My deed sees myself and a mate dressed in drag for a night out in Blackpool. I wanted my deed to highlight gender equality in dress. I appreciate that, as a woman in contemporary Britain I have choice about what I wear. I have the freedom to go out dressed in girlie glam or in butch drag king garb.
It was only 100 years ago that the introduction of the ankle-revealing harem ’trouser skirt’ for women caused absolute outrage across Europe. ’Masculine’ looking women were ridiculed in the popular press and postcards of the era. Their subversion of gender norms was seen as a threat to the moral fabric of society. I have a great postcard dating from the early 1900s which illustrates this fear. Entitled ’THE MANNISH FEMALE’, the rhyme on the card lampoons women who choose to wear trousers – ”Male airs and garments cannot hide, Her lack of womanly grace; They but more conspicuous make, The extreme plainness of her face; She’s but a caricature of man, And as a woman a sorry specimen”.