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==Historical use in theater==

==Historical use in theater==

[[File:Arestovich.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Chief [[propagandist]] in the [[Zelensky regime]] [[Alexei Arestovich]] in drag.<ref>https://proslo.ru/kto-takoj-arestovich-na-ukraine/</ref>]]

[[File:Arestovich.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Chief [[propagandist]] in the [[Zelensky regime]] [[Alexei Arestovich]] in drag.<ref>https://proslo.ru/kto-takoj-arestovich-na-ukraine/</ref>]]

Cross-dressing (also known as 'drag') has been associated with the [[theater]] for hundreds of years. In [[Shakespeare]]'s [[England]], women were not allowed to appear on stage, so female roles were played by boys dressed in women's costume. In [[Spanish]] theater at the same time, women were allowed to perform, and the plots of playwrights such as Tirso de Molina and [[Lope de Vega]] often called for female characters to disguise themselves as men, particularly in [[comedy|comedies]].

Cross-dressing (also known as 'drag') has been associated with the [[theater]] for hundreds of years and likely explains the high number of homosexuals in the theater industry and Hollywood. In [[Shakespeare]]'s [[England]], women were not allowed to appear on stage, so female roles were played by boys dressed in women's costume. In [[Spanish]] theater at the same time, women were allowed to perform, and the plots of playwrights such as Tirso de Molina and [[Lope de Vega]] often called for female characters to disguise themselves as men, particularly in [[comedy|comedies]].

In the present day, cross-dressing is still a feature of some traditional theatrical forms such as [[pantomime]], where dames are played by men in exaggerated female costume<ref>[http://www.its-behind-you.com/pantodames.html Pantomime Dames]</ref> and leading male roles are often played by women as well (e.g. the eponymous hero in ''[[Dick Whittington]]'').

In the present day, cross-dressing is still a feature of some traditional theatrical forms such as [[pantomime]], where dames are played by men in exaggerated female costume<ref>[http://www.its-behind-you.com/pantodames.html Pantomime Dames]</ref> and leading male roles are often played by women as well (e.g. the eponymous hero in ''[[Dick Whittington]]'').