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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,Continue reading “Crossdressing as Comedy”

When I started this research project, I really wanted to answer the question of whether having cisgender actors/characters crossdress in a more performative way was ever okay. I realize that is an extremely complexed and nuanced question to answer in a generalized manner, which is why my takeaway is less all-encompassing and more of aContinue reading “Takeaways”

I think identifying the limitations and flaws in my research is extremely important. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to thoroughly study and analyze every topic I wanted to research, but I have developed a good basis for future research. Particularly, I would like to focus more on the frequent use of fat suitsContinue reading “Limitations & Reflections”

In the film Tootsie, Dustin Hoffman plays a struggling actor named Michael Dorsey. Because Dorsey struggles to receive any work due to his poor reputation for being difficult to work with in the industry, he gets the inspiration to dress as a woman named Dorothy, so no one can recognize him, and audition for aContinue reading “Tootsie”

Bolsover, Nicola. “Costume and Cross-Dressing in Stand-up Comedy.” Master of Arts by Research (MARes) thesis. University of Kent, 2015. https://kar.kent.ac.uk/52927/1/230Thesis.pdf In this thesis, I focus on the chapter “The Cross-Dresser,” which highlights the differences between male-to-female and female-to-male cross-dressers in the comedy sphere. According to her analysis, male-to-female cross-dressing elicits more of a comedic reactionContinue reading “Literature Review”