Cross-dressing
Cross-dressing is when someone wears clothes that are commonly associated with the opposite sex.[1]
Cross-dressing is often done to create a transgender identity. It has also been used for disguise, comfort and in the performing arts in modern times and in history. In theatre, a male role played by a woman is called a Breeches role.
A Japanese term and subculture for men who cross-dress as women is otoko-no-ko. In the west, young men who do this are sometimes called femboys.
Cross-dressing is sometimes viewed negatively due to going against gender norms, especially in regards to men. Drag queens and kings use cross-dressing to make fun of this.
Cross-dressing Media
- Crossdressing circa 1890 Frances Benjamin Johnston (right).jpg
Frances Benjamin Johnston (right) poses with two cross-dressing friends; the "lady" is identified by Johnston as the illustrator Mills Thompson c. 1890.
- Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari) (CBL J 1038.1).jpg
Lady Murasaki's classical novel The Tale of Genji from 1008 demonstrates the transgression between masculine and feminine beauty with characters that have no clear gender differentiability.
- 1896 DanLeno-WidowTwankey.jpg
Comedian Dan Leno as Widow Twankey in the 1896 pantomime Aladdin at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London
- Vanessatv.jpg
Some male crossdressers seek a more subtle feminine image.
References
- ↑ "cross-dress." The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.
