#gowongo mohawk

[your-worst-knightmare]

@stormleviosa

[lowliest-manifestations]

Often when I am talking about Irene Adler I half-jokingly refer to her as a drag king but I was curious to see if drag/male impersonation would have actually been viable for her. (It's implied that she dressed as a man in an acting capacity but I'm talking about male impersonation as the focal point of a performance, something more akin to modern drag) And I found that it definitely could have been!

While there are a few documented male impersonators around the time that A Scandal in Bohemia was published (Ella Wesner, Florence Hines and Gowongo Mohawk were all active around the Victorian-Edwardian era) The best parallel I found to Adler, being British and predating Scandal in Bohemia, would be Vesta Tilley.

One of the most famous male impersonators of all time, Tilley was was active on stage from the age of three (1967) until her retirement in 1920. She was a singer by trade, and began wearing male costume very early on in her career (around five or six years old). Tilley performed as a variety of male characters (dandies, soldiers, messenger boys, etc.) usually in a comedic context. Wildly successful, and very highly paid, she would have been the standard for male impersonators at the time.

Adler very well could have done the kind of performance Tilley was known for. They were both singers, both would probably sung in music halls, and both were of a similar social class. (Tilley's husband was knighted a year before her retirement and she became Lady de Freece: she was quite wealthy and respectable).

Also of note: The vast majority of male impersonators at the time were straight (there were a couple exceptions but Tilley was insistently not one of them). Cross-dressing and homosexuality were just beginning to be associated with each other in the way we're more familiar with, and as a result it became less and less socially acceptable to be a male impersonator as we got into the 1920s (especially in wealthier white circles) and the art form was pushed underground.

But until that point it was entirely possible to be a male impersonator and and a well respected, heterosexual, high society victorian lady.

What fascinates me about Adler in comparison to Tilley, is that Adler regularly cross-dresses in a non-performance context, something that Tilley would not have done (or admitted to doing) as she wrote, "While my business is that of impersonating male characters, I heartily detest anything mannish in a woman’s private life."

SO. All that to say Irene Adler could absolutely have been a drag king, and could even have pushed the norms of the art form at the time, if you choose to read her that way.

[heyilike]

Hey! I Like... Gowongo Mohawk

In this episode our host takes over the mic to talk about their favourite playwright of all time (and her wonderful horses).

Join us to find out more about @stormleviosa's grad school shenanigans, victorian stagecraft, insane revenge plots, and the importance of looking after your horses (they could save your life one day).

Find us on anchor.fm, spotify, and google podcasts

[heyilike]

Hey there! I just listened to your Go-won-go Mohawk episode and I'm doing a research project on her here in New York centering on the historical marker that (poorly) commemorates her. Could we chat about sharing the incredible work you've already done around her? And I can share the work I've been doing too. I look forward to your response!

Hi!!!!

So so excited to see this in our ask box of course you can chat with me about her I would love nothing more!

I cannot remember if this blog has DMs, but if not feel free to DM me (jess) @stormleviosa

[heyilike]

An update on the Beyond the Spectacle project (see: ep 3 Gowongo Mohawk) for interested parties:

Had an email back from the guy who was my supervisor and because of covid, their funding ran out and they lost all their research assistants. Which sucks majorly.

Maybe I'll offer to do some work for them over the summer. Alternatively, I can just send you lot his way. If you're good at techy stuff and want an unpaid project to sink your teeth into give him an email and tell him I sent you. (links are in the episode description)