A Woman Down to Her Clothes?

Article by Rebecca Arnott. Edited by Amy Calladine.

After taking a module in gender history in second year, I decided to take part in the SURE scheme over the summer where, aside from getting paid, I got to do some ‘proper’ historical research of my own. I focused on researching whether illustrated ballads supported Thomas Laqueur’s theory that by the late eighteenth-century the ‘two-sex’ model, where men and women are viewed as intrinsically different, triumphed over the ‘one-sex’ model, where they are the same. The most interesting thing I believe to have come out of the research was the importance of dress and how much clothing defines cultural ideas.

It is in illustrations of women’s clothing that the most obvious changes took place between 1680-1837. Whilst these may not be accurate representations of the clothing or how it was worn, they do highlight cultural ideas.

Interestingly, in the early part of the period, illustrations regularly have women’s full breasts on show. This sexualises them and lends some support to historian’s arguments that with the ‘one-sex’ model women were seen as intrinsically the same as men, hence it was thought they needed to orgasm in order to produce ‘seed’. Breasts, although important after childbirth, are not vitally important for conception (unless one believes that women need to orgasm, in which case they could be important in arousal).

The belief that women need to enjoy sex in order to fulfil their marital duties and purpose in life facilitates a much more wanton view of women, who would seek sex where ever it was available. This can also be connected to images with women’s breasts on show which effectively sexualise them.

Evidence for the changes put forward by historians like Laqueur and Tim Hitchcock, although earlier than they suggest, can be seen from 1710 onward when women with their breasts on show virtually disappear. This may show a change in ideas from women being viewed as wanton and depraved to virtuous and moral. The use of words such as ‘wanton’ and ‘cuckold’ decrease more slowly and are not completely eradicated by the end of the period but are much less frequent with a rising number of labels like ‘virtuous’ and ‘maiden’. Therefore, women are being described and illustrated as much less sexual than before, supporting arguments about a move to the ‘two-sex’ model. In this way, women begin to be viewed as different to men as the female orgasm is devalued and women are viewed as more virtuous.

This shift is given further support by a 1795 ballad where the author describes how women are artificially increasing the size of their hips and bottoms. This accentuation of the hips can be seen throughout the period; once the breasts become covered, wide hips represent a more typically female motif. This move from preoccupation with breasts to hips may illustrate changing ideas, as hips are a more obvious sign of motherhood and conception.

Ideas about change are complicated by continuation throughout the period of ballads about cross-dressing. The ideas behind cross-dressing change from sexual or dishonest reasons like stealing, into more moral and caring ones such as the need to save loved ones.

This is coupled with a change in how cross-dressing is illustrated. Early in the period there is usually an illustration of a woman and then one of a man or a group of men, thus showing both the female and male identity. While toward the end of the period only the male or female version is shown.

Conversely, the continuation of cross-dressing, although in different contexts, does seem to show the persistence of ideas about women and men being equal in character and ability. Crucially, women are still able to pass for men. Also the way, in which women are found not to be men (especially earlier in the period) is through their genitalia. There is no sign of any ideas about women being the same as men or becoming men within the sample.

Therefore while overall changes in ideas and illustrations of clothing do seem to support the argument for change (although it happens earlier than Laqueur proposes) ballads about cross-dressing complicate the issue by showing that, at least in peoples’ minds, the ‘one-sex’ model may never have existed as male and female genitalia were always recognised as distinct from one another. What may be being shown then is a move to a less crude, more polite society, rather than a change in how men and women were viewed physically.

With thanks to The University of Sheffield Special Collections for the illustrations.

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