Cross-dressing

Cross-dressing is the act of wearing items of clothing and other accoutrements commonly associated with the opposite sex within a particular society. Cross-dressing has been used for purposes of disguise, comfort, and self-discovery in modern times and throughout history.

Almost every human society throughout history has had expected norms for each gender relating to style, color, or type of clothing they are expected to wear, and likewise most societies have had a set of guidelines, views or even laws defining what type of clothing is appropriate for each gender.

The term cross-dressing denotes an action or a behavior without attributing or implying any specific causes for that behavior. It is often assumed that the connotation is directly correlated with behaviors of transgender identity or sexual, fetishist, and homosexual behavior, but the term itself does not imply any motives and is not synonymous to one's gender identity.

Cross-dressing has been practiced throughout much of recorded history and in many societies. There are many examples in Greek, Norse, and Hindu mythology. A reasonable number of historical figures are known to have cross-dressed to varying degrees and for a variety of reasons. There is a rich history of cross-dressing found in folklore, literature, theater, and music. Examples include Kabuki and Korean shamanism.

Cross dressing in early modern Spain was prevalent among theaters and happened to be the most popular form of entertainment at the time for Spanish theater audiences. There was a fascination with female cross dressers particularly,and happened to be "extremely popular" in the "Golden age Comedia". Spain viewed this cross dressing phenomenon as a threat, and passed laws targeting female transvestites throughout the 1600s. Despite the negative reactions and disapproval, it continued to remain the most popular form of theatrics and a huge contribution to Spanish comedy.

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