cross-dressing
Wearing opposite clothes
Cross-dressing is wearing clothing typically associated with a different gender.
The practice has varied motivations—theatrical performance, personal expression, sexual arousal, or simply comfort.
A man wearing women's underwear and a drag queen in full costume are both cross-dressing, though the contexts differ dramatically.
The term is neutral and descriptive: She discovered her husband had been cross-dressing for years.
Garment storage furniture
- clothingBody coverings worn daily
- garmentsArticles of clothing
- attirePersonal garments collectively
- outfitSet of clothes worn together
ensemble · accessories · wig · makeup · heels · stockings · lingerie · corset
Shifting gender identity
- genderqueerOutside the two-category system
- nonbinaryOutside male-female categories
- transgenderGender differs from assignment
- transvestiteOne who crossdresses
LGBTQ · queer · self-discovery · authenticity · cisgender · transitioning · pronouns · two-spirit
Pretending to be another
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- incognitoWith identity concealed
- costumeClothing for portrayal
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
alter-ego · passing · concealment · undercover · guise · charade · facade · pretense
Resistance through fluid
- gender-bendingSubverting expected identity expressions
- self-expressionConveying one's inner world
- nonconformityRejection of prevailing norms
- androgynyCombined sex characteristics
fluidity · presentation · liberation · experimentation · avant-garde · eccentricity · persona · costuming
Drama through gesture alone
- ShakespeareElizabethan dramatist and poet
- rolePosition or part
- troupeTraveling group of performers
- actorOne who portrays characters
thespian · commedia · masque · Elizabethan · dramaturgy · repertoire · tradition · staging
Violating accepted boundaries
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
- provocativeMeant to provoke response
- countercultureRejection of mainstream values
- rebellionDefiance of established power
unconventional · radical · resistance · defiance · revolutionary · iconoclasm · dissent · subculture
wardrobe
Garment storage furniture
outfit · ensemble · accessories · wig · makeup · heels · stockings · lingerie · corset · skirt
genderfluidity
Shifting gender identity
- genderqueerOutside the two-category system
- nonbinaryOutside male-female categories
- transgenderGender differs from assignment
transvestite · LGBTQ · queer · self-discovery · authenticity · cisgender · transitioning · pronouns · two-spirit
impersonation
Pretending to be another
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- incognitoWith identity concealed
- costumeClothing for portrayal
deception · alter-ego · passing · concealment · undercover · guise · charade · facade · pretense · cloak
drag
Resistance through fluid
- gender-bendingSubverting expected identity expressions
- self-expressionConveying one's inner world
- nonconformityRejection of prevailing norms
androgyny · fluidity · presentation · liberation · experimentation · avant-garde · eccentricity · persona · costuming · transgression
pantomime
Drama through gesture alone
- ShakespeareElizabethan dramatist and poet
- rolePosition or part
- troupeTraveling group of performers
actor · thespian · commedia · masque · Elizabethan · dramaturgy · repertoire · tradition · staging
transgressive
Violating accepted boundaries
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
- provocativeMeant to provoke response
- countercultureRejection of mainstream values
rebellion · unconventional · radical · resistance · defiance · revolutionary · iconoclasm · dissent · subculture · challenge
cabaret
Live entertainment venue
- stageRaised performance platform
- lip-syncSilent vocal mimicry
- entertainmentAgreeable diversion of attention
burlesque · vaudeville · revue · glamour · spotlight · audience · applause · act · routine · pageant
- Shakespeare comedymistaken identity, comic relief, dramatic irony, Falstaff, Malvolio
- Elizabethan comedyTwelfth Night, The Comedy of Errors, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice
- gender expressionandrogynous, androgyny, butch, femme, feminine
- Joan of ArcJoan of Arc, French heroine, martyr, saint, heroine
- pantomimedame, pantomime dame, pantomime horse, principal boy, ugly sisters
- Shakespeare disguisesRosalind, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, Portia, hidden identity
cross-dressinggender conformity
Matching expected sex-based behaviors
conformity · conventionality · traditional dress · orthodoxy · traditionalism