Date of Award

2010

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Hassold, Cris

Keywords

Cross-Dressing, Transvestite, Drag, Queer, Gender, Film, Cinema, Hollywood, Feminism, Feminist Analysis, Narrative, Progress Narrative, Misogyny, Homophobia, Disney

Area of Concentration

Humanities

Abstract

This thesis is a feminist analysis of the progress narrative, a genre of mainstream movie that features crossdressing, such as Some Like it Hot (1959), Tootsie (1982), and Victor/Victoria (1982). I define the convention and how it is presented as feminist. I then explore this feminist potential through active reading.. I then critique the progress narrative movie and describe its weaknesses as a supposedly progressive genre. I describe how the movies pander to mainstream standards of social acceptability and thus undermine the very transgression that makes the films appealing. I come to the conclusion that, ultimately, progress narrative movies reinforce traditional ideas of normativity despite their feminist potential.

Download

Share

COinS