Cross-Gender Fetishism Scale

Abstract

The Cross-Gender Fetishism Scale (CGFS; Blanchard, 1985) is a specialized psychometric measure developed for use with males. Its primary function is to quantify the degree of erotic arousal derived from behaviors and fantasies associated with female cross-dressing, including putting on women’s clothing, applying perfume and make-up, and shaving the legs. The term cross-gender fetishism, coined by Freund, Steiner, and Chan (1982), designates fetishistic activity accompanied by fantasies of being female and involving objects symbolic of femininity. Historically, this construct is roughly equivalent to transvestism as defined in the 1980 edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III).

The CGFS is intended to facilitate differential diagnosis, specifically discriminating between cross-dressers motivated by fetishism and those motivated by non-fetishistic factors, such as gender dysphoria or transsexualism. Although designed for clinical populations, the scale is structured as a self-administered, multiple-choice questionnaire that includes response options appropriate for control samples of non-cross-dressing males.

Keywords

Cross-Gender Fetishism, Transvestism, Fetishistic Disorder, Sexual Arousal, Gender Identity, Psychometrics, Ray Blanchard, Cross-Dressing, Gender Dysphoria.

Authors

Ray Blanchard.

Purpose

The central purpose of the Cross-Gender Fetishism Scale (CGFS) is to provide a standardized, objective measure for assessing the extent of fetishistic arousal associated with cross-dressing behaviors in adult males. This measurement is critical for clinical and research settings where the typological study of gender disorders is necessary.

The scale’s primary utility lies in its ability to aid in the differential diagnosis of male patients presenting with cross-dressing behavior. It effectively distinguishes those whose motivation is rooted in erotic gratification (cross-gender fetishists) from those whose presentation is associated with non-fetishistic identity issues, such as transsexuals or individuals experiencing gender dysphoria.

Construct

The CGFS measures the construct of **Cross-Gender Fetishism**. This construct encompasses the erotic arousal value derived from the physical act of cross-dressing or the fantasy thereof. The items specifically target the degree to which an individual experiences sexual excitement when engaging with objects or behaviors symbolic of femininity, such as women’s clothing, accessories, or cosmetic practices.

The scale is structured to capture both active experiences (feeling sexually aroused while dressing) and cognitive components (masturbating while fantasizing about cross-dressing). Higher scores indicate a more comprehensive and pervasive history of cross-gender fetishism, reflecting the intensity and duration of these specific paraphilic interests.

Validity

Blanchard (1985) investigated the construct validity of the CGFS using Principal Components Analysis. The analysis extracted two factors with eigenvalues greater than 1.0, which together accounted for a substantial 77% of the total variance (68% and 9% respectively). Further support for item quality was provided by part-remainder correlations, which demonstrated a strong range from .56 to .89.

Criterion validity was established by demonstrating a strong association between high CGFS scores and a heterosexual partner preference within the clinical population described. Furthermore, a study by Blanchard, Clemmensen, and Steiner (1985) addressed potential response bias. They found a statistically significant negative correlation (r = –.48) between the CGFS and the Crowne-Marlowe Social Desirability Scale among heterosexual male gender patients. This outcome supported the hypothesis that these patients minimized self-reports of fetishistic arousal to create a favorable clinical impression. Crucially, this correlation was negligible among homosexual gender patients, who typically lack fetishistic histories, thereby strengthening the validity of the CGFS as a specific measure of the intended construct.

Reliability

The CGFS demonstrates high levels of internal consistency reliability. Based on the empirically derived scoring weights used in the original validation study, Blanchard (1985) reported a high alpha reliability coefficient of .95. This finding indicates that the 11 items of the scale are highly homogenous and reliably measure the single underlying dimension of cross-gender fetishism.

Factor Analysis

A Principal Components Analysis was conducted on the CGFS (Blanchard, 1985) to explore its underlying structure. The analysis revealed that two factors possessed eigenvalues greater than 1.0. These two factors accounted for a cumulative 77% of the total variance in the scale scores. The largest factor accounted for 68% of the variance, while the second factor accounted for 9%. Although the high alpha coefficient suggests strong unidimensionality, the emergence of two factors indicates that the construct of cross-gender fetishism, as measured by the CGFS, may be composed of two distinguishable, though highly related, components of fetishistic behavior or fantasy.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-administered psychometric questionnaire.

Format: Multiple-choice questionnaire. The scale comprises 11 items, with six items featuring three response options and five items featuring two response options.

Language Available: English.

Population Group: Adult males, including clinical populations (gender patients, cross-dressers) and control samples.

Age Group: Adult.

Population Details: The initial psychometric analysis was performed on a sample of 99 adult male patients from a behavioral sexology department or gender identity clinic at a psychiatric teaching hospital. All participants reported feeling like females at least when cross-dressed.

Test Methodology: Scoring weights were determined using the optimal scaling procedure outlined by Nishisato (1980), which optimizes the alpha reliability for the specific population. Examinees are instructed to endorse one and only one response option per item. The total score is calculated as the algebraic sum of the scores across the 11 individual items. Administration is rapid, typically requiring only one to two minutes to complete.

Keywords

Ray Blanchard, CGFS, Optimal Scaling, Psychodiagnostics, Sexual Health, Cross-Dressing Behavior, Social Desirability Bias, Paraphilia.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source content.

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected]

Correspondence Address: Ray Blanchard, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1R8, Canada.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

No permission or fee is required to use the CGFS.

The scale was published and validated in 1985 (Blanchard, 1985).

Reference’s

• American Psychiatric Association. (1980). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (3rd ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
• Blanchard, R. (1985). Research methods for the typological study of gender disorders in males. In B. W. Steiner (Ed.)., Gender dysphoria: Development, research, management (pp. 227–257). New York: Plenum.
• Blanchard, R., Clemmensen, L. H., & Steiner, B. W. (1985). Social desirability response set and systematic distortion in the self-report of adult male gender patients. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 14, 505–516.
• Crowne, D. P., & Marlowe, D. (1964). The approval motive: Studies in evaluative dependence. New York: Wiley.
• Freund, K., Steiner, B. W., & Chan, S. (1982). Two types of cross-gender identity. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 11, 49–63.
• Nishisato, S. (1980). Analysis of categorical data: Dual scaling and its applications. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Items of the Cross-Gender Fetishism Scale

Instructions to Subjects

The following questions ask about your experiences in dressing or making up as the opposite sex. These questions are meant to include experiences you may have had during puberty or early adolescence as well as more recent experiences.

Please circle one and only one answer to each question. If you are not sure of the meaning of a question, you may ask the person giving the questionnaire to explain it to you. There is no time limit for answering these questions.

1. Have you ever felt sexually aroused when putting on women’s underwear, stockings, or a nightgown?

   1. Yes (1.0)

      b. No (–1.1)

      c. Have never put on any of these (–1.1)

2. Have you ever felt sexually aroused when putting on women’s shoes or boots?

   1. Yes (1.5)

      b. No (–.7)

      c. Have never put on either of these (–.7)

3. Have you ever felt sexually aroused when putting on women’s jewelry or outer garments (blouse, skirt, dress, etc.)?

   1. Yes (1.2)

      b. No (–1.0)

      c. Have never put on any of these (–1.0)

4. Have you ever felt sexually aroused when putting on women’s perfume or make-up, or when shaving your legs?

   1. Yes (1.3)

      b. No (–.8)

      c. Have never done any of these (–.8)

5. Have you ever masturbated while thinking of yourself putting on (or wearing) women’s underwear, stockings, or a nightgown?

   1. Yes (1.1)

      b. No (–1.0)

6. Have you ever masturbated while thinking of yourself putting on (or wearing) women’s shoes or boots?

   1. Yes (1.7)

      b. No (–.4)

7. Have you ever masturbated while thinking of yourself putting on (or wearing) women’s jewelry or outer garments?

   1. Yes (1.4)

      b. No (–.8)

8. Have you ever masturbated while thinking of yourself putting on (or wearing) women’s perfume or make-up, or while thinking of yourself shaving your legs (or having shaved legs)?

   1. Yes (1.5)

      b. No (–.7)

9. Has there ever been a period in your life of one year (or longer) during which you always or usually felt sexually aroused when putting on female underwear or clothing?

   1. Yes (1.1)

      b. No (–1.0)

      c. Have never put on female underwear or clothing (–1.0)

10. Has there ever been a period in your life of one year (or longer) during which you always or usually masturbated if you put on female underwear or clothing?

    1. Yes (1.2)

       b. No (–.8)

       c. Have never put on female underwear or clothing (–.8)

11. Have you ever put on women’s clothes or make-up for the main purpose of becoming sexually excited and masturbating?

    1. Yes (1.3)

    2. b. No (–.4)