Cross-dressing

It refers to women's clothing, but usually refers to cases where men dress as women. There are various reasons for cross-dressing, such as a desire to become a woman due to sexual perversion, men dressing as women to play female roles in performing arts, folk beliefs, festivals, and disguises. The most widely known of these is performing arts, and in Western theater, men played female roles in ancient Greek plays, but this was due to religious taboos. This tradition continued into later times, and men played female roles in Shakespeare's plays, and in Italian opera, male singers (castrati) who were castrated before puberty sang female roles. In Chinese court theater, eunuchs also played female roles, but this was because, as in Italian opera, castration caused the degeneration of masculine characteristics, neutralized the body, and made the voice and movements significantly more feminine. In Japan, there was a time when there were actors who specialized in female roles in Noh, and there are also male dancers who specialize in female dances. In Kabuki, male actors who play female roles are called oyama (originally a female marionette) or onnagata (female actor ), and many great actors have been produced since the 17th century. This onnagata tradition has also influenced modern Japanese drama, and female roles in Western dramas are often played by male actors.

Entertainers have long been invited to banquets by patrons, and some female actors attend dressed in women's clothing. This trend is not limited to the wakashu kabuki and yaro kabuki of the Edo period in Japan, but is also seen worldwide in cases of prostitution. There are many men who make cross-dressing their selling point outside of the entertainment industry, and there are quite a few gay bars in large cities in Japan that specialize in the services of cross-dressed male hosts. In Europe and the United States, there are also nightclubs that offer semi-nude shows by cross-dressed dancers (commonly known as blue boys) with artificially enlarged breasts, and one of the most famous is Madame Arthur in Paris. King Henry III of France is well known for his transvestite transvestite style, and he enjoyed sewing and embroidery, and dressed as a woman at balls. The diplomat Aeon de Beaumont, who lived in the late 18th century, also dressed as a woman in everyday life, and the name eonism was even coined to describe this hobby. In Japan, there are many people who are called "okama," and this is particularly noticeable in cities like New York and San Francisco in the United States.

In folklore, dressing a weak child in women's clothing was believed to ward off evil and ensure the child grew up healthy, and there was also a superstition of spiriting away, so there was a custom of dressing children in women's clothing in both Japan and the West. Boys who were raised in this way, or among girls, often became feminine due to the influence of their environment, and even after they grew up, they continued to like women's clothing and feminine lifestyles. Also, in the Edo period, men often dressed as women at festivals for pilgrimages to Ise Shrine, and at the Sagicho festival in Omihachiman and the fire festival in Kurama, Kyoto, young men wore women's long undergarments. The mountain god who retreats to the mountains is a female god, so this was a religious custom that drew on her.

In addition, many people cross-dress for the purpose of camouflage. It is well known that Emperor Yamato Takeru dressed as a woman when he defeated the Kumaso, and that the Soga brothers dressed as women to sneak into enemy camps. Boys and young men can look good in women's clothing. For this reason, the hobby of dressing beautiful boys as women is common throughout history and around the world. Recently, there have been events at university festivals where male students put on makeup and cross-dress. However, this is just a pastime in which they have fun transforming into women, and is not a sexual perversion.

[Mitsusada Fukasaku]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

女性の装いのことであるが、普通は男性が女性の装いをする場合をさす。性的倒錯からの女性化願望の女装、芸能演劇において男性が女役を演ずるための女装、民俗的信仰による女装、祭礼時の女装、変装仮装の女装など、動機はさまざまである。このなかでもっとも広く知られているのは芸能演劇の場合で、西洋演劇では古代ギリシア劇で女役を男性が演じたが、これは宗教的禁忌によるものであった。この伝統は後世まで続き、シェークスピア劇にも男性による女役がみられるし、イタリア・オペラでも変声期前に去勢した男性歌手（カストラート）が女役で歌ったりしていた。また中国の宮廷演劇でも宦官(かんがん)が女役を演じたが、これはイタリア・オペラと同様、去勢によって男性的特徴が退化して体つきも中性化し、音声も動作も著しく女性的になるからであった。日本にも、能に女役専門の役者がいた時代があるし、女舞を得意とする男性舞踊家もいる。また、歌舞伎(かぶき)では女役を演ずる男性の役者を女形(おやま)（もともとは操り人形の女の人形のこと）あるいは女方(おんながた)とよび、17世紀以降多くの名優が輩出している。この女形の伝統は日本の現代劇にも影響を与え、欧米劇の女役を男性俳優が演ずる場合もしばしばある。

　さて、昔から芸能人がひいき客などの宴席に招かれることは多いが、女形役者には女装で出席する者もいて、日本の江戸時代の若衆(わかしゅ)歌舞伎、野郎歌舞伎ばかりでなく、売色もする例は世界的な傾向であった。女装を売り物にする男性は芸能演劇以外にも多く、女装した男性ホストによるサービスを専門とするゲイ・バーは日本の大都市にも少なからずある。欧米にも、乳房を人工的に大きくした女装の踊り手（通称ブルーボーイ）によるセミ・ヌードのショーを見せるナイトクラブがあり、なかでもパリの「マダム・アルチュール」は有名である。性的倒錯者の女装ではフランス国王アンリ3世がよく知られており、裁縫や刺しゅうを好み、舞踏会では女装した。また18世紀末の外交官エオン・ド・ボーモンは日常でも女装していたので、こうした趣好にエオニズムeonismという名さえ生まれた。こうした例では日本にも「オカマ」とよばれる人々が少なくないし、アメリカのニューヨークやサンフランシスコではとくに目だつ。

　民俗では、虚弱児は女装させるとそれが魔除(まよ)けになって無事息災に成育するとか、あるいは神隠しの迷信などから子供を女装させて育てる風習が、日本にも西洋にもあった。このようにして育てられたり、または女きょうだいのなかで育てられた男児が環境の影響によって女性的になり、成長してからも女装や女性的生活を好むようになる場合がしばしばみられた。また江戸時代の伊勢(いせ)参りの祭りではしばしば男性が女装したし、近江八幡(おうみはちまん)の左義長(さぎちょう)や京都鞍馬(くらま)の火祭などでも若衆が女性の長襦袢(ながじゅばん)を着たりする。山にこもる山の神は女性神なので、それにあやかる信仰的風習からである。

　このほか、カムフラージュのための女装も多く、日本武尊(やまとたけるのみこと)が女装して熊襲(くまそ)を討ったり、曽我(そが)兄弟が女装して敵(かたき)の陣屋に忍び込んだりしたことは、よく知られている。少年や若い男は女装してよく似合うことがある。したがって、美少年に女装させて愛好する稚児(ちご)趣味は古今東西に多い。最近では、大学祭などで男子学生が化粧し女装する催しもある。ただしこれは、女性に変身しておもしろがる遊びで、性的倒錯ではない。

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