A small but very stylish Cross Dressing in United Kingdom

 Although the United Kingdom might not seem like a place where cross-dressing would be popular, there have been a number of notable individuals who have embraced the practice. In general, though, the public’s attitude toward female cross-dressers has not always been warm. In fact, in some cases, it appears that the public has even considered female cross-dressing to be immoral. However, in spite of popular opinion, the practice is not completely uncharted when it comes to men wearing women’s clothing. In fact, there are several examples of men embracing this practice throughout history.

While some female cross-dressers have taken this hobby to an extreme by donning elaborate lady’s costumes or by engaging in full-time female impersonation, much Cross Dressing in the United Kingdom simply prefers to “play” at it and occasionally don women’s clothing for fun. Whatever their motivation might be, though, their love for female attire has a long heritage in Britain. Indeed, one of the earliest references to men dressing as women dates back 2200 years to ancient Greece where it was referred to as “gymnastica” or “nubile dressing.” The practice was so common at the time that it was even referred to humorously by Homer through his use of the word “skamma."

In ancient Greece and Rome — where female cross-dressing was apparently more commonplace — men would often perform female roles in comedy and drama performances called amphitheaters. While these performances sometimes had satirical intent— poking fun at society’s gender conventions— they also served as a form of social commentary on other levels as well. Besides providing entertainment for the Roman public and elite alike, these performances also helped cement societal ideas about gender into the minds of audiences young and old alike. Despite how much female cross-dressing seems to have gone unnoticed during previous centuries, however, there is evidence that such performances were not universally accepted by society at large. For example, Shakespeare’s play As you like It features a character named Rosalind who appears only briefly but who is clearly intended to represent Shakespeare himself when he wore women’s clothing for disguise purposes during his own days as an actor.

While female Cross Dressing Shop in the United Kingdom is not frowned upon in every corner of British culture today — especially compared to its past — such practices are still perceived negatively in some quarters. As an English woman once put it while sharing his personal observations on British culture with Americans via email correspondence with BDAWG Magazine, “It must be remembered that we are all products of our time and place— all our customs and attitudes are products of their time and place too...