Drag: A History of Female Impersonation on Stage (Lesbian and Gay Studies)

This second edition has been rewritten and revised, taking account of the new interpretations and insights into sexuality and gender created by the women's and gay liberation movements since first publication in 1968. It considers how recent uses of drag in theatre have given the form a new lease of life. This work contains a scholarly examination of drag as a theatrical technique in different cultures from ancient China and Japan to Greece and medieval England. It also answers questions such as: can a pantomime dame can be traced back to the mystery play?; how was Shakespeare's first Juliet - a smooth-faced boy - expected to behave?; what happened when a woman first appeared on the English stage? why did America take to drag in such as big way? what is the relationship between female impersonation and homosexuality? where do transvenstites fit into the scheme of things; how do glamorous impersonators shape themselves like women? and what is the role of drugs and hormone injections? This book presenting a spectacle of heroines, strippers, tragic women, dames, comics and sopranos, all of whom are men, and original photographs of some of the most legendary drag performers.