Vested Interests : Cross-dressing and Cultural Anxiety

"Vested Interests" focuses on the relationship between the aesthetic and the existential, from Shakespeare to Peter Pan and "M. Butterfly", from transsexual surgery and societies for transvestites and transsexuals, to Madonna, Michael Jackson, and even Elvis. Garber establishes that transvestism, far from being a marginal and socially deviant practice, in fact makes culture possible by marking the entrance to the symbolic. Citing the recurrence of transvestite theatre throughout different eras and cultures, Garber views the transvestite as a reiteration of the theatre's underlying problem of representation, because the transvestite acknowledges that every figure on stage is an "impersonator". By examining transvestism's varied social manifestations, the book addresses issues of gender, sexuality, race and class. The argument is illustrated with compelling examples: the sumptuary laws of medieval and early modern Europe, the little-known "transvestite tales" of Mark Twain and the public furor over an art student's portrayal of late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington wearing women's lingerie. This book should be of interest to undergraduates and academics.