Cross-dressing has been immersed into culture since who knows when, regardless of what trend Caitlyn Jenner might have thought she started. The androgynous look has been the focus of many a pop, film or rock star that has helped them hit iconic status (Shout out to Bowie and Leigh Bowery). It is also a hidden (or equally not so hidden) practice of many men and women, or so we’re told. Yes, we may have worn our mother’s nightgown while playing football once when we were younger, but that was due to still being up from the night before…
A Secret History of Cross Dressers at The Photographers Gallery delves into the personal archives of filmmaker and photography collector Sébastien Lifshitz. Yes, women dressed as men and men dressed as women is the focus of this exhibition which features people from different classes, professions, genders and nationalities all of whom are flirting with the camera, even if they can’t do it publicly. The insightful display exposes the attitudes of these individuals in a very intimate light ranging from theatrical, and defiant to shy, proud, subversive and even understated.
For more exhibitions, see our monthly exhibition guide.
Fri 23 Feb – Sun 3 June 2018
The Photographers Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies Street, London W1F 7LW
thephotographersgallery.org.uk