difficult images: gender #17








Difficult Images: Gender #17


Figure 17.--HBC is not sure about this image. The date is probably the 1870s. Certainly the hair style suggests a girl. HBC woners, however, why for such an important event as a indiviual portrait that she was not wearing her best party frock. The child's outfit is rather plain and looks more like a kilt suit that a boy would have worn.

From all appearances the child here looks like a girl. The long hair and hair bow suggest a girl. Other aspects of this portrait, however, are mor ambiguous. The kilt suit, for example, is a garment a boy that age could have worn. HBC believes that the child probably was a girl, but that conclusion is not as easy as a casual examination of the image would suggest. HBC wonders, for example, if the child is a girl, why she was not dressed up in her best party dress for a portrait. An indiviual portrait for a child would have been a major event in the 1870s. If the the child is a girl, the image provies useful information on who was wearing kilt suits in the 1870s. Readers who have any insights on this image are incouraged to provie them to HBC.

Chronolgy

This image is undated. HBC dates the image to the 1870s. This is base on the quality of the photograph and the piping on the kilt suit which HBC believes was very popular in the 1870s. The relatively small bow is another inicator of the 1870s, by the 1880s bow began to become much larger--especially for bots. Kilt suits had become generally plainer by the 1880s--although HBC is less sure of the chronology for girls' outfits.

Location

This portrait is of an American child. It was taken in Waterville, Maine. Maine is generally consiered a conservative area of the Unite States. People from Maine are not noted for ostentation. HBC's woners if this might have affected the chil's outfit. HBC wonders if children from Maine may have been dresse plainer than children in other areas of the United States.

Inividual

Unfortunately HBC has no information as to the identity of this child. Given the obviously fashionable outfit and the cost of an indiviual portrait in the 1870s, the child clearly comes from an affluent family. This is important, because a child from an affluent family woul probably have an extensive wardrobe, including much fancier dresses. This of course leads to the question pose earlier--why was she not wearing her best party frock?

Clothing

This portrait provides a good clear look at a child's outfit in the 1870s. The image is clear enough that details of the child's outfit can be made out. HBC's analysis of the image is impaired, however, because we have not carefully assesse girls' clothing an we know of no comparable site assessing girls clothes.

Bow

The child wear a small white bow. HBC has generally note bows to be a feature of boys' outfits in the late 19th century. This was because girls often wore fancy dresses which did not require additional ornamentation. Mothers thus often used bows to enliven the plainer outfits of their sons. It is possible that this child, if she is a girl, wore a bow because of the relative plainess of her kilt suit.

Kilt suit

HBC thought that the kilt suit was primarily a boys' outfit and that girls generally wore fancy dresses--especially for an important event like a portrait. This is one factor which causes HBC to question the initial impression that the chil is a girl. The suit has elaborate piping. This was a popular style in the 1870s. Most of HBC's photographic images of kilt suits come from te 1880s and 90s when they were much plainer. If girls did wear kilt suits, they would have been more likely to have worn the fancier ones as pictured here.

Blouse

The jacket of this chil's kilt suit is buttoned to the collar covering the collar of the blouse the child was wearing. The only glimse of the bloyse is ruffled lace trim. Boys did wear blouses with ruffled lace trim in the 1880s, primarily with Fauntleroy suits. This was much less common, however, in the 1870s, especially the eraly 1870s and with kilt suits. The ruffled wrist trim is a detail that would have been more common for girls wearing kilt suits.

Pantalettes an petticoats

One rather confusing aspect of this impage is that the child appears to be wearing some kin of plain shorts under the kilt. Pantalettes were still worn by children in the 1870s. Girls might have been expected to wear fancier pantalettes, especially for a formal occasion. The chil also does not appear to be wearing petticoats which a girl might havee been expecte to wear.

Stockings

Both boys and girls wore long stockings. Three quarter-length stockings were more wiely worn in Europe--especially France. American chilren--except for very young ones more commonly wore long stockings. HBC has more commonly noticed boys wearing dark colored stockings. The hild here wears a somewhat lighter color than boys usually wore--but as with many aspects of a child's dress, much was left to the mother's disgression.

Hair Style

This child wears long uncurled hair. Such long hair is most common for girls. It was not, however, unknown for boys. Such hair in the 1880s would have been a stronger indicator for a boy as American mother's more commonly did their sons hair in ringlets. In the 1870s extremely long hair is a strong, but not conclusive inicator that the child is a girl. One factor is note the exposed ear. HBC is not yet sure of the gender conotations of this.

This child also wears a colored hairbow. Note that the mother felt no need to coorinate the hairbow with the collar bow. While the hairbow looks very girlish to us today, as HBC has demonstrated, hair bows in the late 19th century were also worn by boys.

A HBC readers believes I believe hat the chil is a boy. "If the same child had short hair one would not have a problem identifing this as a boy from the outfit. I don't think the hair is significant. The child appears to have naturally curly hair, which most Mothers would be loath to cut short until they had to. Even today little boys, I believe, with curly hair tend to have their first haircut later than boys with straight hair. It is also my observation that boys with long hair were almost as likely to wear hair bows as girls with long hair. The reason you see more girls with hair bows is that many more girls at this time had long hair than boys."

Facial Characteristics

HBC notes nothing estinctive about this child's facial characteristics, it coul be either a boy or girl.

Age

HBC believes that this chil woul have beeb about 5 or 6 years old.

Prop

Props are often useful in assessing gender. There are, however, no props in this portrait.





Christopher Wagner





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Created: January 6, 2001
ast updated: January 6, 2001