Female impersonation

Female impersonation is a type of theatrical performance where a man dresses in women's clothing for the sole purpose of entertaining an audience.

[3] There is some controversy as to whether this is actually where drag emerged, or if it occurred later in history, in the 19th century with forms of entertainment such as minstrel shows and Shakespeare's plays, as he often incorporated male actors as female impersonators.

[4] The term female impersonator was in wide use during the 19th century in theater in the United States to refer to a specific type of performer in minstrel shows and later vaudeville known as "wench" and "dame" roles.

[6] The actor Thomas L. Moxley was a celebrated blackface female impersonator who performed under the name Master Floyd in George Kunkel's Nightingales;[7] a leading minstrel show of the 1850s and 1860s.

[12] In the twentieth century some cross-gender impersonators, both female and male, in the United States became highly successful performing artists in nightclubs and theaters.

The need to hide queer identity was prevalent among female impersonators working in non-LGBTQ nightclubs before heteronormative audiences from the early 1900s to as late as the 1970s.

[4] In addition to the "wench players", minstrel shows developed the role of "prima donnas", who appeared more elegant and refined while still retaining their comedic elements.

[16] In New York City, famous female impersonator Julian Eltinge found success, and he eventually made his way to the Broadway stage performing as a woman.

He performed at the Grand Opera House and Central Theater, among other venues, went on tour with United Vaudeville, and later appeared in the film Yankee Doodle in Berlin (1919), produced by Mack Sennett.