Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/04/23/a-brief-history-of-drag-in-the-military.html
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… sounds like something Terry Pratchett made up
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Literally just saw those pics on YouTube! lol…
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I suspect far more of things that Sir Terry used came from real life than we’d expect…
Also, speaking of Sir Terry, drag, and the military…
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So fascinating! i love this stuff. Thank you for sharing it.
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As recorded in the documentary South Pacific, sometimes that door swung both ways:
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I swear! It’s real! Connecticut is weirder than people realize.
The First Company Governor’s Foot Guard (1GFG), the nations oldest continuously serving military unit, provides ceremonial escort to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor and other Elected Officials of the state as well as providing The Adjutant General a supplemental force for supporting the National Guard.
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And here I was thinking “oh, so he was Canadian?” Because it looks like one of those quaint little British terms. I can’t really ding it, I served in the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which was also proud of being the longest serving active duty Army regiment in the USA back near the tail end of the Cold War. Units with that sort of history have a certain sort of pride that’s kind of unique.
But yeah, even in the late 1980s drag was considered pure comedy, not really sexual. Part of the humor was supposed to be enjoying the discomfort of the guys stuck in the girl roles, or at least the incongruity. I now feel kind of ashamed that it colors how I view things like Jeffery Tambor’s appearance in the ads for Transparent. It wasn’t just the military, men in drag were supposed to be automatic comedy, Monty Python got a lot of mileage over their portrayals of British women, and even the humor of Bugs Bunny in drag was “ha ha, Elmer doesn’t know that’s a guy he’s flirting with!”
It can be uncomfortable, learning to recognize that what we made fun of, but it’s a good kind of discomfort, I feel. Improvement is always worth the discomfort.
Thanks for the article, Thom! Well, both the original and now this about the 1GFG.
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Oh, don’t get me started on that revolting drag act driver Bob Parkhurst performed!
– General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmanay Melchett, VC, KCB, DSO (probably)
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Just to note that while soldiers in drag was common and expected to be light-hearted fun, the photos of men in dresses manning artillery were censored during the war for fear of the effect of the image of the army and the possibility of them being used in enemy propaganda. So it made at least some people uncomfortable.
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Not really drag-as-entertainment though. Monstrous Regiment is about women disguised as men so they can serve. Although by the end of the novel, when it’s clear not only that everyone knows, but in fact most of the ranks are women in disguise, and no one cares, STP definitely ladles on both farce and acceptance.
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I have read the book, so yes, I’m aware… 
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I haven’t read Monstrous Regiment so I appreciate the synopsis for context.
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Same here.
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