When was cross-dressing illegal?

Laws criminalizing cross-dressing spread like wildfire around the United States in the mid-19th century. New York’s, dating back to 1845, was one of the oldest. It declared it a crime to have your “face painted, discolored, covered, or concealed, or [be] otherwise disguised… [while] in a road or public highway.”

Is Cross-Dressing illegal in the US?

After the Stonewall riots of 1969, cross-dressing arrests decreased and became much less common. Today, while there are little to no laws directly protecting transgender individuals from discrimination and harassment, the majority of anti-cross-dressing laws have been overturned.

Is Cross-Dressing a freedom of expression?

One’s choice of attire may be described as an expression of individual liberty and autonomy, or an expressive statement protected under the right to freedom of expression. Cross-dressing may also be considered an element of trans identity protected under non-discrimination and equality guarantees.

When was cross-dressing legalized in California?

On May 1, 2014, the California State Senate passed the bill on a 25–10 vote. On June 30, it passed the Assembly in a 51–11 vote. It was signed by the Governor on July 7, 2014, and took effect on January 1, 2015.

Is it illegal to cross dress in Russia?

New Russian Law Bans Transvestites, Cross-Dressers, and Pyromaniacs from Driving. The decree covers a number of physical medical conditions, such as eye diseases and blindness, but also includes people who “desire to live and be accepted as a member of the opposite sex.”

Is it illegal for men to wear dresses?

No there is not. The only laws about clothing are that you have to be decently covered. However if someone is dressed in a way that many people perceive as unusual and is also behaving oddly; disruptively, intoxicated, abusive, etc., then there…

When did cross-dressing become illegal in San Francisco?

Between 1848 and 1900, 34 cities passed prohibitions against cross-dressing, followed by 11 more in the years leading up to World War I. San Francisco’s law remained in effect until July 1974. Arrests were made as recently as May 1974, when 10 men were arrested in the Tenderloin for wearing women’s clothing.

How do anti-cross-dressing laws work?

In effect, the anti-cross-dressing laws became a flexible tool for police to enforce normative gender on multiple gender identities, including masculine women and people identifying as transgender or gender non-conforming.

Is there a three-article rule for cross-dressing?

First, they say that mentions of the three-article rule are almost all retrospective, meaning they come up in interviews and memoirs about the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s, but not in documents actually produced in those years. Second, none of the cross-dressing laws they could find mentioned a specific number of clothing articles.

What are the effects of cross-dressing?

They are singled out for physical attack – beaten, sexually assaulted, tortured and killed. In several countries, laws against cross dressing are used to punish transgender people on the basis of their gender identity and expression.