Booty: Ladies And Sailors

During the Belle Époque it became quite the rage in wealthy and “decadent” circles for ladies to dress as men. As witnessed by one of the first female photojournalists in America, Frances Johnston, in the photo above, it could indeed be quite titillating in a time when the lower half of a woman’s body was usually covered with layer upon layer of fabric. Ms. Johnston even drew on a nice moustache.

Of course bicyclists were not the only subject of the cross dressing craze and the occasional lady sailor will pop up while I’m off searching for pictures to decorate Triple P. Women cross dressing in order to go to sea has a long history, so this really should come as no surprise. In fact, those old tales may have been at least some of the inspiration for the craze. So today, short and sweet, a gentleman and “his” lady out on a fishing trip find they’ve caught each other instead of any potential meal. Happy Friday, Brethren. See you tomorrow for Sailor Mouth Saturday.Header: Frances Johnston photographic self-portrait c 1890 via GoMeansGo and Portrait of two women in a boat c 1892 via Photoseeum