Men in Women’s Clothes

Abstract

AbstractThe descriptive phrase that comprises my title can refer both to a pervasive comic trope and a mode of self‐expression. There is a tension here, insofar as the comic trope leads us not to take cross‐dressing, or drag, seriously. The first half of the comic film Some Like It Hot (1959), with its cross‐gender plot and its (sophisticated but) straightforward use of the comic trope of men‐in‐women’s clothes, appears to fall foul of this tension and to be susceptible to criticism in this regard. However, the film rectifies itself, portraying the cross‐dressing relationship which develops through the second half of the film as a potentially meaningful one for both partners. In this article, I interpret the film as inviting its viewers to adopt a (particular kind of) skeptical ironic (that is, Pyrrhonian) attitude toward gender‐presentation practices. While the film in no way attempts to discourage us from participating in such practices, it does invite us—through our partiality toward the characters Osgood and Jerry/Daphne, as we follow their budding, transgressive relationship—to acknowledge that a violation of gender‐presentation practices can be a meaningful feature of sincere relationships.