Early, Erotic and Alien
Women Dressed as Men in Late Medieval London
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4493379 |
|---|---|
| Authors | J M Bennett, Judith Bennett (0000-0002-5033-0804, University of Southern California), Mcsheffrey (0000-0002-5209-7399, Sexual Health Clinic), S McSheffrey |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 77 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-25 |
| Publication date | 2014-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | History Workshop Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1363-3554 • E-ISSN: 1477-4569 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/hwj/dbt046 |
| OpenAlex | W2032706686 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 10 |
| References cited | 19 |
Cross-dressing by premodern women is often viewed as practical and instrumental (for example, women dressed as men to get jobs or to travel), while modern women’s donning of male garb is usually interpreted as expressing contemporary queer identities. This article introduces a more flexible view of female cross-dressing in the distant past, using the cases of thirteen women cited for such activities in London records between 1450 and 1553. These cases are placed within both the broad context of European practice before the eighteenth century and the specific context of cross-dressing women in premodern London itself. The article argues, first, that cross-dressing by women is not a recent phenomenon, but instead has a scattered but fairly continuous history that stretches back centuries. Second, the article shows that female cross-dressing could be as playful and erotic as male cross-dressing; most of the eroticism of female transgressive dress was, however, linked to prostitution and male erotic desires. Third, it explores how London authorities sought to distance themselves from the perceived vice of female cross-dressing by characterizing the practice as foreign to their City and its culture. The appendix includes a full listing of all known cases of cross-dressing in London before 1603.
Alien · Archaeology · Context (archaeology) · Eroticism · Human sexuality · Phenomenon · Population · Queer · Sociology · Demography · Gender Studies · Historical Economic and Social Studies · Historical Gender and Feminism Studies · Historical Studies on Reproduction, Gender, Health, and Societal Changes · History · Philosophy
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| Unique citing works | 10 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,91 |
| Citation span | 2015 - 2025 (11) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |