ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that cross-dressing was not necessarily a sign of covert homosexuality but was more often an overt attempt by women to approximate men's social liberties. Cross-cultural cross-dressing occurred at three distinct points in British history which coincided with the growth of imperialism. Despite the advantages of their social class, women such as Lady Mary Edwards Walker nonetheless were deemed inferior to men according to British law; thus, they more readily identified with their imperial counterparts whom they perceived as superior to them in many ways. The interchange in Lady Mary's case was both feminist and social. Lady Mary explains: The Antery is a wastcoat made close to the shape, of white and Gold Damask, with very long sleeves falling back and fring'd with deep Gold fringe, and should have Diamond or pearl Buttons. Mary Montagu's fascination with the luxurious texture, colouring and design of Turkish garments is a reversal of the standard relationship between colonizer and the colonized.
