Cross-dressing

Cross-dressing is the practice of wearing clothes that are traditionally worn by the opposite gender within a particular society. There can be various reasons for cross-dressing. The practice of cross-dressing is also called transvestism (also called transvestitism, from Latin trans-, "across, over" and vestitus, "dressed"). Transvestite refers to a person who cross-dresses; however, the word often has additional physical connotations. In theatre and other stage shows, cross-dressing to portray a character of the opposite gender is known as travesti.