跨越性別的界線：十八至十九世紀英國女性和男性的變裝行為

Transgressing the Boundaries of Gender: Cross-Dressing Women and Men in Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Britain

陳佩璟(Pei-Ching Chen)

《東吳歷史學報》 29期 (2013/06) Pp. 145-217

摘要

本文探究了十八和十九世紀英國的觀察家和法律權威是如何理解及規範女性和男性的變裝行為。本文發現觀察家和法律權威對於女人和男人變裝的動機有著不同的假設，這使得他們採取截然不同的方式來對待女性和男性變裝者。具體來說，在這段時期，女人在性別角色上的倒錯並未被視為其在性行為上亦會逾越性別界線的證據；與之相反，男人穿上女裝的行為則被與男性同性性行為連結在一起。女性變裝者因而少受規範，男性變裝者則受到嚴格地監控與處置。這使得男性變裝者比女性變裝者更積極於發展標準化說辭來辯護其行為。本文主張，性別角色倒錯並不一定會被定義為具有顛覆性的行為；僅有在性別角色倒錯被與性慾倒錯掛鉤在一起時，變裝行為才會被視為具有威脅性。

關鍵字

變裝 ； 性別倒錯 ； 性行為倒錯

並列摘要

This essay explores how the practices of female and male cross-dressing were respectively understood and regulated by observers and legal authorities in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain. It finds that different assumptions of women's and men's motivations for cross-dressing led to disparate treatment of female and male cross-dressers. Specifically, during this period, women's inversion of gender role was not considered as indicative of their transgressions of sexual behavior, whereas men's adoption of female clothing was linked with male same-sex sexual desire. Consequently, female cross-dressers were usually left unregulated, while male cross-dressers were severely monitored and punished. Cross-dressing men were thus more enthusiastic than cross-dressing women in developing standard statements to justify their behaviour. This essay concludes by arguing that the inversion of gender role was not always regarded as a subversive practice. Cross-dressing would be viewed as threatening, only when the connection between gender inversion and sexual transgression was clearly established.

並列關鍵字

cross-dressing ； gender inversion ； sexual transgressions

參考文獻

“Last Monday Night a private Masquerade was held at a House near Drury Lane,” British Gazetteer (London), January 2, 1725.

“Public Office, Bow-Street,” London Chronicle (London), October 30, 1792.

“The Raid at a Fancy Dress Ball at Manchester,” Birmingham Daily Post (Birmingham), October 1, 1880. “Law & Police,” The Derby Mercury (Derby), October 6, 1880.

“Police,” The Times (London), August 1, 1854. “Masquerading,” 1841.

“An Amazon--Mary Hanniwell,” The Times (London), February 15, 1875.