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Cross Dressing within Freak Shows
Freak shows cultivated across America in the 1800s, becoming a common occurrence by the end of the century. They would highlight the abnormalities in society so as to place more structure on what was considered acceptable. Freak shows were also called dime museums as it cost only a dime to see all these attractions. Though freak shows date back all the way to the 1630s, they didn’t gain popularity until the 1800s. It was from the 1840s to the 1940s that freak shows gained their peak of popularity, starting at the time where P. T. Barnum began his own American Museum freak show.
If there’s one name to remember regarding freak shows, it’s P. T. Barnum. Barnum was considered the father of freak shows, opening up the first widely successful one and setting the era of dime museums on its course. His museum would present historical artifacts, fake items meant to trick the audience and, perhaps the most interesting spectacle of all, people who were claimed to be rarities. This included people like General Tom Thumb, a person with dwarfism, the Aztex Twins who were albino, the ‘What is it?’ which was a person with microcephaly, the Bearded lady, and many other people who caught Barnum’s eye. There were of course other freak shows made popular, such as Tom Norman’s exhibitions, the short-lived Museum of Living Wonders, the Woodward’s Gardens, the Pacific Museum of Anatomy and Science, and circus run sideshows. They all ran under the same premise of presenting oddities to the public under the name of ‘freaks’.
Another aspect of freak shows was their display of crossdressers. In the 1800s, crossdressing was unheard of to most and unacceptable to the rest. A rule was set in place regarding the gender of clothes that people must wear. If a person had clothes that did not belong to their sex out in public, they would be breaking the law and would be arrested. A law similar to this existed in almost every state during the mid-1800s and affected both men and women. Many would have to pay anywhere between 500 and 1,000 dollars or spend 6 months in jail, or possibly even both. These gender laws started a new wave of gender transgression and forced those who wished to crossdress to do so in their own private space only (Sears, Electric Brilliancy, 172).
As this law took up popularity and attention, the freak shows opened up their doors. Cross-dressing and displays of ‘unnatural’ gender became a very prominent showcase within these freak shows. The relationship between the cross-dressing law and the freak show entertainment was complex. While the law would imprison those who defied gender laws, the freak shows would display them. The shows would use these cross-dressing performers for their own benefit, both gaining profit from the show as well as working to detail the “parameters of acceptable behavior and the penalties for violating these norms” (Clare, 105).
Freak shows used the system of the shows in a backwards way that supported themselves, gave the freaks a sense of self-worth, and upheld the general society’s system of crossdressing laws. The more freaks they could find and present, the more attention and popularity they would receive. To get all these people, freak shows would often pay their performers quite a bit of money, incentivizing them to become an attraction. This also gave the people a sense of self-worth for making money for themselves in a world where many employers would most likely not hire them. On the other hand, by putting these people on display, freak shows would present to the world exactly what a ‘freak’’ looks like in the eyes of the public. Although they would be making money, the people on display would be seen as undesirable and possibly even a menace or criminal to the general society. Rather than presenting these people as humans, they would be presented as something entirely other than the audience. They would even be put at a distance from the crowd, further drawing the line between them. In this way, freak shows would subtly enforce societal laws surrounding gender performance such as crossdressing and public gender presentation. People who would crossdress or go against the gender rules in any way would see others just like them on a stage being shown to the public as a ‘freak’, causing them to avoid these gender-bending practices. The popularity of the freak shows only reinforced the fact that the people seen were not to be idolized, but instead to be questioned from a distance.
Some of these freaks in particular became famous for their presentations within these shows. Bearded ladies were a big hit in freak shows. Some became known names, such as Annie Jones or Madam Meyer. To strike further contrast at the spectacularity that was their facial hair, the freak shows would play up the gender roles of these women. Rather than wearing regular clothes, they would be outfitted in highly feminine gowns and dresses so as to further push the incredulity that was their beard.
Similarly, cross-dressers such as Milton Matson, a known crossdressing performer who was offered a job directly from a jail cell, or Babe Bean, the “mysterious girl-boy, man-women, or what-is-it” were a high spectacle within these freak shows. These people would be displayed as an abnormality for their preference in clothing and put in front of a staring audience. On the streets, these crossdresser’s outfits would often be regulated so as to “preserve the mystique” (Sears, 105) of the show, as well as to gain extra profit. This made the shows even more of a spectacle, showing something that could be seen nowhere else. Audiences would become even more intrigued, even being encouraged by managers to prod and tug at the ‘freaks’ and demand questions regarding marital and maternal status. Freak shows created an air of awe surrounding the ‘freaks’ in question. Audience members would often argue on the biological sex of the bearded ladies or the crossdress performers, only to be corrected by officials or family members. Rather than causing disapproval, the audience would only be reminded as to how easy they could be tricked in both the shows and in real life. Freak shows both democratized and popularized the line between acceptable and criminal gender displays. The gender defying ‘freaks’ would be kept at a distance from the audience so as to further create an idea of permanent difference.
Freak shows began to dwindle within the first decade of the Twentieth century, but its effects last throughout time. The ideas of freak shows are popular even in today’s age, as well as a known history of certain people being seen as ‘freaks.’ Those who were displayed in these shows are still seen as an ‘other’ in today’s society. While it has gotten better, there is still a split between those who were ‘rare’ enough to be in a freak show and those who would have visited freak shows.
As of today, the cross-dressing rules that once led society no longer exist. This doesn’t mean that gendered clothing is an issue long forgotten however, it’s simply much harder to arrest someone for their public dress appearance. However, issues regarding crossdressing and what we would now call transgender rights are still very prominent. There are currently many drag bans across the nation as well as areas where people can and cannot be transgender.
Works Cited
“Barnum and Bailey: Revolt of the Freaks.” Historic UK, 28 Nov. 2023, www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/Barnum-Bailey-Revolt-Of-The-Freaks/.
Sears, Clare, et al. “This Isn’t the First Time Conservatives Have Banned Cross-Dressing in America.” Jacobin, jacobin.com/2023/03/cross-dressing-law-united-states-history-drag-bans. Accessed 5 Dec. 2023.
Sears, Clare. 2014. Arresting Dress: Cross-Dressing, Law, and Fascination in Nineteenth-Century San Francisco. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press. Springhall, J. (2008). Vaudeville I: Rise and Decline of an Emergent Mass Culture. In: The Genesis of Mass Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230612129_7
Sears, Clare. “Electric brilliancy: Cross-dressing law and freak show displays in Nineteenth-century San Francisco.” WSQ: Women’s Studies Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 3–4, 2008, pp. 170–187, https://doi.org/10.1353/wsq.0.0108.
“The Legacy of Dime Museums and the Freakshow : How the Past Impacts the Present.” AASLH, 17 Aug. 2016, aaslh.org/the-legacy-of-dime-museums-and-the-freakshow-how-the-past-impacts-the-present/.
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