30-04-2014, 06:40 PM
(30-04-2014, 06:22 PM)AnnabelP Wrote: Thank you all for your replies. At the other end of the spectrum I have a fascinating studio photograph of my grandfather taken in India (where he and his siblings were born) about 1896, in a knee length dress with a frilly top, ankle socks and Mary Janes, and long hair curling down over his shoulders. He was probably about 3 or 4 at the time. Furthermore, when he went to England a little later he was initially sent to a girl's school. I cannot however see any great likeness to other members of the family, although he is recognizably the same child as in later male mode photos, in one of which he has quite a strong likeness to his sisters.
That's interesting, Annie. I seem to recall that back then, boy babies were dressed in rather frilly, feminine looking gowns, hats, etc., so maybe the parents just carried the tradition over into early childhood. I have similar early photos of relatives of English descent that were dressed in what we today would see as girly clothes.
Or, maybe your grandfather had a female gender identity, and expressed a desire to wear the same clothes as his sisters! There's no reason to believe that the instances of cross gender identity were any less frequent a hundred years ago than they are today.
Clara
