a history in babble

Ok, so the first part of my research I have started with what I already know.
I would like to maintain the ideals/aesthetics of the 1920s/30s-
so since for some reason, i have weird knowledge of that time period,
I thought of transvestites in early film/how they were portrayed & the controversy involved.
What comes to mind first is Marlene dietrich in the film "morrocco" where she dresses as a man & locks lips with a lady. This film was released in 1930- pre production code. However, she extended this role into her real life, wearing tophats, suits, etc while off screen. She was often occused of being bisexual & having a relationship with fellow actress Greta Garbo. However, the fact she dressed in such a manner could have been less about her sexual preference and more about her determination for women's and/or transgender liberation.
Secondly, I think of the film Marie Antoinette from 1938. In the supporting role of Duke d'Orleans Louis Philippe Joseph II, Joseph Schildkraut, was one of the fanciest looking men in film at the time. Wearing more make-up in Marie Antionette than any woman would. He also played a character of questionable sexual orientation.

I can't say that any of this really means anything, but it strikes my interest seeing these portrayals in early film. And it's also true that both Dietrich & the director of Marie Antoinette, W.S. Van Dyke started on the vaudeville circuit where they would have access to knowing/engaging transvestites.
So Vaudeville- there were many performers on the vaudeville circuit who put themselves on display as the opposite sex for entertainment. When I think of this I think of the film "Some Like it Hot." But anyway, many of these performers were actually cross dressers but they were in no way homosexual. That point is also very interesting to me in going further working on the idea of the transgendered and transvestites.

So in order to figure out what was going on with transgender photo graphy at this point in time I had to dwelve deep into the vaults of the internet, where I found answers in the gay erotic community rather than just the transgendered community as Paul had suggested. Much of the "gay" photography started out being labeled as "physique" photography in order to protect the photographers/clients character. I find it interesting that many of these photographs I have been finding of these subjects have been images by unknown photographers too.
There is also a photographer Karoll of Havanna, who photographed male physique but hid his photographs from the Cuban authorities. They had never been shown until recently in a gallery in Paris. His photographs are said to resemble old Hollywood films and it's also interesting to note that he died in a "re-education" camp in Cuba.



Unfotunately it has been a lot harder to find photographers interest in transvestites. However, I have found a few by unknown photographers. They seem more like documentation of this person rather than fine art.






Photographers to note are Horst P. Horst, Herbert List, F. Holland Holiday