For some, it is sufficiently intense and central to their sexual arousal to constitute a ‘paraphilia’ – an atypical, extreme sexual interest that may be classed as a disorder if it causes serious problems or distress. But male cross-dressers do not usually express cross-sex identification. ‘I was looking for the bridge’, says Blanchard, ‘between wearing women’s clothing as a masturbatory aid and wanting to be a woman.’
