The act of wearing clothes traditionally associated with a gender different from one’s own. A person who participates in cross-dressing is known as a cross-dresser; although they may not necessarily identify as transgender.

Related: gender-bender; transvestite.

an individual who wears the clothes of another gender/sex. Such individuals may not identify as transgender or nonbinary, they may consider themselves cisgender. They may, or may not, label themselves a transvestite. Crossdressers may also have separate personas and/or names for when they are cross-dressing; this may not take the form of drag either.

People cross-dress for a range of reasons, including for relaxation, fun or sexual gratification. Some transgender individuals do discover their identity through cross-dressing (as well as other forms of gender variant expression), but it is important to conflate being transgender or nonbinary with cross-dressers or cross-dressing (that is, not to refer to transgender or nonbinary people as “crossdressers”.

a term that gained popularity in the 1980s to describe individuals who were androgynous and/or deliberately played with notions of gender presentation and gender norms. Such individuals were not necessarily cross-dressers or transvestites; nor did they necessarily identify as nonbinary or transgender.

See also: genderfuck.

the act of deliberately disrupting, challenging or exaggerating gender norms, presentation and expectation.

Such examples would be to adopt a presentation that incorporates hyper-masculine/hyper-feminine elements – for examples, wearing a beard and having enlarged breasts and makeup.

Genderfuck balls are common examples of events where participants are encouraged to deliberately break-down, ‘fuck with’ and challenge ideas of gender, particularly those that are traditionally ascribed, and those associated with binary sex.

An individual who cross-dresses; e.g. a man who wears clothes traditionally associated and worn by women.

In traditional psychological context, a transvestite is usually defined as a person – typically a heterosexual, cisgender male – who dresses in female clothing for sexual pleasure or gratification.

The word can be potentially problematic when transvestitism is conflated and confused with being transgender, or when the traditional psychological context is applied to all people who cross-dress. As such, it’s recommended to use the term with caution. Certainly do not refer to transgender or nonbinary individuals as transvestites, but also do not assume people who do call themselves transvestites are transgender or nonbinary – typically, they identify as cisgender.

People engage in cross-dressing for a variety of reasons, such as for fun or relaxation, for theatrical reasons, or as a form of gender exploration. This may or may not take the form of drag.