Heterosexual Transvestism and the Contours of Gender and Sexuality in Postwar America

‘As a man I exist; as a woman I live’: Heterosexual Transvestism and the Contours of Gender and Sexuality in Postwar America by Robert S. Hill A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (American Culture) in The University of Michigan 2007 Doctoral Committee: Professor Kevin K. Gaines, Co-Chair Professor Esther Newton, Co-Chair Professor Sandra R. Gunning Associate Professor Matthew J. Countryman “I feel strongly that a TV needs to give expression to the woman inside the male body…. As a man I was typical— acceptable—reasonable—personable—an average conservative scientist and business man. But as a woman I seemed to catch fire and really come alive with a sparkle in my eyes and a vivacity that truly expressed the being within. A woman has so much more opportunity than a man to express her feelings and personality in clothes, make-up, mannerisms, and all the little nuances that mean so much. I can sum it up by saying: As a man I exist; as a woman I live.”1 1 “Bobbie,” in “Bobbie Goes Private,” a life history in Transvestia #22 (August 1963). Copyright Robert S. Hill All rights reserved 2007 To my parents, brother, and sister whose love and support sustained me throughout and to Jerry Blank who made me laugh countless times. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is hard to believe that this country bumpkin from the piney woods of Mississippi has gone and gotten a PhD at such an esteemed learning institution as the University of Michigan. The project that earned me this honor began in the fall term of 2001. At the beginning of that semester I felt placeless and lost intellectually. So I must first thank Terrence McDonald. He took me and the only other member of his 20 th century research seminar to the Special Collections library at Michigan to hunt for paper topics. It was in the Labadie archive that I discovered Virginia Prince’s Transvestia magazine. Later on I decided to write my dissertation on the underground community of crossdressers that this magazine catered to. My gut told me that the secret world of heterosexual transvestism in postwar America would be a fascinating story to tell. My then primary advisor, Matthew Countryman, was the first to jump on board. Matthew read an early version of my prospectus and helped me rethink many of my terms and concepts. Kevin Gaines entered the picture next. I still remember that cold morning in the winter of 2002 when I nervously asked him to serve on the committee. Despite the fact that my subject was not within his area of expertise, he accepted my invitation, and in subsequent meetings he asked questions and offered insights that helped me frame a very unconventional topic. I and my work have greatly benefited from his expert guidance and professional mentorship. When Esther Newton arrived at Michigan in the fall term of 2004, I eagerly sought her involvement. She enthusiastically accepted and has been a fervent supporter and astute critic of my iii work ever since. It has been such a pleasure to know and work with a pioneer in the field. That same term Sandra Gunning also graciously joined. Sandra provided feedback on my formal prospectus that I later used to structure the dissertation’s introduction. Also, when she served as graduate chair in 2000, Sandra helped me overcome a nasty bout of the academic imposter syndrome. I might have dropped out without her encouragement and support. I shall never forget her kindness. This project has also been shaped by a number of folks outside my formal committee. Carla Pfeffer served as graduate student reader at my prospectus presentation. Her incisive criticisms anticipated future questions and concerns. Other scholars who have read various incarnations of this project include Gayle Rubin, Mary Kelley, Larry La Fontaine-Stokes, David Valentine, Joanne Meyerowitz, Richard Docter, and Susan Stryker. In the spring of 2004 at Indiana University, I took Joanne Meyerowitz’s seminar in the history of gender and sexuality. The graduate students in that class deserve my gratitude, particularly Isaac West and Jamie Warren. I also want to acknowledge the valuable feedback I received from the 2006 Community of Scholars fellows at the Institute for Research on Women and Gender. Wendy Bostwick did a brilliant job leading the weekly seminars that I attended with the other fellows. From the start to the finish I have had helpful conversations with a number of other smart individuals, including Dallas Denny, Sandra Cole, Jacob Hale, Martin Weinberg, Michael Franklin, and Robert Swope. Nick Matte, who is working on a similar topic, has been a wonderful e-mail correspondent. And I will always be iv thrilled to have made a cameo appearance in Penelope Green’s article in the New York Time s in September of 2006. I want to thank several scholars at Michigan who, while they did not formally help with this dissertation, did influence me during my graduate career in other ways. These individuals are Marie Montoya, Kathleen Canning, Phil Deloria, Jay Cook, Kristin Hass, Thomas Almageur, Jim McIntosh, and John Gonzales. Marlene Moore, the graduate program coordinator of American Culture, has been extraordinarily generous in helping me navigate the bureaucracies of graduate school. Simply put, she makes the graduate program run. Every American Culture graduate student I have known appreciates the tireless work she performs on our behalf. Marlene’s predecessor, Heather Dornoff, facilitated my first two years in the program. And a former staff person named Romanda Kindell provided many laughs. I am fortunate to have attended a university that supports its graduate students very well through teaching assistantships and fellowships. I taught in the English department for nine terms. Thanks to Bonnie Campbell for various administrative support over those years and for being a friendly face. I equally appreciate the non- teaching fellowships I have received in the past four years. The Rackham Graduate School provided a candidacy fellowship and a one-term dissertation grant. These allowed me to enter the Traveling Scholar Program for the winter terms of 2004 and 2005 and conduct research at the Kinsey Institute. I also received Rackham discretionary funds, a conference travel grant, and emergency funds, which allowed v me to seek dental treatment for an abscessed tooth. It was a tremendous honor to have been a recipient of an eight month “Community of Scholars” fellowship from the Institute for Research on Women and Gender. I do not think I could have finished this dissertation without the generous monthly stipends. Of course, the weekly seminar meetings in May and June of 2006 provided a stimulating interdisciplinary environment that helped me refine and strengthen my project. Various archivists and curators have extended their knowledge and resources to me over the years. Julie Herrada of the Special Collections Library at the University of Michigan helped me get started with materials from the National Transgender Library and Archive. I owe a depth of gratitude to the staff of the Kinsey Institute of Indiana University, especially Shawn Wilson and Liana Zhou. They put up with me during many months of research in that fascinating archive. With respect to my travels, I must also thank Jay Salliotte. Jay graciously provided month-to-month rent in Ann Arbor from 2004 to 2006. This gesture not only saved me hundreds of dollars but also freed me to visit archives and to spend time writing at home in Mississippi. I am proud to have been a member of a very talented American Culture graduate student cohort (Fall 1999) that included Nick Syrett, Katrina Mann, Charles Gentry, Jason Chang, Lisa Harris, and Shawan Worsley. Two other members, Jennifer Beckham and Tracie Rubeck, were also dear friends whose advice and wisdom helped me at different stages of the doctoral process. A handful of folks from other cohorts (American Culture and other disciplines) also became sage advisors and/or vi wonderful acquaintances, including Colin Johnson, Pablo Ramirez, Anna Pegler- Gordon, Kate Masur, Nikki Stanton, Grace Wang, Jessi Gan, Shawn Kimmel, Ines Casillas, Robin Li, Paul Ching, Cynthia Wu, Anne Kustritz, Jess Rigelhaupt, Matthew Wittmann, Amy Stone, Brad Damare, and especially Ian Mladjov (my roommate for three years), Anastasia Pratt, and Michele Morales. I must also thank non-academic friends from this long chapter of my life, including Todd, Doug, Jason, Stampy, Tom, Garrett, James, Davidson, Jay, Robert, David, and especially Rich. I earned a masters degree in American Studies from the University of Alabama. I still have fond memories of my two years in Tenhoor Hall. I extend gracious thanks to James Salem, Lynn Adrian, Richard Megraw, Amilcar Shabazz, Edward Tang, Ralf Bogardus, Robert Young, Reid Badger, Beth Hollingsworth, and my graduate colleagues, Ellie, Brent, Eric, Leanne, Adam, Dan, David, Darcy, Renee, and Jeremy, all of whom made the experience intellectually stimulating and unbelievably fun. Good times! Truly, we were a community. Lastly, I want to thank my project’s living informants. Virginia Prince was a powerful source of inspiration. And much love goes out to Kate Cummings for a voluminous e-mail correspondence and for sharing many fascinating anecdotes. So what else is there left to say? I did it—finally! Perhaps the words of a great American can summarize my feelings as I close another chapter in my life. “You know,” Madonna said to thousands of hometown fans during the 1985 Virgin Tour, “I was never elected

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