A Study on Gender Identity shown in Movie Costumes from 1930′s to 1990′s -Focused on the Third Sex -

The third sex implying a mismatch between sex and gender has been regarded as an extreme socio-cultural violation. In its earlier version, such a violation was expressed by cross-dressing; Women's cross-dressing was thought to invoke eroticism, while men's cross-dressing was considered comic or delinquent. However, as feminism developed more with the homosexual identity expressed openly, the third sex began to be visual. Thus, in 1990's, some homosexual monies began to develop to be pluralized enough to suggest the third sex and thereby, change the negative sex into a positive one. In this study, such a pluralization is discussed in terms of invisibility, dichotomy and androgyny. The cross-dressing movies show females in male attire or males in female attire to reflect the third sex. The cross-dressing may be divided into men's playful cross-dressing, women's political cross-dressing and homosexuals'cross-dressing or 'drag'. Gender identity is not an attribute fixed by some physical characteristics, but it tends to be changed or expanded by some social factors over time. In short, it may be a flexible, plural, individual and self-introspective attribute. Movies present diverse types of gender identities, and in particular, the movie costumes specify them. In other words, the costumes may be model means expressing the gender identities, and the gender identities shown in the movies tend to be imitated, re-created or assumed by the audience.

1930-1990년대 영화 의상에 나타난 젠더 정체성(III) - 제 3의 성(the third sex)을 중심으로-