There’s no better master class on the semiotics of getting
dressed than the documentary Paris Is Burning. Released at the
start of the 1990s, it chronicles the Ball scene in late 1980s
New York. The Balls featured bisexual and gay men and
transgendered women in all manner of drag - from clothes
intended to convincingly portray a beautiful woman to clothes
intended to convincingly portray an executive or a member of the
military.  For folks like these, passing was and is essential to
living safely, and being conversant in cultural norms was more
than just a passing interest. As one of the interview subjects
above says, “When you’re gay, you monitor everything you do. You
monitor how you look, how you talk, how you act. Do they see me?
What do they think of me?”  I’m guessing that most of the people
who read this blog were born in a position where they don’t
usually rely on cultural signifiers to ensure their physical
safety, like the people in Paris Is Burning. The stakes are
lower for most of us. Thankfully,