CROSS DRESSING AT DANCES
Mark Gaines
I have seen the practice from Boston to Chicago, in North
Carolina, Wisconsin & Minnesota as well as in Montréal, Québec. I
have yet to make a local dance in San Antonio or Houston, due to my
work schedule as a ICU Nurse. My expectations are to encounter the
practice there.
While I never knew why the practice was adopted by some
dancers, I do know of the tremendous variety in dress around the
country both today and in the past. There was a time when men had
longer, more fancy hair than women. I do appreciate the comments
made so far giving me more insight on the subject.
While I am more conservative and don't intend to try the
practice, let those that enjoy it do it in good taste. I'll settle
for my sombero and boots.
Mark Gaines
Brownsville, TX
Peter Barnes
I have read with great interest the discussion of the various
degrees of crossdressing found in contra dances around the United
States. A little known fact, however, is that cross-dressing during
contradancing is a New England tradition of great antiquity. Hard as
it may be to believe, if one were trying to be truly true to the
authentic form of folk-dancing now known colliquially as
'contradancing', cross-dressing among its participants would be even
more common than it is today. Trust me. I've researched this all very
carefully.
For example, in a New Hampshire diary from 1748 we find this
passage:
"Robert Wrentham then cryed out lets have a dance!
Straightaway a number of the men and boys did then put on skirts or
dresses and commenced to dance the Hull's Victorie, kicking their
legs most gailee (sic) and laughing all the while."
Or this excerpt from the Society News section of the (now
defunct) Boston Sun and Tattler, dated 1808:
"The Grand Military Cotillion last Saturday evening was
attended by 140 most worthy guests, including Mrs. Abigail Somerset
and noted writer Mr. Stephen Talmadge. Many of the male guests and not
a few of the ladies *had chosen to make an exchange of garments for
the evening, with the gentlemen in petticoats and the ladies in
breeches,* (emphasis mine) prompting much merriment and good humour.
Nor did this practice escape the attentions of the moralists of
the late 19th century social scene, as evidenced by this passage from
a 1886 (Hartford) publication darkly entitled 'Social Sins &
Consequences':
"May you, sirs, justly call yourselves gentlemen if, having
chosen for pleasure's sake to wear articles of ladies' apparel to a
Ball you do not make any effort to look your best in them? Observe the
fairer sex, would they suffer such mismatches of colour, such
unappealing juxtapositions of style as is evidenced by those few of
you who would wear a striped waistcoat with a plaid skirt, or a
tattered farmhand's shirt over a taffeta dress?"
And can we ignore the following interesting points:
The correlation (as noted by previous posters) of a higher
degree of skirt or dress-wearing by men in the Northeast and the fact
that this region is the origin of American contra-dancing?
The necessary presence of the 'Betty', a skirted or dressed
male, in the ancient and very contra-esque ritual dance 'The Abbott's
Bromley'?
The high degree of correlation between skirt purchases by
males and the availability of folk-dancing in larger cities and towns
of the late eighteenth century (as noted by DeRees and Brown, American
Journal of Anthropology, April 1974, pgs. 174-188)?
The mysterious coincidence that Ralph Page's notable career
begins within days of the disappearance of the portly New York actress
and socialite Rowena Paige?
I of course have no investment in these findings; anyone who
knows me knows that I would just as soon let men be men and women be
women and leave it at that. But as a scholar I would rather the truth
be known, that cross-gendered apparel at a contra-dance is as New
England a phenomenon as pie for breakfast. What you do with these
facts is your own business.
Peter Barnes
Joel L Breazeale
In article <8177cc$112018.28d@GRAYLADY>, Peter Barnes <iol...@usa1.com> wrote:
> I have read with great interest the discussion of the various
>degrees of crossdressing found in contra dances around the United
>States. A little known fact, however, is that cross-dressing during
>contradancing is a New England tradition of great antiquity. Hard as
>it may be to believe, if one were trying to be truly true to the
>authentic form of folk-dancing now known colliquially as
>'contradancing', cross-dressing among its participants would be even
>more common than it is today. Trust me. I've researched this all very
>carefully.
>
>
> And can we ignore the following interesting points:
>
> The correlation (as noted by previous posters) of a higher
>degree of skirt or dress-wearing by men in the Northeast and the fact
>that this region is the origin of American contra-dancing?
>
> The necessary presence of the 'Betty', a skirted or dressed
>male, in the ancient and very contra-esque ritual dance 'The Abbott's
>Bromley'?
>
> The high degree of correlation between skirt purchases by
>males and the availability of folk-dancing in larger cities and towns
>of the late eighteenth century (as noted by DeRees and Brown, American
>Journal of Anthropology, April 1974, pgs. 174-188)?
>
> The mysterious coincidence that Ralph Page's notable career
>begins within days of the disappearance of the portly New York actress
>and socialite Rowena Paige?
>
> I of course have no investment in these findings; anyone who
>knows me knows that I would just as soon let men be men and women be
>women and leave it at that. But as a scholar I would rather the truth
>be known, that cross-gendered apparel at a contra-dance is as New
>England a phenomenon as pie for breakfast. What you do with these
>facts is your own business.
>
> Peter Barnes
Right... No investment whatsoever... ;-)
--Joel
Mary Beth Goodman
In article <8177cc$112018.28d@GRAYLADY>, iol...@usa1.com (Peter Barnes) wrote:
> I of course have no investment in these findings; anyone who
> knows me knows that I would just as soon let men be men and women be
> women and leave it at that. But as a scholar I would rather the truth
> be known, that cross-gendered apparel at a contra-dance is as New
> England a phenomenon as pie for breakfast. What you do with these
> facts is your own business.
Yes Peter, but you have great knees! Everyone knows that!
Great post - thanks
Mary Beth Goodman
C J Brady
We're just waiting to see if this practice catches on in the UK!!
Although the Scots have been wearing kilts for years - and now men's
kilts are a popular fashion statement for gays (well apparently in
London, England, anyway).
I was at Pinewoods a few years ago and first came across the issue of men
cross-dressing, that is wearing long dresses, there. I was incredulous.
The most amazing sight was a strapping 6 foot tall guy from Alaska, with
longish black hair, a permanent day's growth on his face, wearing heavy
hikers boots, and dancing contras with the most beautiful full-length
woman's dress on that you could ever imagine. On a woman the dress would
have made her look beautiful. On a such a strapping tall guy it looked
incongruous.
However having said that I have subsequently seen guys at US Folk
Festivals wearing shortish colour-coordinated dancing dresses and they
actually looked OK in them.
But then, these guys are really only doing what men did in Jane Austen's
time when country dancing assemblies and balls were all the rage. In the
late 17'th and 18'th centuries men frequently dressed up 'to the nines'
both to attract women and to attract other men. It was an accepted thing
in society. You only have to read of the entertainments and activities
that took place during the seasons at Bath, Bristol, Tunbridge Wells,
Brighton, and other spa towns of England and the rest of Europe for that
matter. The entertainments did not only consist of the sanitised
activities described by Austen. The entire range of sexual appetites were
catered for.
So men cross dressing is actually a very traditional activity for country
dancing.
However I really don't think that this will ever catch on in the UK again
though.
Chris.