Lit Review

Running Head: CONSUMER BEHAVIOR OF TRANSGENDER WOMEN 1
Consumer Behavior of Transgender Women
Literature Review
University of North Texas
Author Note
This paper was prepared tor MDSE 3370, Section 1 Taught by Dr. Strubel

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TITLE: CONSUMER BEHAVIOR OF TRANSGENDER WOMEN
Literature Review Introduction
This literature review will provide an extensive overview of our subculture –
transgender women – and will lay the groundwork for the research that will later be
conducted. This review will cover the history and origin of transgender women, which
will provide information on what it means to be transgender and the formation of trans
women as a subculture. This review will be covering group differentiation and will
provide information on the variance within the subculture. Additionally, it will cover
dress behavior, which will establish the patterns of dress within the group and will
provide insight on how dress ties them to their group. Lastly, this literature review will
address the origins and the rules of sartorial style, which will explain the average dress
patterns of transgender women as a subculture. These discussion points will provide a
sufficient background for the research that is to be conducted about transgender women’s
consumer behavior.
Discussion
Subculture of Consumption Background Information
Subculture of Consumption History and Origins. Transgender people are more
visible today than any other time in history and their visibility is only growing
(Cantarella, 2015; Steinmetz, 2014). People are becoming more aware of what it means
to be transgender and more knowledgeable about transgender issues. Laverne Cox, a
trans woman, was even on the cover of Time magazine (seen in appendix item A) titled,
“The Transgender Tipping Point” (Steinmetz, 2014). This rise in representation and

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visibility may seem like a random pop culture craze (Miller, 2014), but that is certainly
not the case, especially for transgender people. Trans people have been apart of the
LGBT civil movement since the major revolution for LGBT rights began in the 1960s
(Gan, 2007). However, in a way, trans people’s fight has not only been for equality but
also to let the world know that they exist and to explain what being trans means.
The struggle for visibility exists because, like most marginalized people, trans
people have been excluded or edited out of history which in turn, gives people the
perception that the transgender movement is just a craze. This exclusion from history is
also why the documentation of trans people and trans issues have just started to surface in
the 20th century. However, historians and historical analysts have found minute
documentation of transgender people – particularly trans women – from a variety of
sources accumulating from different parts of the world beginning as early as 385 BC
(Scobey-Thal, 2014). This research shows that trans people – while not referred to as
transgender (Beemyn, 2013) – have existed and been a part of society for at least a few
thousand years (Scobey-Thal 2014) and, in some cases, were even respected, exalted
members of society, or both (Callender & Kochems, 1983).
The twentieth century marked a rapid incline of transgender visibility. For the
first time, transgender people were able to medically transition to their identified gender
(Meyerowitz, 1998). The ability to transition was increasingly important to the rise in
knowledge and social acceptance of trans people. It provided them not only with the

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confidence needed to speak out about their cause, but also caught the world's attention,
finally making it impossible to ignore trans people.
The twentieth century bred a new kind of transgender woman, a woman who was
ready to be recognized by society and make people listen, women like Christine
Jorgenson – the subject of the first world-recognized gender reassignment case. These
women used their voices to tell the world about what it means to be transgender and to let
everyone know that they were intelligent, contributing members of society (Meyerowitz,
1998, p. 159).
In the 1960s, the LGBT movement took off and trans people were at the forefront
of the fight for equality. The Stonewall riots are, to most, what signified the beginning of
the LGBT civil rights movement in America and, according to some historians, a trans
woman of color was the first to fight (Gan, 2007, p.131).
Even though the LGBT civil rights movement involved many trans people, the
media has massively downplayed and even ignored trans people’s involvement (Gan,
2007). However, the past few years have propelled the variance of transgender
representation and acknowledgement in the media, and in 2015 it has now become a hot
topic. Unlike times in the past, the majority of recent discussions about trans people have
been respectful, thought-provoking, and accepting. Transgender people are finally being
included in mass media: transgender actress, Laverne Cox has been on the cover of
multiple magazines and is a star in a hit TV show; transgender model, Andreja Pejić has
been in Vogue magazine (seen in Figure E) and is currently the face of a major makeup

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company (Oliver, 2015); Olympic gold medalist, Bruce Jenner revealed she was
transgender and shortly after transitioned and become Caitlyn Jenner – announcing her
new name and appearance on the cover of Vanity Fair. These role models have become
the faces of the transgender community and give the community more recognition and
attention than ever before. However, there are still many issues that the transgender
community faces as a group. Some of these issues include social prejudices that deeply
impact the dynamics of transgender people as a subculture.
Not only is transgender history still being written, but it is also still being
discovered. As it evolves and historians discover more about the past, the history of trans
people will become more extensive and detailed. As a subculture, trans people’s history
shows strong, brave men and women who would rather live their truth than hide away.
Group Differentiation. The word transgender, as described by Megan Davidson
(2007), is an umbrella term that describes a variety of different identities and ideologies.
For some transgender women, the goal of their transition is to blend into the mainstream
and to be perceived as a cisgender woman. They are comforted with the idea of fading
into the background and living an authentic life. But in reality, most transgender women
are not able to reach this ideal (Patricia Gagne & Richard Tewsbury, 1998). Whether it is
because of the cost of procedures or the natural body type of a transgender woman, there
seems to be a plethora of obstacles that can hinder their ability to reach this ideal of
appearing to be cisgender. Due to these natural occurrences, transgender women can tend

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to look and act differently than a cis woman. These differences often cause transgender
women to stand out in a crowd, something they tirelessly try to avoid.
However, there are also some transgender women who deny this ideal of blending
in altogether and decide to embrace the fact that they are trans (Patricia Gagne & Richard
Tewsbury, 1998). These are the individuals in the transgender community that
purposefully stand out and differentiate themselves from cisgender people. These are the
individuals who see themselves as being oppressed by society for not fitting into its
neatly made box and fight back by owning their differences with pride ( Hill, 1997;
Stone, 1991, pg. 5). These may include transgender women that do not clearly externalize
their gender identity but still consider themselves transgender women ( Davidson, 2007;
Patricia Gagne & Richard Tewsbury, 1998).
Trans women are women that transition themselves into new gender identities
while still possessing their personal identities (Stevens, 2015 ). They still hold their
familial roles as fathers, uncles, and brothers (sisters), while more content with their
gender identity. These experiences, although in varying degrees, differentiate transgender
women from cisgender women, as well as bring the trans community closer together
(Patricia Gagne & Richard Tewsbury, 1998).
The Unique Aesthetic of the Dress Practice
Dress Behavior. Clothing and the way an individual dresses their body is a means
of setting oneself apart from others (Karaminas, 2013, pg.18). As with any other gender,
the transgender MTF (male to female) community contains a large variety of style. These

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styles can range from flamboyant to conservative. The transitioning of gender is not the
only thing that changes in the process; the MTF wardrobe takes a huge transition as well.
Individuals begin to redesign themselves and their look to reflect what they truly feel on
the inside whether or not it is the “norm” in society. In the late 1700’s it was
commonplace for both sexes to use the same dress practices such as makeup, jewelry, and
hair extensions. Some homosexual men in that time had underground meetings that were
known as “molly houses.” Here, the men were called “mollies,” and often cross-dressed.
(Karaminas, 2013, pg.13; Legal, 2004). Today, trans women struggle to find clothing
that doesn’t over expose their biologically male features (Knott, 2014). They often have
to go through decent measures to find clothing that accentuates their femininity, such as
having their clothing custom-made or having it specially tailored for their body. When
MTFs shop for clothing, they must take into consideration that women’s clothing sold in
store is not fit for male figures. However, MTFs are on the path to inclusion in the retail
setting. Retail stores such as H&M and Urban Outfitters have not only opened their
dressing rooms to transgender people, but have also hired transgender MTFs as models
(Earsing, 2015; Docktorman, 2015; Ermac, 2015). While trans women do not have a set
clothing style among their subculture, the features that they look for in clothing is a
commonality that they all share. The MTF transgender community has websites such as
crossdresser.com and dresstech.net to discreetly purchase synthetic female breasts and
hips (see Figures A and B). The MTF transgender community consists of different social

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identities. Therefore, there's not a fixed dress behavior, rather an intention to exaggerate
or define female-like qualities (Bolich, 2007, pg. 48).
Origins of Sartorial Style. The practice of biological male’s dressing and living
as women in society has been practiced for centuries all across the world. Ancient trans
women were often assigned spiritual or shamanistic roles in their societies or were
believed to have magical powers. This was because they were more often than not seen as
people who were neither male nor female—people who were of the “third gender”
(Zabus and Coad, 2013). As technology advanced, sex reassignment surgery (SRS)
became an option for those who felt their sex did not match their identified gender and
Lili Ebe became the first trans woman undergo SRS (Niels, 2004).
In the early seventeenth century, French explorers in the Mississippi Valley
encountered male berdaches. The berdaches were North American Indians who assumed
the dress, social roles, and occupations of the opposite sex (Callender & Kochems 1983).
Instead of being seen as male or female, the berdache were seen as mediators between
those two genders and were thought to be able to “see” better than the males and females
of the tribe. It was for this reason that the berdache were often assigned shamanistic or
spiritualistic roles (Bolich, 2008). When it came to what the berdache wore, they usually
wore whatever their respective tribe considered to be women’s clothing. This meant that
the berdache wore anything from short, knee-length, cotton skirts to aprons and tied their
hair up according to their tribe’s hairstyles for women (Trexter, 1999). They also often
wore women’s jewelry such as strings of colorful beads and bracelets. Any facial hair

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was removed through self-depilation along with any other bodily hair in order to appear
youthful and by extension, feminine. The removal of hair is still practiced today by trans
women for similar reasons, though through more sophisticated methods such as laser hair
removal, electrolysis, body waxing, or epilating creams ("Electrolysis," n.d., para. 2).
In 1952, ex-soldier Christine Jorgensen became the first widely known trans
woman in the United States, becoming a major influence in the shift of America’s views
on sex and gender. Her story challenged America’s views of transgendered people and
gave other transgendered people the courage to speak out and seek SRS (Meyerowitz,
2004). However, they were not always met with support, because doctors often told them
that the disparity between their biological sex and gender was a mental condition that
could be cured (Meyerowitz, 2004). Approximately nine years after the Jorgenson story,
the sexual revolution of the 1960s took place. This was a time where youths
experimented with sexuality that challenged traditional views of sexuality (Stryker,
2008). It should be noted however, that not all trans women wanted to be quiet and
reserved like Jorgenson. While Jorgenson was most notably seen wearing a full-length
fur coat, earrings, and a fairly light amount of make-up (Docter, 2013), some transsexual
women wanted to adopt a more sexualized image than Christine Jorgenson (Meyerowitz,
2004).
The stylistic behaviors of trans women have evolved over time as society has
grown and more technological and medical advances have been made. Trans women
have come far from the native expressions of transgenderism seen in the berdache and

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more options are available to them in order for them to achieve their ideal selves. There is
now a larger variety of makeup to choose from than there was in the 1950s, not to
mention how the application of makeup has also changed since then. If they choose to,
trans women can even get cosmetic surgeries such as facial reconstruction or breast
implants to appear even more feminine. If these advancements from the past are of any
indication, the future will undoubtedly present trans women with even more possibilities.
Sartorial Rules. Transgender women are expected by society to look, sound, and
act like the typical cisgendered women. In simpler terms, trans women are supposed to
appear as women; including, clothing, makeup, the physical body structure, and possess
the body movements and postures of a woman. Trans women get plastic surgery to
permanently alter their appearance to look like a woman (Bolich, 2007). However, some
transgender females cannot afford the expense of plastic surgery, which then, depending
on their natural body shape, can make their adoption of the female physique a harder
task. (Glaad, 2015, p.1).
There are vast majorities of people who are naive to the transgender culture,
which can make for uncomfortable social settings involving trans women. For example,
transgender students have come across problems when dressing for school due to their
natural born sex and the dress codes put forth by the school board. (Bolich, 2006, p.76).
However, trans women are now in the media and bringing awareness to the transgender
community to help shine a positive light on their lifestyle (Signorile, 2015, p.4). They
also become role models and guides for younger generations to follow. They give other

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transgender women the confidence to wear and act how they want. These women become
comfortable in their own skin, which gives them the ability to be comfortable in women's
clothing (Glaad, 2015, p.1). If a trans woman dresses or is forced to dress in a way other
than how a woman would dress, it could greatly affect their self-esteem and social
identity. Also, one trans woman’s confidence to dress as their gender identity may give
other trans women the confidence to do the same. Many trans women find it hard to come
out and be confident with themselves because of the social stigmas that are imposed on
trans women and the danger associated with being openly trans (Hines, 2013, p.82).
Conclusion and Future Study
Transgender women have been documented for centuries and is likely they
have existed for longer than that . Trans history has rapidly progressed in the past few
decades and continues to evolve (Cantarella, 2015; Steinmetz, 2014). Trans women as a
subculture experience an extreme amount of prejudice that deeply impacts their group
dynamic (Hines, 2013, p.82). While not all trans women are the same, they share similar
dress behavior in regards to makeup, cosmetic surgery, and the goal each woman has
when choosing a garment. They look for clothes that outline a feminized silhouette in
order to externalize their gender identity. This literature review has provided background
information on transgender women and will assist in the research that is to be conducted
on transgender women’s consumer behavior. We intend to answer the following
questions about transgender women’s consumer behavior: Do stores have an
uncomfortable and potentially hostile environment that discourages trans women from

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shopping like the average consumer? Does media representation for transgender women
significantly impact their shopping patterns? When answering our research questions, we
will use the information we have gathered for this review to assist in the understanding of
our subculture.
References
Bolich, G. (2007). Transgender History & Geography (Vol. 3, p. 416). Raleigh, North
Carolina: Psyche's Press.
Bolich, G. (2007). Dress & gender (Vol. 1, p. 309). S.l., North Carolina: Psyche's Press.
Bolich, G. (2008). Across Time & Space. In Transgender Realities: An Introduction to
Gender Variant People and the Judgments About Them. Raleigh, N.C.:
Psyche's Press, 90-95.
Callender, C., & Kochems, L. (1983). The North American Berdache. Current
Anthropology, 24(4), 443-444.

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Davidson, M. (2007). Seeking Refuge Under the Umbrella: Inclusion, Exclusion,
and Organization Within the Category Transgender. Sexuality Research & Social
Policy Journal of NSRC, 4(4), 60-63.
Docter, R. (2008). Developing An Act. In Becoming a Woman: A Biography of Christine
Jorgensen. New York: Routledge, 163-178.
Elbe, L., & Hoyer, N. (2004). Section 1. In Man Into Woman: The First Sex Change, A
Portrait of Lili Elbe : The True And Remarkable Transformation of the Painter
Einar Wegener. London: Blue Boat Books, 5-10.
Gagne, P. & Tewksbury, R. (1998). Psychology and Transgendered: Policing the Gender
Borders. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 35(1), 129-
136.
Gan, J. (2007). “Still at the Back of the Bus”: Sylvia Rivera’s Struggle. CENTRO
Journal, 19(1), 129-136.
GLAAD Media Reference Guide - Transgender Issues. (2011, September 9). Retrieved
October 1, 2015.
Hill, D. B. (1997). Understanding, Knowing, and Telling Transgender Identities.
(Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Hines, S. (2013). Gender diversity, recognition and citizenship: Towards a politics of
difference (p. 161). Palgrave Macmillan.
Hair Removal Tips For MTF Transgender Patients. (2012). Retrieved September 30,
2015, from http://www.genderconfirmation.com/hair-removal-options/

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Meyerowitz, J. (1998). Sex Change and the Popular Press. GLQ: A Journal of
Lesbian & Gay Studies, 4(2), 159.
Meyerowitz, J. (2004). Introduction. In How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality In
The United States. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 6.
Miller, G. (2014, August 22). Left Goes Nuts Over Truth About 'Transgender'
Teen. Retrieved from http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/miller/140822
Nagoshi, J., & Brzuzy, S. (2010). AFFILIA: Journal of women and social work.
(p. 443). London: Sage.
Oliver, D. (2015, July 25). Andreja Pejić Is Bold and Beautiful In New Make Up
For Ever Campaign. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/andreja-pejic-make-up-for-ever-
campaign_55ae4d96e4b08f57d5d26fbc
Stone, S. (1992). The Empire Strikes Back: A Posttransexual Manifesto. Camera
Obscura, 10(229), 150-176.
Scobey-Thal, J. (2014). THIRD GENDER. Foreign Policy, (207), 16-17.
Schrock, D., Reid, L ., Boyd, E. M. (2005). Transsexuals’ Embodiment of
Womanhood. Gender and Society, 19 (3), 317-335
Signorile, M. (2015). It's not over: Getting beyond tolerance, defeating homophobia, and
winning true equality (p. 277). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Steinmetz, K. (2014, June 9). America’s Transition. Time, 38-46.

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Stevens, G. A. (2015). My Transgender Life: No Bang, No Whimper, Just a Small Smile.
Huffpost Gay Voices. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/grace-anne-
stevens/my-transgender-life-no-ba_b_8175612.html
Stryker, S. (2008). Street Queens. In Transgender History. Berkeley, California: Seal
Press, 63-64.
Figure A
Silicone Breast Forms. Courtesy of crossdresser.com

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Figure B
DT Silicone Hip Pads. Courtesy of dresstech.net
Figure C

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Laverne Cox on cover of Time Magazine. Photo courtesy of Gillian Laub.
Figure D
Andreja Pejic in Vogue Magazine. Photo courtesy of Patrick Demarchelier.

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