Is a man who likes transvestites gay?

Answer 1

One answer is: That would be a yes. If the man is strictly attracted to transvestites and no other, then yes, he is gay. If he is attracted to Women as well as transvestites then the he's probably bi-sexual.

Transvestite refers to men that dress as women, but have no desire to permanently alter their sexes. If a man is attracted to this then he is attracted to the same equipment that men have, only in a slightly more colorful package.

One Important note on this question. You used the term "like", I like women, that doesn't make me straight, being sexually attracted to a woman would make me either straight or bi. I answered the question on the assumption that you used the term "like" in reference to sexually attracted too.

Another answer is this: the distinction lesbian/gay-bisexual-straight is too simple. Also, this distinction has been designed or thought up by straight people. People can have a physical sexuality as well as a psychological sexuality. In other words a man can appear very mascualine (according to the cultural version of it) or very feminine (e.g., dress in women's clothing, wearing makeup, and behaving very feminine).

One can be attracted to a person's psychological or behavioral sexuality, such as a man being attracted very feminine woman or a man being attracted to women who are tomboys. Similarly, a woman might be attracted to an overtly masculine male (e.g., a Rugby player or macho man) or a male who displays strong feminine traits.

If a man is attracted to a transvestite, then he is attracted to men who are extremely feminine. He is not gay in the sense that he would be attracted to men who are very masculine. He is not bisuexual merely because the transvestite displays male and female characteristics. Why do we need to classify him in the first place? He is just a man who is attracted to feminine men.

The idea that a man attracted to a transvestite is in someway homophobic (he can't bare the idea that he might be gay so chooses a more acceptable form - a transvestite) is ridiculous. Firslty, who is to say that transvestism is more or less acceptable than being gay? Secondly, the idea presumes that being straight is the norm and that there can only be a straight or gay dimnesion to sexuality, which is too simplistic.

Consider a woman attracted to anohter woman who dresses as a man - but more than that, a woman who can actually pass as being a man. Does this make her lesbian, bisexual or straight? It is too dumb to try to classify her in this way. She is attracted to the psychologically and behaviourally masculine but also to the physically feminine. Can't we just leave it at that without adding any label?

To sum up, the need to assign a label says more about the person trying to assign the label than the person they want to assign a label to!