Girls Will be Boys Cross-dressed Women, Lesbians, and American Cinema, 1908-1934

The author analyses American films made between 1908 and 1934 and explores how cross-dressing women were viewed. She argues that these figures were popularly regarded as wholesome and regularly appeared onscreen in the 1910. She also explores how and why this perception of cross-dressed women began to change in the 1920s and early 1930s, examining the role of cinema in the representation of lesbian identity.