Happy Pride!
"This is the Army" was a Gl show put on during World War I. Soldiers represented female characters in military
plays, and some homosexual soldiers found refuge from rigid gender roles. Image courtesy of Friends of the
National WWII Memorial.
A similar show performed by Aussies.
These military shows were more common than not in WW I and WW II, before it was felt that females could be in battle zones. Before female nurses were around, I suspect. Had to be a masculine man, comfortable in his skin, to shave his legs back then! Where they got their costumes never was mentioned, that I recall. Back then, it was presumed that if you got through the underwear-wearing segment of your initial checks, that you were "normal", so it was all in fun. Little did they know , , , ,
ReplyDeleteCdadbr - Yes, little did they know.
ReplyDeleteHappy Pride!!!
ReplyDeleteA lot of people who don’t study history seem to forget that drag as we know it today, had its start during the Medieval and Renaissance periods, where men took on the female rules, was because women were not allowed to be in early theater as actresses… if a woman was in theater, in those periods, it was usually that she was considered a whore, an easy woman, and not a serious actress… and that the female parts were portrayed by young boys, or young teens before their voice broke, and effeminate men… so drag has a very long and established presence in the arts and in life…
ReplyDelete