Feminization or feminisation see spelling differences , sometimes forced feminization shortened to forcefem or forced femme , [1] [2] and also known as sissification , [3] is a practice in dominance and submission or kink subcultures, involving reversal of gender roles and making a submissive partner take on a feminine role, which may include cross-dressing. Subsets of the practice include "sissy training" and variations thereof, where the submissive partner is trained over time in femininity. Feminization as a sexual fetish is not the same thing as being a transgender woman , and the submissive partners engaging in it are typically heterosexual , cisgender men. It has been speculated that the fetish is rooted in societal pressure for men to be traditionally masculine. Feminization is a practice in dominance and submission or kink subcultures, which involves reversing gender roles, making a submissive partner — typically a man — take on a feminine role, often for humiliation-based sexual pleasure.