Masquerading in Male Attire: Women Passing as Men in America, 1844-1920

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This book is about women who passed themselves off as men for a variety of reasons. Some did so successfully for years and even for decades. Some were caught and arrested by the police only hours after donning their disguise. For some women the act of cross dressing was a minor event, undertaken on a bet, or for a lark. For other women it was a political, feminist statement and a long-lasting way of life. Women cross dressed for various reason-to enter the military, to be able to travel freely, to commit a criminal act, to marry another women, but most of all these women undertook the disguise for economic reasons.

Standard female dress of the time precluded women from doing many jobs. Most jobs, in any event, were barred to women. The few jobs filled by either sex always paid women less than the wages men received. This book is about a large number of women who were engaged in individual revolt against an obscenely unfair economic system that discriminated openly and egregiously against women. For virtually all the women profiled in this book the act of passing as a man was an act of rebellion against patriarcy.