Comedy Crossdressing

[Guest Amy Androgynous]

Hi everyone, I was wondering what do you think about comedians that crossdress? Personally I don't like it because I feel it's adding to the comedian's sketch. What are your views? I have in mind - Eddie Izzard.

Amy X

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Eddie Izzard is playing on truths. The best comedy is tragedy.

When commedians dress up? I never trust that they are doing it for a laugh! Maybe I am naive.

Lizzy

[Guest Amy Androgynous]

Eddie Izzard is playing on truths. The best comedy is tragedy.

When commedians dress up? I never trust that they are doing it for a laugh! Maybe I am naive.

Lizzy

I know hun I wasn't sure I think it's an equal argument I see it as people might see the dressing funny and laugh at us then.

Amy X

[Guest Elizabeth K]

Well we CAN dress like fools sometimes. I understand though I have been in that androgynous stage so long - I sometimes wonder if people stare because I look funny or because I am such a sad sight. I guess that is what I mean on the comedy-tragedy thing. and to be truly androgynous, I cannot imagine the missunderstanding reaction you get.

I can't think of any comic who made it big these days by playing a funny man in a dress. Mrs. Doubtfire is a serious comedy - and that seems to be the trend.

I HOPE people see us as we are. Human beings.

For me - what I have seen personally, only teen boys laugh so far, and their girlfrinds want to kill them.

Complicated.

Lizzy

[Guest Amy Androgynous]

Well we CAN dress like fools sometimes. I understand though I have been in that androgynous stage so long - I sometimes wonder if people stare because I look funny or because I am such a sad sight. I guess that is what I mean on the comedy-tragedy thing. and to be truly androgynous, I cannot imagine the missunderstanding reaction you get.

I can't think of any comic who made it big these days by playing a funny man in a dress. Mrs. Doubtfire is a serious comedy - and that seems to be the trend.

I HOPE people see us as we are. Human beings.

For me - what I have seen personally, only teen boys laugh so far, and their girlfrinds want to kill them.

Complicated.

Lizzy

if there was a major TG friendly cartoon / game / film / soap it would be amazing!

[Guest ChloëC]

You don't see too much of it now, but U.S. television once had a fairly significant collection of cross dressing male comedians with recurring female personas - Milton Berle, Flip Wilson (as Geraldine), Jonathon Winters (as Maude Frickert). The last one I can remember was Mike Meyers having a recurring cross-dressing character on SNL which was 'supposed' to be humorous.

Of course, a lot of actors have cross-dressed occasionally for major roles like John Travolta in 'Hairspray' (which I think was an insult to Divine, personally), Dustin Hoffman in 'Tootsie', and Robin Williams in 'Mrs. Doubtfire'. A number have dressed for single non-recurring skits which are too many to name.

But, wasn't Dame Edna more into it than Eddie Izzard? Eddie seems to shed his charicature occasionally on stage to be seen as himself. Dame Edna seemed always in character. And Benny Hill seemed to have some recurring character types, from the very few times I watched his show here. I had always thought that cross-dressing was sort of more appreciated in England than here, but I may be wrong.

And at one time an impressionist here named Jim Bailey was the toast of TV and Las Vegas for his impressions of Barbra Streisand, Judy Garland, Phyllis Diller, to name a few.

I suppose if one is able to do'serious' roles like Robin Williams and Jim Bailey, there has to be room for humorous ones too.

[Guest Lidian]

hmm depends on the comedy.

a lot of Japanese and korean dramas/comedys i watch have a female dressed as a male usually with serious or good intentions but ineveitabley 'hilarious' outcomes...

Comedy sketches such as Eddie izzard...meh its hard...i love listening to eddie izzard, but watching him on stage irritates me...it's not the fact he crossdresses..its more the fact he over does it, it's all sparkly and sequins...i just feel like it's playing up to a sterosype in order to be funny..which is annoying...

Same with Julian Clary,i HATE watching him perform live (for gods sake the man arrived on stage dressed ins crotchless leather pants!) it just feels to over the top for the show he is doing...

on the other hand i liked watching him on QI he was a lot calmer and just seemed more him...

it really depends on the scenario.. like in little britain Daffyd..i find hilarious because it's portraying a sterotypical gay man in an over exageratted manner to deliberatly highlight how silly it is to have that sterotype.

If it was doing it because it thats how people genuinly thought all gay guys acted..it'd be a little offensive..