變異的性行為

性少數: 6. 易裝癖者

戲劇傳統

在戲劇中穿著異性的服飾有著悠久的傳統。數個世紀以來，許多文化傳統裏不准婦女登臺演出，因而所有的旦角就必須由男人或男孩來扮演。這樣的例子有（中國的）“京劇（Peking Opera）”和日本的歌舞伎（Kabuki）。在西方文化中，眾所周知的例子是莎士比亞時期的英國戲劇。莎士比亞及後來的劇作家都由“男孩演員”扮演他們劇中的旦角，也就是說，由大約在青春期年齡的男孩扮演旦角，他們能夠並的確使觀眾相信他們所扮演的奧菲利亞、茱麗葉、克利奧派特拉、馬克白夫人等角色。終於，到了17世紀晚期，才允許女演員和歌劇女歌手登臺演出，但是，最出色的歌劇明星曾經是閹人歌手（castrati），即有極高音域的被閹割的男性。到了19世紀，當逐漸難以尋到高音域男性演旦角的時候，便發生了奇怪的逆轉：劇中的這些小生被著男裝的女歌手所接管，即被所謂的“穿褲子的角色（trouser role）”所替代。甚至，一些作曲家不久就利用這一進展，有意為他們的新歌劇寫出這樣的劇情角色。戲劇中換穿異性服飾的另一個例子是大不列顛傳統的耶誕節舞劇（Christmas Pantomime），其中有由女人扮演的嬌媚王子（Prince Charming）和由女孩扮演的“啞劇男主角（principal boy）”，或由女演員扮演的“彼得·潘（Peter Pan）”劇本中的彼得，或者諸如由男人扮演的“埃德娜女爵士（Dame Edna）”這樣的現代電視劇情人物。

不過，以當代性學的概念，這種在戲劇中換穿異性服飾並不被當作易裝癖，換穿異性服飾並未表明表演者的性興趣或性行為如何。我們儘管不能排除每一個換穿異性服飾的演員都不會是易裝癖者，但是，這種換穿異性服飾的現象可能從根本上就沒有什麼性方面的意義。一些亞洲著名的“旦角”男演員因他們的同性戀而聞名，但是，如果認為他們就是典型的同性戀者則是錯誤的。對於當時與現在的大多數演員來說，換穿異性服飾曾經是或只是一件演出工作或歌唱工作而已。對於一些現代稱之為滑稽模仿秀（travesty show）的“模仿秀女藝人（female impersonator）”，也許情形有一些不同，但是，儘管這樣，我們也不應該就這些人的性別認同、性愛興趣或性取向隨意地做出推定。她們的舞臺生涯與其私人生活可能與實際的情形大相徑庭。

舞臺上的換穿異性服飾

從左至右：在莎士比亞戲劇中扮演馬克白夫人的男孩演員、在“京劇”裏扮演貴夫人（旦角）的男性演員、在日本歌舞伎中扮演女性角色的男演員（昂那咖塔，onnagata）、在理查德·施特勞斯的歌劇《玫瑰騎士》（Der Rosenkavalier）中的屋大維（Octavian）[1]，即被稱為“穿褲子的角色”的女演員，常為女中音。

Cross dressing on the stage
From the left: Boy actor playing Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s theater
Male actor playing a princess in the “Peking Opera”
Male actor (onnagata) playing a female role in the Japanese Kabuki
Female mezzosoprano in the “trouser role” of Octavian in Richard Strauss’ opera “Der Rosenkavalier”

[1].即：奧古斯都-羅馬帝國第一任皇帝，西元前 27年-西元 14年。——譯者注。

Variations in Sexual Behavior

Sexual Minorities: 6. Transvestites

Theatrical Traditions

Wearing the clothes of the other sex has a long tradition in the theater. In many cultures for many centuries women were not allowed to act on the stage, and thus all female roles had to be played by men or boys. Examples of this are the “Peking Opera” and the Japanese Kabuki. In Western countries, the best known example is the English theater at the time of Shakespeare. He and his fellow dramatists had all female parts in their plays performed by “boy actors”, i.e. young males around the age of puberty who could and did convince their audiences as Ophelia, Juliet, Cleopatra, and Lady Macbeth. Finally, in later the 17th century, actresses and female opera singers were permitted, but the greatest opera stars were castrati, i.e. castrated males with very high voices. When these high male voices for male characters became unavailable in the 19th century, a curious reversal took place: Their parts were taken over by female singers in male costume, i.e. in so-called “trouser roles”. Indeed, some composers soon took advantage of this development and deliberately wrote such roles for their new operas. Other examples of theatrical cross dressing are the traditional British Christmas Pantomime with Prince Charming being played by a woman and the “principal boy” played by a girl, or the play “Peter Pan” with Peter played by an actress, or modern television personalities like “Dame Edna” played by a man.
However, this theatrical cross dressing is not considered transvestism in the modern sense of the term, and it does not say anything about the sexual interests or behavior of the performers. While one cannot exclude it in every case, it probably has no sexual significance for them at all. Some famous Asian actors of female roles were known for their homosexuality, but it would be wrong to consider them typical. For most performers then and now, it was and is simply another acting or singing job. The case may be different for certain modern “female impersonators” in so-called travesty shows, but even then one should not presume anything about their self-identification, erotic interest, or sexual orientation. Their stage lives and their private lives may have less in common than it seems.