Elisabeth "Sissy" Theurer (born 20 September 1956 in Linz, Oberösterreich) is an equestrian from Austria, now known as Elisabeth Max-Theurer after marriage.
Max-Theurer began riding at age 10. In 1968 she met Hans Max, a riding instructor, in cooperation with whom she achieved her main results and whom she married fifteen years later. In 1973 she received Mon Cherie, a gray horse, as a bonus while buying another one. Mon Cherie's first steps were rather disappointing, but after consequent and persistent work he became very skillful, famous for his piaffe-passage tour and pirouettes.
At the 1979 European Dressage Championships in Aarhus Theurer with Mon Cherie won the gold medal. A year later on Mon Cherie she became the Olympic Champion at the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Various international successes followed. On another horse, Acapulco, she participated at the 1984 Summer Olympics and came in 11th. After breaks for the birth of her daughter Victoria (in 1985) and son Johannes (in 1987), Theurer returned to competition and participated in the 1992 Summer Olympics, where she competed on the horse Liechtenstein, finishing 8th.
Sissy (derived from sister; also sissy baby, sissy boy, sissy man, tomgirl, etc.) is a pejorative term for a boy or man who violates or does not meet the "standard male" gender role. Generally, sissy implies a lack of courage, strength, coordination, testosterone, male libido, and stoic calm, all of which have traditionally been associated with masculinity and are considered important to the male role. A man might also be considered a sissy for being interested in traditionally feminine hobbies or employment (e.g., being fond of fashion), displaying effeminate behavior (e.g. using hair products or displaying limp wrists), being unathletic, or being homosexual.
Sissy is, approximately, the male converse of tomboy (a girl with masculine traits or interests), but carries more strongly negative connotations. Even among gay men, behavior thought of as sissy or camp produces mixed reactions. Some men reclaim the term for themselves.
The term sissyphobia denotes a negative cultural reaction against "sissy boys" thought prevalent in 1974. Sissyphobia has more recently been used in some queer studies; other authors in this latter area have proposed effeminiphobia,femiphobia,femmephobia, or effemimania as alternative terms.
In "sissy role play" a sissy is a person (typically a man) who adopts hyper-feminine behaviors, and engages in stereotypical "feminine" activities (e.g., housekeeping, putting on make-up), often within the context of BDSM. Particularly within the BDSM community, a "sissy" will typically assume the submissive role to a dominant female and/or male partner(s). Often sissies in a BDSM context also identify with other fetishes and sexual practices such as: erotic humiliation, bondage, petticoating, cuckoldry, chastity, leather, latex/pvc, infantilism, corporal punishment, being a recipient of anal fisting, etc. The word "sissy" is also used in pornography without the always clear BDSM context.
As a lifestyle desire or fetish activity, a sissy's feminization is an involuntary transformation from masculine to feminine, either physically, behaviorally, or both. The process is known as feminization or sissification. This transformation can either be permanent, or temporary. Additionally, this transformation can be something that the "sissy" goes through only in private (temporarily - fetish) or in public, temporarily or permanently.
Sissy may refer to: