Pants, Performance, and Perception: The Impact of New York's Disguise Law (1845) on Gendered Dress
Deirdre Mary Morgan
Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice
About this Item
- Title
- Pants, Performance, and Perception: The Impact of New York's Disguise Law (1845) on Gendered Dress
- Contributor Names
-
Morgan, Deirdre Mary (Author)
-
McClendon, Emma (Thesis advisor)
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Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York. Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice (Degree granting institution)
- Date
- 2023
- Degree Information
- M.A. Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York, 2023
- Department: Fashion and Textile Studies: History, Theory, Museum Practice
- Advisors: McClendon, Emma
- Committee members: Davidson, Hilary; Byrd, Sarah; Carlson, Brooke
- Abstract
- In 1856, the New York Daily Times reported that a person named Charley was arrested in New York City and sentenced to “two months imprisonment on Blackwell’s Island” for vagrancy and wearing men's clothing. Charley—who was identified as Harriet French—was one of the many civilians who were subjected to the cross-dressing laws that appeared across the United States throughout the end of the nineteenth century. At the same time these laws were being enacted, gender impersonation acts were growing in popularity thanks to Vaudeville, giving gender performance a public platform. Actors, like Ella Wesner, gave paid public performances where they were praised on stage for the illusions they were able to cast. Wesner was one of the performers cited as not only having worn men’s clothing during her performances, but was known to wear men’s clothes in public, and was ultimately buried in men’s clothes as requested in her will. This paper will use Charley and Ella Wesner as a lens to examine how fashion plays a role in the construction of gender and consider the necessary narrative expansion needed in fashion history scholarship.
- Rights
- In Copyright
- The copyright for this work is held by its author/creator(s). Usage of this material beyond what is permitted by copyright law must first be cleared with the rights-holder(s). This work has been made available online by the Fashion Institute of Technology Gladys Marcus Library strictly for research and educational purposes. If you are the copyright holder for this work and have any objections to this work being made available online, please notify us immediately at [email protected].
- This item must not be sold to any third party vendors.
- Identifier
- FIT Repository ID: etd_000934
- ISBN: 9798379502461
- pqdiss: 30424024
- Language
- English
- Publisher
- Ann Arbor : ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
Citation
Morgan, D. M. (2023). Pants, Performance, and Perception: The Impact of New York's Disguise Law (1845) on Gendered Dress [Master's thesis, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York]. FIT Institutional Repository. https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/120777
Morgan, Deirdre Mary. Pants, Performance, and Perception: The Impact of New York's Disguise Law (1845) on Gendered Dress. 2023. Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York, Master's thesis. FIT Digital Repository, https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/120777
Morgan, Deirdre Mary. "Pants, Performance, and Perception: The Impact of New York's Disguise Law (1845) on Gendered Dress." Master's thesis, Fashion Institute of Technology, State University of New York, 2023. https://institutionalrepository.fitnyc.edu/item/120777