Habiliments and Humor: How Hollywood Broaches the Topic of Cross-Dressing in Comedic Stories

“The clothes make the man” the old expression goes. But which clothes are we talking about? If you’re a fan of comedy- theater, television, and film- you’ve undoubtedly seen many stories where cross-dressing is the theme (or at least one of the themes).

In ancient Greek mythology, Hercules/Heracles wears a dress when Omphale enslaves him. Achilles puts on women’s clothing his mother Thetis gives…