CROSS-DRESSING IN CONTEMPORARY BRITISH FEMINIST THEATRE

Year 2024, , 119 - 144, 11.06.2024

Gamze Şentürk Tatar

https://doi.org/10.56597/kausbed.1425136

Abstract

Cinsiyet ve toplumsal cinsiyet, genellikle bilinçsizce birbirinin yerine kullanılan ancak farklı anlamlara sahip iki kavramdır. Bunlar, cinsiyet hiyerarşisini veya patriarkal düzen tarafından oluşturulan erkek ve kadın arasındaki ayrımı anlamak açısından son derece önemlidir. Cinsiyet, kromozomlar ve üreme organları gibi işaretlere dayanan biyolojik bir farklılık veya içsel bir varoluşa atıfta bulunurken, toplumsal cinsiyet ise sosyal etkileşim yoluyla sonradan edinilen sosyo-kültürel bir kimliktir. Biyoloji odaklı yaklaşım, kadınlığı ve erkekliği özünde bir vücuda indirgeyerek esasçı bir yaklaşıma dayanırken, sosyo-kültürel odaklı yaklaşım, kadınlık ve erkekliğin kültürel olarak inşa edildiğini, esnek ve değişken olduğunu vurgular. Patriarkal toplumda erkeğe ve kadına atanan cinsiyet rolleri, cinsiyetlerine ve toplumlarının cinsiyet hakkındaki değer ve inançlarına dayalı birtakım beklentileri beraberinde getirir. Kadın ve erkekten cinsiyet rollerine uygun kıyafetler giymelerinin beklenmesi, bu beklentinin bir yansımasıdır. Bir erkeğin geleneksel olarak kadınlarla ilişkilendirilen giysiler giymesinden veya bir kadının geleneksel olarak erkeklerle ilişkilendirilen giysiler giymesinden dolayı alay veya eleştiriyle karşılaşması muhtemeldir; çünkü bu giyim tercihleri, yerleşik cinsiyet normlarını sorgular ve giysiler, sosyal rolleri destekleyen sembollerdir. Buna karşın, karşı cinsin kıyafetlerini giyinme, karşı cinsiyete ait giysilerini ve aksesuarlarını giyme eylemi olarak tanımlanır ve örneklerini günümüz Britanya feminist tiyatrosunda yapısökümcü bir strateji olarak görmek mümkündür. Bu makale, Caryl Churchill’in Cloud Nine (1979) ve Top Girls (1982), Timberlake Wertenbaker’ın New Anatomies (1984) ve Moira Buffini'nin Silence (1999) oyunlar üzerinden günümüz Britanya feminist tiyatrosunda karşı cinsin kıyafetlerini giyinmenin bir beden hafızası/belleği olarak işlevlerini tartışmayı amaçlamaktadır.

Keywords

Karşı Cinsin kıyafetini Giyinme, Cloud Nine, Top Girls, New Anatomies, Silence

CROSS-DRESSING IN CONTEMPORARY BRITISH FEMINIST THEATRE

Abstract

Sex and gender are two concepts that are often unconsciously used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings. They are crucial in understanding the gender hierarchy or the distinction between man and woman created by the patriarchal order. While sex refers to a biological difference or an innate existence based on signs such as chromosomes and genitals, gender is a socio-cultural identity subsequently acquired through a social interaction. While the biology-oriented approach reduces femininity and masculinity to the body based on an essentialist approach, the socio-culture oriented approach underlines that femininity and masculinity are culturally constructed, fluid, and changeable. The gender roles assigned to man and woman in the patriarchal society bring along certain expectations based their sexes and their society’s values and beliefs about gender. The fact that both woman and man are expected to wear appropriate dresses for their gender roles is the reflection of this expectation. When a man wears clothing traditionally associated with women or when a woman wears clothing traditionally associated with men, they might face ridicule or criticism because these clothing choices challenge established gender norms, and because the clothes are reminders of roles, symbols that favour social roles. Contrary to this, cross-dressing is described as an act of wearing clothing and accessories that belong to the opposite sex, and it is possible to see its examples as a deconstructive strategy in contemporary British feminist theatre. This article aims at discussing the functions of cross-dressing as a body memory in contemporary British feminist theatre over selected plays such as Caryl Churchill’s Cloud Nine (1979) and Top Girls (1982), Timberlake Wertenbaker’s New Anatomies (1984), and Moira Buffini’s Silence (1999).

Keywords

cross-dressing, Cloud Nine, Top Girls, New Anatomies, Silence

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