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Re: Women dressed as men
Today I got in _Women in Pants: Manly Maidens, Cowgirls, and Other Renegades_ by Catherine Smith and Cynthia Grieg, on interlibrary loan. While a fascinating photographic study, it didn't throw that much light on the whole women dressing as men (for whatever reason) phenomenon from a legal standpoint. On pages 13-14:
"Laws against cross-dressing existed: in England at the end of the seventeenth century, for instance, a person could be hanged for dressing in the clothes of the opposite sex. While legal restrictions were less severe by the nineteenth century, arrests and imprisonment continued to occur, with exceptions made only during certain festivals and holidays. In certain professions, particularly in Europe, women wore pants, but even female coal miners in Britain--despite the heavy and grimy work they engaged in--came under attack in the mid-nineteenth century for wearing trousers that critics considered too revealing and inappropriate. Authorities gave some women special permission to wear trousers--the French animal painter Rosa Bonheur enjoyed this privilege. But few women wanted to risk compromising their reputations." [Only footnote: Leslie Feinberg, _Transgender Warriors_, 1996)
" A strict distinction was necessary between moral women and prostitutes, which justified a whole range of restrictions on the activities of women of all classes and races. Form fitting pants were associated with prostitutes, who would show their "bloomers" (underwear in this case) to attract clients; with Chinese immigrant women, who were forced into prostitution for lack of other available work, and whose traditional dress consisted of bifurcated garments; and with actresses, who often corss-dressed on the stage. At mid-century, passageways connected theaters to the brothels built next to them; the third tear of seats was reserved for prostitutes, reinforcing the association between the theater, actresses, and prostitution." [Note: *no* footnote for this paragraph!!]
There is one great 1870 quote, from California, in which a French woman petitioned the Board of Aldermen in San Francisco, to allow her to wear male attire. "She states that she has worn masculine habiliments for twenty years, and wishes to continue to do so. Being about to open an establishment in this city for the sale of California wines, she wishes to be protected against arrest for dressing in male attire, against which there is a city ordinance.....She first adopted male attire in 1850, upon her arrival in California; that not finding anything to do in San Francisco, and not wishing to lead a life of prostitution, she dressed in men's clothes, and went to work in the mines, where she made enough money to start in business."
Well, with just a cursory look through some of the chapters, I would take a very cautious approach to the text and focus on the photographs. The law review article on the historic legalities of cross-dressing evidently remains to be written....unless someone with access to a law library can come up with a good citation.
Vicki Betts
vbetts@gower.net
Today I got in _Women in Pants: Manly Maidens, Cowgirls, and Other Renegades_ by Catherine Smith and Cynthia Grieg, on interlibrary loan. While a fascinating photographic study, it didn't throw that much light on the whole women dressing as men (for whatever reason) phenomenon from a legal standpoint. On pages 13-14:
"Laws against cross-dressing existed: in England at the end of the seventeenth century, for instance, a person could be hanged for dressing in the clothes of the opposite sex. While legal restrictions were less severe by the nineteenth century, arrests and imprisonment continued to occur, with exceptions made only during certain festivals and holidays. In certain professions, particularly in Europe, women wore pants, but even female coal miners in Britain--despite the heavy and grimy work they engaged in--came under attack in the mid-nineteenth century for wearing trousers that critics considered too revealing and inappropriate. Authorities gave some women special permission to wear trousers--the French animal painter Rosa Bonheur enjoyed this privilege. But few women wanted to risk compromising their reputations." [Only footnote: Leslie Feinberg, _Transgender Warriors_, 1996)
" A strict distinction was necessary between moral women and prostitutes, which justified a whole range of restrictions on the activities of women of all classes and races. Form fitting pants were associated with prostitutes, who would show their "bloomers" (underwear in this case) to attract clients; with Chinese immigrant women, who were forced into prostitution for lack of other available work, and whose traditional dress consisted of bifurcated garments; and with actresses, who often corss-dressed on the stage. At mid-century, passageways connected theaters to the brothels built next to them; the third tear of seats was reserved for prostitutes, reinforcing the association between the theater, actresses, and prostitution." [Note: *no* footnote for this paragraph!!]
There is one great 1870 quote, from California, in which a French woman petitioned the Board of Aldermen in San Francisco, to allow her to wear male attire. "She states that she has worn masculine habiliments for twenty years, and wishes to continue to do so. Being about to open an establishment in this city for the sale of California wines, she wishes to be protected against arrest for dressing in male attire, against which there is a city ordinance.....She first adopted male attire in 1850, upon her arrival in California; that not finding anything to do in San Francisco, and not wishing to lead a life of prostitution, she dressed in men's clothes, and went to work in the mines, where she made enough money to start in business."
Well, with just a cursory look through some of the chapters, I would take a very cautious approach to the text and focus on the photographs. The law review article on the historic legalities of cross-dressing evidently remains to be written....unless someone with access to a law library can come up with a good citation.
Vicki Betts
vbetts@gower.net
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