Crossdressing in the Media

Obviously it's origins can be found in Pantomime Dames, comedy seems to have at its foundation men crossdressing to get an easy laugh. During my lifetime I can think of numerous examples of common crossdressing comedies or sketches in British media.

Monty Python has numerous sketches and even a song about a crossdresser (The Lumberjack Song - to quote : he wears women's clothing and hangs around in bars). The Carry On films had it's moments, most of the regular cast crossdresser at some points (even Bernard Breslaw!). The seventies saw Dick Emery with his regular female characters and catchphrases, and by the early 80's Kenny Everrett, Les Dawson, Blackadder and the 2 Ronnies carried the torch.

The 90's saw The League of Gentlemen having regular female characters played by men and this was carried forward by the likes of Little Britain and Bottom.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a lot of these programmes, but it doesn't do the image of us 'normal' crossdressers any good.Instead we have to put up with stereotypes of badly dressed, often bearded men pretending to act like ladies over a backing laughter track. 

And that's just comedies, when we look at serious drama it portrays CD's as prostitutes, freeks or serial killers, dancing around in the skin of their victims or burning people alive in Wicker effergies. And as Eddie Izzard once said in one of his routines that the media often blames transvestism for an umbrella of wierd behaviour, as if wearing women's clothes is the explanation behind all their other character perks.

Is it any wonder that CDer's feel the need to hide themselves in the closet?

At least society is changing, programmes are becoming more sympathetic towards transgender characters, it's just us normal crossdressers (no I'm not a serial killer, sexual predator or pervert!) that needs more positive role models to aspire to.