Trousers as women's clothing

Anita Krohn Traaseth in trousers, Norway, 2013

Trousers (or pants in American English) are a staple of historical and modern fashion. Throughout history, the role of trousers is a constant change for women. The first appearance of trousers in recorded history is among nomadic steppe-people in Western Europe. Steppe people were a group of nomads of various different ethnic groups that lived in the Eurasian grasslands. Archaeological evidence suggests that men and women alike wore trousers in that cultural context.[1] However, for much of modern history, the use of trousers has been restricted to men. This norm was enforced in many regions due to social customs and laws. There are, however, many historical cases of women wearing trousers in defiance of these norms such as the 1850s women rights movement, comfort, freedom of movement, fashion, disguise (notably for runaway slaves[2]), attempts to evade the gender pay gap, and attempts to establish an empowered public identity for women.[3] Especially in the 20th and 21st centuries, the customs and laws restricting this manner of dress have relaxed dramatically, reflecting a growing acceptance and normalisation of the practice.[4]

Various U.S. cities, in the 19th and 20th centuries, passed legislation barring women from wearing trousers. Among these U.S. cities include a 1863 law passed by San Francisco's Board of Supervisors criminalising appearing in public in "a dress not belonging to his or her sex", although similar laws existed in Columbus, Ohio (passed 1848); Chicago, Illinois (passed 1851); Houston, Texas (passed 1864); Orlando, Florida (passed 1907), and approximately two dozen other US cities.[5] Anti-cross-dressing laws continued to pass well into the 20th century, with Detroit, Michigan, and Miami, Florida, passing laws into the late 1950s.[5]

Additionally, existing laws such as anti-vagrancy statutes were pressed into service to ensure that women would dress in accord with the gender norms of the time. One such instance would be New York's anti-vagrancy statute of 1845, which stated that "Every person who, having his face painted, discoloured, covered or concealed, or being otherwise disguised, in a manner calculated to prevent him from being identified, shall appear in any road or public highway, or in any field, lot, wood or inclosure, may be pursued and arrested".[6] This law was used to prosecute women for cross-dressing, on the grounds that their dressing outside of gender norms constituted a "disguise".[2] Boston used similar anti-vagrancy laws to arrest Emma Snodgrass and her friend Harriet French in 1852. (Snodgrass would be arrested again in Cleveland in 1853, and French would be arrested again in New York in 1856.) French reportedly broke with convention in order to pursue job opportunities open only to men: she claimed to the New York Daily Times that she could "get more wages" dressed as a man.[7]

Anti-vagrancy laws were also used to arrest Jennie Westbrook in New York, in 1882 and 1883. Westbrook's case was said at the time to have "awakened deep interest" among the public, as it was understood that she was attempting to "escape from that bondage [to] which social laws have subjected the sex". Like Harriet French in Boston, Westbrook identified work opportunities as her reason for cross-dressing: "Her excuse was that she could make $20 a week in her disguise, while as a 'saleslady' in a fashionable store the pay would be only one-third that amount."[8]

The teaching of Orthodox Jews and some Christian denominations, such as Conservative Anabaptists and the Methodists of the conservative holiness movement, continue to enjoin women to wear full-length dresses, rather than trousers in order to maintain what they see as a distinction in the sexes.[9][10][11]

Amazon wearing trousers and carrying a shield with an attached patterned cloth and a quiver. Ancient Greek Attic white-ground alabastron, ca. 470 BCE, British Museum, London.
  1. ^ Steinmetz, Katy. "From Horse People to Hillary Clinton: A History of Women Wearing Pants". Time. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Fashion Crimes: The Rabbit Hole of Criminalized Cross-Dressing in US History: Mallory Drover '19 at Boston MFA". Antioch Engaged. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  3. ^ Mattingly, Carol (2002). Appropriate[ing] Dress: Women's Rhetorical Style in Nineteenth-Century America. SIU Press. ISBN 9780809324286.
  4. ^ Adlington, Lucy (2015). Stitches in Time: The Story of the Clothes We Wear. Random House. pp. 147–148. ISBN 9781473505094. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Arresting Dress: Duke University Press". Duke University Press. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  6. ^ Fay, Joseph (1874). Digest of the Laws of the State of New York: Comprising the Revised Statutes and Statutes of General Interest in Force on January 1, 1874, Volume 1. James Cockcroft. p. 116.
  7. ^ "Emma Snodgrass, Arrested for Wearing Pants". New England Historical Society. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  8. ^ "Iron County Register (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965". Library of Congress: Chronicling America: Historical American Newspapers. 9 March 1882. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  9. ^ Joseph, Brian D. (1999). Historical Linguistics. Ohio State University. p. 255.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tindle2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference O'Brien2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).