“I have named myself Tights Slave (Mark). So, why tights, stockings and body-stockings? Because they feel so soft and sensual, so erotic and sexy and they are my safe place. They offer me a freedom of expression that I cannot experience with anything else. I feel a sense of self-confidence and acceptance of myself that as a straight male it is okay to wear them.
I love wearing tights and it makes me feel privileged, happy and open to myself. I love to wear them while in the presence of others and particularly when in servitude.
When I don’t wear tights, I feel a bit lost, unconfident, sad and longing to be wearing them. However, my fetish is an all-consuming constant in my life. My fetish really negatively affects my romantic, intimate and sexual relationships over and over again. It is very distracting; I am constantly thinking about it and I can’t concentrate on much else. It can and does affect my social life and work. “
Mark describes a sexual disorder labelled as transvestic fetishism (transvestism) and is sexually aroused by dressing in women’s sheer nylon tights whilst in servitude to women. The cross-dressing is associated with sexual arousal. The extent of transvestism varies from wearing women’s underwear under conventional clothing to full cross-dressing. Some transvestites may enjoy appearing socially as women. Transvestism should not be confused with the cross-dressing associated with gender identity disorder or with the cross-dressing preferences of some homosexuals.
The person with fetishism disorder, almost always a male, has recurrent and intense sexual urges towards non-living objects, called fetishes. Mark’s fetishes are sheer nylon and servitude.
You meet the criteria for transvestic fetishism disorder if you have:
- Are a heterosexual male and have recurrent and intense sexually arousing fantasies, urges or behaviours involving cross-dressing over a period of at least six months causing marked distress or impairment in social or occupational functioning. It can also be associated with a degree of gender dysphoria.
Transvestic fetishism belongs to a group of paraphilias which also include fetishism, paedophilia, voyeurism, exhibitionism, frotteurism, sadism and masochism.
Common sources of arousal for fetishists are: nylons, tights, woman shoes, rubber products, toilet articles and fur garments. The presence of the fetish is strongly preferred, even essential, for sexual arousal to occur. The attraction felt by the fetishist toward the object has a compulsive quality as it is experienced as an involuntary and irresistible desire.
Transvestic fetishism usually begins with partial cross-dressing in childhood or adolescence. Transvestites are heterosexual, always male, and by and large cross-dress episodically rather than on a regular basis.
The prevalent psychoanalytic view of paraphilia transvestic fetishism is that it arises from a character disorder and is defensive in nature, guarding the ego from dealing with repressed fears and memories. A person with paraphilia is seen as someone who is fearful of conventional heterosexual relationships, even of heterosocial relationships that do not involve sex. The urge to cross-dress may become more frequent over time and sometimes is accompanied by gender dysphoria – discomfort with one’s anatomical sex. Transvestism is comorbid with other paraphilias, notably masochism.
When untreated it gradually adversely affects one’s senses and behaviour, consequently causing further psychological damage which can be detrimental when it comes to forming intimate relationships as well as to the individual’s quality of life.