Transvestite

Transvestites are cross-dressing characters encountered during the Leisure Suit Larry series.

Background
They are relatively uncommon in the games, and are generally play the part of some gag on Larry's part. They are generally treated as stereotyped homosexuals in the storylines ("no wonder Shablee knows what a man likes!").

The two notable transvestites during the series are Shablee and Koko.

The first of these 'transvestite' twists occurs in LSL6 as noted in the design documents:
 * "Shablee is our perky little black transvestite spa guest. Beautiful babe, good dresser, nice make-up, hair. She "hangs out" in the Make-Up Classroom, trying to powder over her beard, although no one will ever suspect this from her picture...


 * ...When you give it to her, she discretely turns away to put it on "herself".


 * Click the condom on her. Learn she's no she. Wake up in your bathroom the next day, gargling your heart out.


 * If you gave Shablee the evening gown, he/she is waiting for you here....Larry's body covers her genitals, but its plain to see her new gown is riding up noticeably in front. Larry does a take sickens as he realizes what he's done, and begins spitting, trying to get that taste out of his mouth.


 * Complimentary Condom: ...Used on the beach with your girlie-man, Shablee.


 * Warm Champagne: Take from the Beach the morning after your first (admitted) homosexual experience...

Although Larry is forced to dress in drag a few times throughout the series he himself does not view himself as a transvestite (or at least not publically admitting to it, though he does list occasional cross-dressing as one of his hobbies).

Depending on the choices made Larry Lovage brings up transvestites in many of his conversations, as well as 'transsexuals'.

Quotes

 * Yeah, so like two months later, I caught my dad under a bridge with a seven-foot-tall transvestite, and he's like, "You see what I've been reduced to? What the hell happened to the escort pages?"
 * Wait a second, did he play that blind transvestite dude on Welcome Back, Kotter?
 * And don't take me to any more transvestite bars. You know I'm easily confused!
 * The term 'transvestite' first appears as one of the possible quiz answers in the LSL1 age quiz.


 * In some personal ads, TV stands for
 * a. television.
 * b. transvestite.
 * c. trans-venereal.
 * d. terre-voracic.
 * Correct answer: b.

Behind the scenes
These games were released long before terms such as 'transgender' or 'transwoman' were used publicly (though "transsexual" does appear in Larry Lovage games & Laffer Utilities (as topic of jokes, with little context)).

In modern usage a transvesite simply refers to a 'cross-dresser', most who are usually straight men (but not always). Many who identify as such. Transvestites are not transgender, and transgender are not transvestites. They differ from drag queens in that drag queens dress for entertainment, while cross-dressers do it more for enjoyment. The term 'transvestite' can be offensive or non-offensive depending on who uses it, and to which groups its being applied. Some identify it, while others prefer to be referred to as cross-dressers (the latter seems to be the case with Larry Laffer, as far as with the series facts are concerned).

The dictionary defines transvesites "as a person, typically a man, who derives pleasure from dressing in clothes primarily associated with the opposite sex."


 * transvestite
 * tranzˈvɛstʌɪt,trɑːnzˈvɛstʌɪt,transˈvɛstʌɪt,trɑːnsˈvɛstʌɪt/
 * noun
 * noun: transvestite; plural noun: transvestites
 * a person, typically a man, who derives pleasure from dressing in clothes primarily associated with the opposite sex.

As Webster Defines;


 * a person who wears clothes designed for the opposite sex : a cross-dresser
 * An older term for crossdresser is transvestite. Crossdressers often dress only in certain situations. They do not usually identify as transgender—most identify as straight men.

Adding to the definition that those who personally identify as 'transvestite' are not usually transgender (but transvestite is another word for 'cross-dressing'), that is to say they have no intention of changing their genitalia or become another gender full time, and that they usually identify as straight men (although their are rare cross-dressing women who identify as transvestite and gay men who also identify as transvestite). What they have in common is enjoyment of cross-dressing and no intention to transition into another sex. Larry himself has been known to dabble in cross-dressing himself (though he does not seem to identify as a transvestite himself). It must be repeated cross-dressing (aka transvestites) are not 'transgendered'.