During the 90s, politically correct culture started to gain more traction. It became more socially “taboo” to ridicule gay characters or people for jokes, so Hollywood turned to a different group. Crossdressers “fulfilled the same comic function as the effeminate gay, but without the now unfashionable character of direct ridicule of a sexual minority” (Phillips, 51). Audiences were now able to laugh at men in tights, assuming it was a heterosexual man. Crossdressing humor was considered politically acceptable, because most viewers assumed crossdressing was a temporary performance, not a permanent identity, which needed protection.
However, even before the 90s, progress narratives with crossdressing as a comic focus emerged. In most cases, people used crossdressing as a disguise to achieve some goal. Usually, these characters had heterosexual desires, which were impeded by the cross-dresser’s assumed identity. This was supposed to be humorous for the audience who is aware of their true identity and their desires, but “restrictions” from their current perceived gender, playing into the assumed heteronormative culture. The implication of these films were that crossdressing “can be ‘fun’ or ‘functional’ as long as it occupies a liminal space and a temporal time period” (Phillips, 53). Afterwards, the crossdresser is expected to resume life (sometimes having learned a lesson about masculinity or femininity).
In many comedy film cases, crossdressing is used a form of deception, which creates a great deal of comic misunderstandings. The audience knows their secret, while the other characters do not, which leads to audience pleasure from watching the deception unfold. Sharing secrets with the audience creates a sense of dramatic irony. This is supposed to make moments when a male character crossdressing as a woman gets sexually hit on by men funny, again, because of the assumption the man crossdressing is heterosexual.
The following are characteristics often found in these progress narratives on crossdressing:
- Unveiling (i.e. removal of a wig)
- Performance (supporting gender as performative)
- Forbidden Knowledge (privileged knowledge into how perceived gender thinks)
- Compulsory Heterosexuality (presumed identity poses as a hindrance to their sexual desires)
- Urinary Segregation (dilemma of what toilet to use in public creates a “comic” situation)
- A Temporary Transgression (because these films represent crossdressing instead of transgender or transsexuality, people’s deviation from their gender is viewed as temporary & harmless)
As I break down films, such as Tootsie, we will keep these characteristics in mind.
Cross Dressing in Comedy 