh consolation for people nowaday. However, it is very profitable. Many television programs point out comedy such as extravaganza, sketsa and opera van java. There will be one or more transvestite comedian who join with a comedy program. Infact, the transvestite comedian is not a truly transvestite in the real world (out of stage). They only do cross-dressing in order creating their image as transvestite person. The definition of transvestism itself also implicates as subgender. As it is mentioned below : “The Oxford English Dictionary (1976) gives the definition of ‘transvest’ and subsequently, transvestism as ‘clothe (usually oneself) in other garments, especially those of the opposite sex’; and this meaning would appear to be universally accepted – that ‘trans’ = a/cross and ‘vest’ = ‘dress’.” (17). Cross-dressing which is done by the transvestites is totally different from androginy cross-dressing. Androginy covers role aspect of gender even also does cross-dressing that is commonly indicated of transvestism. Transvestities do cross-dressing for maintaining ther gender interpretation. Although androginy also covers the performance of opposite sex , but androginy people are not engaged with its behaviour while transvestities do not cover the role aspect as well as androginy people but cover behaviour of their opposite natural sexed identity. Thus, many androginies feel both feminine and masculine in same time without betray their origin sexed identity. It visualizes them as free and elegant in social construction. Through his work which is published on internet, Gramstad says that by having sexed identity and gender choice as androginy, you can be or have both at once (or neither), not only the one or the other. Besides, people can combine the various components of masculinity and femininity in any particular ways, and it is based on our individual preferences, our indovual needs as specific gender and our nature (the natural sex we inherit, not the specific gender we belong). On the contrary, a transvestite does cross dressing in order clarifiying himself as his opposite gender (man belongs to be a woman by using woman’s clothes). Transvestism try hard to avoid masculinity and engage femininity while androginy want to get both gender by doing cross-dressing. In many countries in the world especially in Indonesia, society still marginalize transvestism. Even community of androginy people, society still reject their existence. Eventhough, androginy community use to be the upper than the transvestite. Conclusion The changing of gender comes about the changing of social construction. Many more new communities are exist by labelling themselves as the new generation of gender reprentation. Thus, they do many way in order declaring their sexed identity. Cross-dressing is the way to clarify gender which is choosen by people. People wear their opposite sex’ clothing and change their role or behaviour instead. Transvestite and androginy do cross-dressing. A case that differ between them is about their manner. Transvestites consider to be their opposite sex (performance, role, behaviour) while androginy considers to compile both femininity and masculinity due to their performance. Work Cited Chris Beasley . Gender and Sexuality : Critical Theoris, Critical Thinkers. New Delhi : Sage Production. 2005. print http://folk.uio.no/thomas/gnd/androgyny.html accesed on Sunday 03.20 p.m November, 3rd 2012 Suthrell, Charlotte.2004. Unzipping Gender : Sex, Cross-Dressing, and Culture. New York : Berg Oxford International Publishers Ltd. Pdf Tolman, Deborah L. 2005. Dilemmas of Desire.United State of America : Harvard University Press Ltd. Pdf https://plus.google.com/106969103415133242757/about