56.

With transsexualists the situation is somewhat different. they are much more dynamic and restless, and do not try to conceal their desires. On the con- trary, they molest their doctors (often using threats of suicide), demanding to have a conversion operation. At a later stage they are usually in conflict with society (represented by legal authorities) and demand an official recognition of their "human right to be a woman". Thus they easily achieve publicity, and soon find their way into the lay press and the psychiatric literature. fet even here an attempt to procure approx- imate figures on the number of transsexuals is doomed to failure.

Sex Distribution in Transvestism

It is equally impossible to collect any reliable data on the incidence of transvestism in the two sexes. The study of literature shows that there is a definite preponderance on the part of the male sex among the trans vestites, and the majority of writers express the same view. Benjamin believes that "Transsexualism as well as transvestism is decidedly more frequent among men than women,".

Yet, as has already been pointed out, the discrim- inative social attitude towards each sex, ih our culture is greatly responsible for the obvious preponderance of male transvestites in the psychiatric literature. For example, in most Western countries the male transvesite may be arrested and charged for wearing female dress in public, whilst female transvestism is tolerated by cus- tom and law. Therefore the male transvestite, feeling the hostility and the contempt of society (and often also his own wife) is virtually compelled to seek medical advice, with the risk of being reported as "another case of male transvestism". The female transvestite, even if she were a notorious homosexual will quite certainly remain unmolested for her transvestism and her lesbian- ism, unless she commits an offense of some other punish- able nature.