George Washington


Gay George Washington, originally uploaded by Diabolical H. Crazy.


Posted by on June 22nd, 2009 at 10:00 am

Category: faces 4 comments »

4 Responses to “George Washington”

  1. Quinn
    June 23rd, 2009 at 5:39 pm |

    I might be way too historical, but I'm not entirely certain whiy this is a genderfork. This is how men in the eighteenth century dressed, and is not effeminate in any way. In fact, at the time, an outfit like this was seen to be extremely masculine.

    I'm not usually like this, but the historian in me is very very confused and trying quite hard not to be offended.

    [Reply]

    Kate_Sloan replied:
    June 23rd, 2009 at 7:05 pm

    That's what I thought too when I saw this – but then I started thinking about how interesting it is that what was perceived as masculine back then, could read as as gender-variant to us now, & how gender norms change over time. It makes me wonder what the epitomes of masculinity & femininity will look like in another couple hundred years, or if they'll even exist at all.

    [Reply]

    IdentityTBD replied:
    June 23rd, 2009 at 10:19 pm

    Quinn,

    Thanks for your comments. Gender presentation is about a lot more than dress. In this image, I believe it is more about posture and gesture than articles of clothing. And it is more about the perception of femininity (based on our modern standards) than the historical reality.

    GW is not just any historical figure. The fact that the "father of our country" was completely comfortable posing in that limp-wristed, hand-on-hip gesture doesn't mean he was lacking in masculinity. The gesture makes him appear effeminate to us because we have been conditioned to understand the limp-wrist gesture as a code for effeminate behavior. That, to me, is what makes this image a genderfork.

    [Reply]

    sarahdopp replied:
    June 23rd, 2009 at 7:00 pm

    Point taken, thank you, and I passed it onto the curators. This is a bigger issue than just historical stuff — it also comes up when present-day cultures represent something that we (American-influenced culture) perceive as gender-playful when to them it's normative. Kilts are a good example.

    I'm not sure if the answer is to steer clear of that stuff entirely, but it definitely necessitates some more awareness in our decision-making.

    [Reply]

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