The Tradition of Female Cross-dressing in Early Modern Europe

In 17th and 18th century Europe, especially in Holland, England and Germany, so many women chose to dress and live as men, that an underground tradition of female cross-dressing within the popular culture can be detected. This study, based upon 114 well-documented Dutch cases of female cross-dressing, attempts to tell how these women adapted to male life and why, once discovered, reactions to them were both fierce and varied. It also explores the reasons why they chose to change gender. Special attention is devoted to cross-dressing by one partner as the only way in which lesbian love was conceivable in this period.