All in the Family

This looks like a lark. Now, whether you like a lark or not is up to you.

Grossinger’s Resort, Catskill Mountains, NY
1950s
from The Sartorialist

Dashing

It really suits her, don't you think?

Frida Kahlo and family in Mexico City

1926, photographer Guillermo Kahlo

from Helen Heath's flickr stream,

hunted down after seeing another shot on 

Leila Latex's blog

Bum Violence

When we were kids, my mom regularly threatened to shoot people's butts off; it always made us laugh.

no information available

from HA! Designs

Junior Minstrels

Sometimes you can just hide things out in plain sight.

Florida State College for Women,

Tallahassee, FL

1930

from my friend Anna

Purim Party at Ludwig Satz's House

Some groups party better than others.

Sea Gate, Brooklyn

1925

from Center for Jewish History

ROTC Drummer

The rest I get, but what's that thing on his head?

West Virginia University

1935

from West Virginia History Onview

Ella Wesner, male impersonator

More drag kings should wear fezzes, especially if it winds up looking this dapper.

New York City

1880, photographer Napoleon Sarony

from George Eastman House

Young couple seated in garden

They say that a lot of the woman-dressed-as-a-man photos you find from this era were taken as jokes, but in this case I'm not buying it.

Australia
1910
from Powerhouse Museum Collection

smoking in a garden

I don't think this is her regular look.

Australia
1890s
from Powerhouse Museum Collection

keeping a disorderly house

6 to 15 months hard labor for attending a house party. This wasn't how the night was supposed to go.

London, England
1926
from National Archives UK

Hibbing ladies at a costume "Dress Up Party"

When did people start smiling in photos? Some time after the 1930s, I guess.

St. Louis, Minnesota
1930
from The Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest

well blow me down

You had to be careful falling in love in those old cartoons. Your arch enemy was apt to pop in and out of drag at the drop of a hat.

"Too Weak to Work"
1943
from Popeye Animators

Emancipated Women

Looks like a fun time, but do you think they had to go out into the countryside to dress like that and drink beer without being hassled? Or did they just feel like getting out of town?

Colorado
1933, photographer Harold M. Dunning
from The Denver Public Library

Diamond Lil

Some drag queens dress up and mouth the lyrics. Some drag queens rock and roll.

Atlanta, GA
1970s
from swampzoid's flickr stream

fat pink tongues

His later work is fun, but there''s nothing like the sheer perverted joy of John Waters' early films.

Divine in Pink Flamingos
1972
from The Media Center blog

TRUCKING FIERCE

March 7, 1988, Divine was in LA to film some scenes for Married... With Children. That night, after going to dinner with friends and then back to his hotel room, he leaned over the railing and sang "Arrivederci Roma" to them as they left for home. That night he passed away. In his will, he requested that no one donate money anywhere in his name, but to send flowers instead. Divine to the end.

Prospect Hill Cemetary, Towson, MD
2008, photographer Amanda Qichao
from qichao's flickr stream

Cotillion Club members gathered on car for a group portrait

I'm fascinated by this photo. Back then, men weren't allowed at most on-campus social events at the FSCW. The Cotillion Club members were gals who dressed in men's clothing for dances, escorting their bosom friends, if you will.

Florida State College for Women, Tallahassee, Florida
1930
from the State Library & Archives of Florida