Wardrobe Change: Preferences, Self-Satisfaction, and Stigma Consciousness of Male Homosexuals who engage in female dressing

Abstract

The study aimed to explore the clothing behavior of male homosexuals who opt to dress as females. In detail, their preferences in styling, experiences, and their level of self-satisfaction in relation to stigma consciousness were measured and analyzed. Seventy six college students were invited to accomplish survey questionnaires using snowball sampling technique. Survey tool was composed of questions regarding their socio-demographic profile, perception about the society, styling preferences, level of self-satisfaction, and level of stigma consciousness; also attached with this is the informed consent provided before they proceed with the survey. Moreover, qualitative interviews were also conducted with willing informants after completion of the questionnaire to gather richer data about the experiences of male homosexuals in clothing. The study has the following results: (1) Overall, male homosexuals are self-satisfied when they female dress; (2) Stigma conscious is negatively correlated with the environmental perception of male homosexuals in their self-satisfaction; (3) They opt to sport “Casual” fashion trend; (4) They consider “Society” as the most judgmental social group when they are female-dressed while “Internet Sites” are considered the most influential media tool in their clothing choices; (5) 68.4% of the respondents considers female dressing important in the expression of their identity. Generally, female-dressing is a factor in the identity of male homosexuals, especially in their level of self-satisfaction or expression of chosen identity. Environment is influential in their choices and perceptions; however societal judgments are not internalized by the female-dressers. Limitations of the study are provided as well as recommendations for further and future researches on LGBT studies.